Dance Journey

You probably know him from his funny videos in ballet class, but now we're gonna get to know the real Matthew Bejarano, or "Matica," as his amazing and hilarious teacher refers to him. Matthew started out training in Taekwondo as a child, but it was next to his sisters' dance studio, where he often watched them do ballet before their parents came to pick them up. He did this for years before he realized that he wanted to do ballet himself and was more interested in practicing turns at home than martial arts. It was hard at first to make the switch because he often felt like an outsider being a guy in ballet class, especially in Texas. But once he got past that mental block, he was training and stretching everyday, doing summer intensives, and eventually got his first dance job at 17. That's when he realized he wanted to dance professionally for the rest of his life. After a small stint at college where he got burned out pursuing double majors, he left to focus on work and saving money to move to LA. However, his first year in LA was not what he expected. He couldn't believe how hard it was to even get an "easy job." And debt, injury, and a toxic relationship had him losing hope. Catch the full episode to learn how Matthew's life turned around with jobs, dance opportunities, social media following, and a new desire for college and learning. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @MatthewBej@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Brooke Haun's been in LA only six months, and she's already done so much! She's an intern at Eighty Eight Studios, a dancer with HMG Squared, and she teaches and subs at various studios around town. Brooke taught dance to children for many years in Colorado where she grew up. But since coming to LA, she's been focusing on her own dance training and performing. She takes class almost every day, usually at Millennium or Eighty Eight. And she appreciates teaching adults now, whether beginner or advanced. Brooke creates a chill vibe in her classes by being down to earth and relatable, but that doesn't stop her from putting challenging turns and jumps in her choreo, which she enjoys breaking down for every level of dancer. Brooke graduated college with degrees in psychology and sociology, along with a minor in dance, but one visit to Southern California and one class at Millennium led her to decide to move to LA to pursue dance fully. She's so happy doing this and has dreams of starting her own company one day. Her passion is contemporary, but she grew up training in all styles and is enjoying her hip hop classes as well. So who knows where it all may lead?Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @BrookeHaun@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

What a great day this was, taking class with Pauline Cheng at Westside Ballet and chatting about it after! Pauline and I used to see each other a couple times a week at this studio back when I was on the Westside more, but it's been a while now, and oh how I've missed it! We both started taking ballet as adults, not realizing how committed we'd end up becoming. Never underestimate how inviting a friend to dance class could change their life, because that's what happened for her! Now Pauline is growing in pirouettes and picking up choreography. She's performed multiple times in the Westside Ballet Showcase and volunteered as a coordinator for the costume department as well. She's made a whole community of friends through ballet and intends to continue pushing herself past all fears to grow in this mind-body art form. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:@pcheng0993@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Cher Krayer grew up learning piano, a very introverted activity, but she let her extrovert self loose in junior high when she decided to join the dance team! She ended up doing cheer in high school, but it wasn't until after college that she started training heavily in dance. She did the work study program at Athletic Garage in Pasadena and was taking class everyday. Cher danced because she loved it. She didn't realize it would lead to job opportunities like back up dancing, teaching, and performing! Cher has now been teaching dance to kids for 15+ years, and she considers it to be one of her main callings. Her primary style of dance that she teaches to kids is hip hop, and she has taught ballet to three-year-olds as well! She appreciates the structure and organization of teaching while also enjoying the performance aspect of being up front. Cher continues to train weekly in ballet and hip hop and is especially growing and inspired by the teachers and other dancers at Playground LA. Consistency is key, as her mom always said, "Little by little, day by day." Follow our dancer journeys on Instagram:@dancewithmscher@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Alex Torres is my first guest of the new year for Dance Journey podcast, Season 3! Alex choreographed the Lion King piece we performed in November for LA Unbound—"I Always Wanted a Brother" from the movie "Mufasa." And it was such a blast! We got to dance around as little lions with tails and ears and paws, and Alex and I both share a passion for musical theater. Alex has always loved performing, but she got more serious about dance training in middle school and then joined the dance teams in high school and college. Her main experience is in hip hop, but she loves many styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, and pro cheer. She also enjoys teaching hip hop and plans to teach more this year as well as choreograph for the 2026 spring show for LA Unbound. Tune in to the full episode to hear her specific plans for that and learn about her life dance goals and dreams!Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:@alextorresss_@dancingwith_at@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA​

