Announcing Making Moves, a four-part docu-series profiling innovators in professional dance

November 18, 2019

This week, Great Big Story announced the launch of “Making Moves,” a four-part series profiling dance pros whose talents and individuality push the limits on modern choreography.

Making Moves explores the intellectual and emotional sides of dance while unpacking how identity can inspire expression on the dance floor. The series features interviews with Yanis Marshall, Jojo Gomez, JaQuel Knight and Kathryn Burns, who each detail what made them the dancers and choreographers they are today, while inspiring countless others on their journeys throughout studios and across stages worldwide.

Episodes roll out daily on Great Big Story and on social media through November 21.

Here’s a look at episode one:

About the subjects:

• EP 1: Yanis Marshall is currently touring the world teaching and performing in countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Russia, England, France, and the United States. He appeared on the French version of Dancing with the Stars as an artistic coach, choreographed for Ukraine’s So You Think You Can Dance and choreographed Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity show in Las Vegas. He’s also noted for a finalist appearance in Britain’s Got Talent (2014).
• EP 2: Jojo Gomez is a professional dancer/choreographer living in Los Angeles. Born in Fairview, NJ, she grew up in South Hadley, MA, and moved to LA at the age of 17 to pursue her career in the dance industry. Her choreography spans collaborations with artists such as Tinashe (Company), Demi Lovato, Britney Spears and Jordan McGraw to name a few. Jojo’s performance credits include dancing with: Justin Bieber, Charlie Puth, the Backstreet Boys, Becky-G, Cher Lloyd, J Balvin, Kimberly Cole, Glee, East Los High Season 2, X Factor, Voice, America’s Got Talent, MTV’s VMAs, Radio Disney Music Awards, LMFAO, FLAMA Univision, and Mindless Behavior. JoJo strongly believes in her students, challenges them, pushes them, and ultimately educates them through positivity and light. She prides herself in teaching her students discipline, respect, and a hard work ethic through the art of dance. Her style of movement focuses on power, strength, musicality, performance, and channeling your inner superstar!
• EP 3: Kathryn Burns, aka “Kat Burns,” is an Emmy winning choreographer, actress, dancer, and director. She is the series choreographer for many TV shows including Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016, 2019 Emmy winner for Outstanding Choreography), Key & Peele, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Children’s Hospital, Another Period, Garfunkel & Oates, Stuck In The Middle, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, Teachers, and many more. Her choreography can be seen in over 100 episodes of TV. In addition to the Emmy she has won 3 World Choreography Awards for Outstanding Achievement Television Episodic for her work on Key & Peele and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Along with her work on television, Kathryn has worked with numerous artists including, Pharrell Williams on the “HAPPY “ music video (GRAMMY for Best Music Video Of The Year), Logic, Carly Rae Jepsen, Taboo (Black Eyed Peas), Paulo Nutini, Weird Al Yankovic, Lil’ Dicky, Bonnie McKee, Dead Man’s Bones (Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields) and more. She has been a performer at the prestigious Upright Citizens Brigade for more than a decade, where she Co-created and produced their longest running musical mainstay “Quick & Funny Musicals”. The Q&F team was an official selection of the New York Musical Theater Festival, The San Francisco SketchFest, Edinburgh Fringe Fest, and has written over 50 original short musicals. Her short film “Bulimia: The Musical” was an official selection of 14 film festivals and won 2. Kathryn’s acting credits include Drunk History, Adam Ruins Everything, Key & Peele, Walk The Prank, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Another Period.
• EP 4: JaQuel Knight has quickly become one of the top requested choreographers in the business! He is known as the man behind Beyoncé Knowles’ Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), which won him his first MTV Moonman at the 2009 Video Music Awards for Best Choreography. The video also went on to win that year’s MTV Video of the Year and BET’s Video of the Year Award in 2009. He received recognition for the choreography, thought to be “genius and innovative.” Then went on to choreograph Beyoncé second single, Diva, from the I Am…Sasha Fierce album, as well as her 2009–2010 I Am… World Tour. JaQuel’s credits also include work with Swedish pop star Zara Larsson and Pharrell Williams (for Something In The Water Art, Culture and Music Festival).