Jenna Dewan can pinpoint the exact moment she decided to become a Janet Jackson dancer. “I was probably 17, and I watched [the HBO special of] the Velvet Rope Tour,” the actor recalls today. “I was two inches from my TV, literally obsessed. I had that ‘a-ha’ moment of, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to be a Janet dancer.’”
From that moment on, Dewan decided — as so many pop stars, from Britney Spears to Jennifer Lopez, did and would in the future — that Jackson would be her one-woman “vision board” for her career as a dancer-performer. She moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, “but really so that I could be dance auditioning.” Eventually, that included an open call for Jackson’s “Doesn’t Really Matter” music video in 2000, where Dewan was chosen as one of four female dancers added to the ensemble for the innovative clip — now well-known for its shifting, moving stage which required the dancers to be suspended from pulleys.
Dewan remembers it being a bit like being thrown into the deep end of Janet dancer life — weeks of rehearsals, 23-hour days — but completely worth it: “It was literally making art — insane.” And it kicked off a working relationship that took Dewan to the “All for You” music video and tour of the same name and about two years of dancing for Jackson.
“Janet tends to find a quality in all the people that have been dancing with her — you are your own little unique star,” Dewan says. “She wants the people around her to shine; she knows that energy makes her show. That attitude of ‘I’m the star and the rest are background dancers’ is not what she puts forward. It’s ‘I’m Janet Jackson, and you all are a part of this with me.’”
Dewan went on to become an actor and has had her own starring roles since — memorably in 2006’s now classic dance movie Step Up — but she’s still strongly connected to both Jackson her time dancing with her. And on the occasion of Billboard’s celebration of Jackson’s 60th birthday, she was happy to reflect on the qualities she and Jackson’s dancers over the years have shared.
“I think she’s attracted to dancers who have a sharpness, an ability to do really intricate choreography, but also to show personality onstage,” she says. Those characteristics could, of course, describe Jackson herself as well — as is evident watching her performances on video and live over the decades.
Below, Dewan speaks to Billboard about the best moments of “iconic choreography that truly changed the landscape for pop stars after her,” which made working with Jackson “the most amazing job you could ever have as a dancer.”
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The Paula Abdul/Control era (1985-1986)
The Paula Abdul era is still my favorite. [Paula] was just in the studio teaching her this new style, which was street jazz. You saw pop stars who were cutesy and dancing around in a video, but you hadn’t seen someone come out and do street jazz — the double pirouettes, the isolated, sharp dancing. And when Paula started teaching Janet you saw that influence.
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“The Pleasure Principle” video (1987)
She’s dancing almost entirely alone in that warehouse, no spectacle needed — just her, her charisma, her choreography, her attention to musicality, and then she always brought a little emotional release. It’s athleticism, emotional intensity, groovy choreography, but still that hard-hitting, classic Janet thing. And a real contradiction to Michael [Jackson] at the time, because he was all spectacle. It just inspired so many people, it’s wild.
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“Rhythm Nation” video (1989)
That video and that choreography, to this day, is arguably one of the most influential dance video aesthetics. Before this, pop stars might have been flashy or sexy, but she made precise, synchronized, cinematic, slightly aggressive choreography — sharp isolations, sharp angular arm work, militaristic formations. But it still has a groove — because the thing about Janet, it’s always gonna have a groove and still be funky. It fused social commentary with dance.
And to this day, I’ve done “Rhythm Nation” a hundred million times… it’s one of the most intricate dances I’ve ever done. And it’s not this boring dance, it’s so fun to do! She just redefines feminine power here, and it’s constantly referenced in culture.
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“If” video (1993)
That’s [by choreographer] Tina Landon. Tina really knew how to make moments of these songs, and that was the video for me and my age. The video is just stunning. She’s as sexy as can be dancing with these guys, but it’s this layered musicality, texture changes in the choreography, the sexier sharp movement with the boy and you’re throwing them on the ground, this power dynamic — and then switched into this breakdown, still one of the greatest breakdowns. Being sensual and sexy without losing precision is a very Janet thing, and I’d say that’s something I see in all of her dancers.
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“You Want This” video (1994)
This video was life-changing for me too. It was so sexy but without it being overt. Getting the boys in the video, messing with them, and then they walk out into the middle of this desert-y area and start doing this groove to the breakdown, it was so sexy and simple but every move went perfectly with the music. Every time you hear that song you do that dance – same thing with “If.” Same thing with all of Tina’s dances. You think the song, you think the dance. She evolved Janet’s whole movement identity — she made her impossibly cool.
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“Scream” video (1995)
The choreography was amazing, and having [Janet and Michael] together obviously blew people’s minds. The way she just went for it — she attacks, she is so fierce and sharp. Her sharpness is really on display, and the Michael groove, a little more of that liquid quality. She channeled emotionally when she danced a lot, and in the “Scream” video it was so evident. Watching it, you just want to go and dance that hard.
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The Velvet Rope Tour (1998-1999)
Her tours in general were brand new in the sense that they created a template for more of a modern pop show. It wasn’t sing, dance a little, done — it was all integrated. She’s really known for her dance breaks, her breakdowns, and she really integrated those with these cinematic transitions. There was a narrative to it all. The dancers had identity, which was a big deal — it was just not done at the time.
I remember the first time I toured with her and I saw people in the front row holding up posters for me, and wearing a shirt with me on it, and giving me a card that said I had a website….I had a fanbase as a dancer. I remember thinking that was so wild. And that was a testament to her.
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“All for You” video and tour (2001-2002)
That tour was huge. We were doing stadiums and HBO specials. I always joke it was my first acting job because I had a couple interludes where I was out there acting while everyone was changing. It was a really beautifully well-done tour, and maybe the one that I think influenced different pop stars the most. It was futuristic in its own way, it was relatable, the choreography was so good. [Choreographers] Marty Kudelka and Shawnette Heard, their influence was all over the “All for You” video, album and tour, keeping with the sharpness unique to her — but they brought a more hip-hop groove, and that was fun.
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