James Velasco is an amazing professional ballet dancer, and it all started when he was a kid watching his sister in her ballet class. He tried to do one of the positions, and quickly the teacher noticed him and encouraged him to take ballet as well! That was the beginning of a lifelong journey of falling in love with ballet and performing. He and his sister competed in dance and singing and also acted in musical theater. They got into competitive cheer in middle school, and that's where James's acrobatic skills developed. After that, he decided to make ballet his focus and train more professionally. He studied at the University of South Carolina while he was still in high school and then went on to North Carolina School of the Arts. He eventually trained in singing and acting as well and found himself teaching, performing in regional musical theater, and doing commercial work. But the most vigorous and effective ballet training came when he was invited to join a ballet company! Tune in to this week's episode to find out how James got into the company, what it was like, and how he ended up living his dance life in LA. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @james__velasco@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Shirlene Quigley started training in dance at 16, taking four to six classes a day at Millennium Dance Complex, and that was before she knew dance could be a job. A year in, she learned what a dancer could get paid on tour, and it wasn't long before she got an agent and was touring herself! Shirlene loved dancing but wasn't prepared for how the industry was going to push her to be the "sexy girl," which was never who she really was. Her pictures, clothes, and dance moves felt like a different girl, but soon she started to crave the affirmation and applause, so she stepped into her new persona. She became what they wanted and did all the things she thought would make her cool. Years later, Shirlene went though something difficult, and she started talking to (maybe yelling at) God, reading the Bible, and going to church. And that was when God redirected her dance path in a new way that better aligned with her true self. Tune in to learn how it all happened and why Shirlene is so content with her current dance career and life. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @ShirleneQuigley@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Sophie-Kate Tutokey is in high school, busy with dancing in the competition world. But she also takes class at Millennium and Athletic Garage when she can, focusing on contemporary and jazz funk. She also LOVES ballet and has participated in the Joffrey West Summer Intensive! Sophie-Kate has been dancing her whole life but decided to train more professionally with it a few years ago. She takes 10+ classes a week at Revolution Dance Center and enjoys competing and performing with them. She's done group dances and trios, but this season will be her first time competing with a solo, and we are so excited for her! Did you know that you can actually go to dance competitions just to watch? Hopefully I'll get to see SK perform in this way at some point, but for now it's fun to dance with her in class and cheer each other on. She also has experience singing as well as teaching dance to little ones, so it will be interesting to see how her dance and performing journey unfolds. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:@sk_dances@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Kelly Etter had a 20-year professional dance career, including performing as a Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular! She has such an interesting story of what got her started in dance in the first place, but she quickly fell in love with it and was training hard in ballet and all styles. She also was highly academic and wanted to be a doctor. Kelly was always able to work hard at her school subjects as well as dance, but it was a different experience when she went to college for premed and was trying to dance and work a job around that. So she eventually decided to fully pursue dance while also training in acting and singing. Kelly shares her audition and performing experiences as well as what led her to eventually transition from dance into teaching pilates. She also shares about some tough experiences she's gone through and what has helped her continue to thrive.Follow our dance and life journeys on Instagram:@betterwithkellyetter@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA​

Jacob Bowers loved dancing his whole life but didn't realize how extreme his passion was until at 14, he stumbled upon Sia's Chandelier music video, and he was mesmerized. He just had to dance like that! He then got his whole family to start watching Dance Moms, and he learned many of the solos and taught himself acro tricks in his living room! He moved to LA at 19 and was taking fifteen hours of ballet a week. He got signed by an agency right away and began teaching acrobatics and contemporary at various studios, as well as performing! But even with this success, Jacob felt apprehensive to take class at some of the bigger dance studios because he thought he needed even more formal training first. Cut to a few months ago, and he's been taking contemporary classes regularly at Millennium and feeling so encouraged by the teachers and community there. Jacob plans to continue training and choreographing, and he's looking forward to future opportunities to perform and work with other creatives.Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:@Jacob.Bowers@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Celine Chai began her dance journey in Indonesia and different parts of China. Then she came to LA where she got two degrees at Loyola Marymount University–Dance and Marketing. Then she went back to Malaysia where she was born (but had never really lived) and spent three years there while traveling, teaching dance, and working remotely for the marketing agency she owns. Now she's back in LA and enjoying her first season dancing with LA Unbound! She loves ballet and modern dance, and much of her experience in Asia was performing and choreographing concert pieces that were 20+ minutes long! In this episode, Celine compares the dance training she grew up with versus the training here in LA. Tune in to learn more, and find out why Celine is soaking up as much dance experience as she can while she's here. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @celinec_xx@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Lindsey Dean is fresh to LA as of a few months ago, and I'm so grateful to call her my friend! We met in a contemporary class at Millennium, and now we take regular classes together every week where we are growing from amazing teachers like Sam Nelson and Shelby Fletcher. Lindsey also trains hard in jazz funk with Mary Mason, and she is KILL-ING IT! Lindsey actually spent two months in LA about a year ago to do the Millennium Certificate Program. She lived in a house with other dancers, and they all took ten classes a week! Lindsey reminisces on that time when the only thing she had to think about was, "What classes am I gonna take today?" Now that she's living here, she has to think about work, money, balancing her schedule, and other responsibilities, along with being consistent in all her dance classes. Tune in to the full episode to find out how Lindsey is making it work and what it's like to be new to LA, pursuing dance!Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @lindsey.dean15@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Sanna was the very first person from LA Unbound dance company to reach out and get to know me when I was new last season, and she made me feel so welcomed! She is one of the kindest souls and also very hard working and disciplined. Sanna grew up in San Francisco. Her family is from Ukraine, and she was the first of them to be born in America. They quickly connected with the Russian-speaking, Jewish community at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, and that is where Sanna first learned to dance! It was mostly Russian folk and Israeli dance, but she started training in jazz and hip hop once she was in middle school. She then started taking classes at other studios, learned ballet, and joined her high school dance team that had a more modern focus. Her interest in musical theater developed in college where she helped choreograph and produce musicals. She loves performing dance, especially fosse style, and it's her dream to be in a production of Chicago. So if you know of any auditions coming up, please reach out! Tune in to this episode to hear more about Sanna's journey pursuing dance as an adult and all the feelings and thoughts that go with it. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @Sanna_Rafalovich@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

You've probably seen him dancing in hip hop classes at Millennium and Athletic Garage, or maybe you knew him in his ballroom stage, but now it's time to get to know Eric Huang's full dance story! Eric didn't get into dance until after college, and the main thing that drew him in was the community aspect. He's especially grateful to have started training in dance before the pandemic because it gave him something to focus on and a way to connect with others, as it did for so many of us during that time. Learn how it's been for Eric to step out of his comfort zone with new styles of dance and how he's been enjoying LA since moving here less than a year ago!Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @dancing_ericc@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

I met Danielle through LA Unbound, and I was in awe of her dancing and dance teaching abilities! She didn't choreograph for that season's show, but she is for this upcoming one in November, and we are all so excited! Danielle loves dancing and has many years of performing experience, ever since middle school when she started competing on her school's dance team. She studied dance in college and then became part of a dance company called Evoke, where they put on annual shows, and she was often in multiple contemporary pieces as well as hip hop! For most of Danielle's adult life, she did dance around her elementary school teaching career. But she recently resigned from it and spends much of her time focusing on dance class, LA Unbound, and other dance performances. She is currently in a season of exploration to figure out what's next for her in life, and we are loving that she has more time to dance and hang out! Danielle is one of the kindest people and also just so much fun to be around, and we can't wait to see where life takes her. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @daniella_wella@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

Crazy story–I actually met Caroline at church and then found out she used to be a professional dancer! It's also a funny story how I discovered this because she's so low-key about it, lol. She's not one to brag or try to draw attention to herself, but she did used to curate her Instagram when she was pursuing dance so that she could book those jobs! So scroll down a bit on her IG and check it out if you're interested. :) She was on "So You Think You Can Dance" and danced in music videos for artists like Saweetie and Olivia Rodrigo. She was booking TV jobs. She also has some really fun dance class vids, killing it in hip hop and contemporary. BUT! She retired from dance????? At 22???? Why???? Well, you'll have to check out the full episode to learn about that. She also gives good tips and advice for how to book jobs in the dance world (or at least how it worked for her), while also sharing candidly about what it was like for her to live that "dream" and why she felt like it was no longer her path. Learn how she found a new career direction and whether or not she thinks she'll ever return to dance.Follow our dance and life journeys on Instagram: @carolineghd@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

She just moved to LA a couple months ago, but you may already know her because she takes so much class and is such a fierce dancer, especially in hip hop and contemporary! Willow Beccia grew up dancing in Massachusetts among her family of dancers, doing all styles and competing. Also, her mom owns a studio, so she ended up teaching there full time and loving it! She became the assistant director and thought she might work there forever. But then she started to realize she had sort of lost sight of her own dancing and dance training. She felt compelled to push herself out of her comfort zone and move to LA to train hard for dancing professionally. So here she is, loving studios like Millennium and Playground LA and enjoying the warm, sunny weather. She is working hard to attain her goals and having faith they can happen, but in the meantime, she's enjoying the journey and just happy to be here. :) Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @MyDancingMoments @DanceJourneyPodcast @TracyinLA

You've met a lot of her friends already, but now it's time to get to know dancer/teacher/choreographer Yari Rivera! Yari has been dancing all her life–every style but with much focus on ballet and currently contemporary. We would describe her choreographic style as angsty floorwork contemporary with lyrical vibes, and it is GORGEOUS. She has created multiple pieces for dance company LA Unbound, and she considers this a vulnerable process as she puts a meaningful part of her heart on stage. Tracy describes taking Yari's class as a challenging and fulfilling experience. They also discuss Yari's LA Unbound dance from May, which was a tribute to her grandmother and uncle who passed away in recent years. It was beautiful and touching, and we are so excited to see what she'll bring to the stage this November!Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:@LeorizRivera@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

This week we have the amazing hip hop performer, teacher, choreographer, artistic director... Aukai Cain!! You may know Aukai for his 20+ years teaching hip hop at Athletic Garage or for his dance company Legacy VDC, but did you know he started out as a singer and performed in a boy band??!! This was his full-time job for many years, but then he got into musical theater, and then through a series of events, found himself becoming a professional dancer. He didn't start taking hip hop classes until 31 years old, but check out the full episode to learn what led him to pursue dance and how he achieved a successful career in it. Aukai discusses his own dance story as well as his passion for helping other dancers achieve their goals. Whether it be professionally, fitness-wise, or just to have fun and be challenged, Aukai enjoys reaching everyone where they're at and inspiring them to love dance as much as he does. Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @HouseofAukai@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA

I met Kaycee Tacata through LA Unbound. It was my first season performing with them and her second. We were in a contemporary piece together, but she was also in five other pieces! This girl can do it all–contemporary, jazz, jazz funk, cheer and pom, musical theater, you name it! So talented not only at dance but also in organizing and administration. She was the PCN (Pilipino Cultural Night) coordinator her last year of college, and she loved being able to put that dance show together. She also teaches dance and choreographs for competitions. She's starting grad school soon and plans to go into entertainment industry management, but she's also auditioning for pro cheer teams! Kaycee is driven and hard working, ready to give 100% to everything. She's equally inspiring as she is vulnerable and relatable. We have so much fun in this episode, and I hope it gives you joy and comfort for your own dance journey! Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @KayceeCamilleee@DanceJourneyPodcast@TracyinLA