These two former competition darlings and California natives have just recently joined forces in hopes of smashing it on the “World of Dance” stage! The two met competing against each other as kids in the competition dance world. After noticing that choreographers would consistently put them together to dance at conventions, Jake & Chau have been looking for the right platform to kick off their partnership. These young dancers recently graduated from High School and made the move to Los Angeles to pursue their dance careers full-time. Individually, both dancers hold many titles from the competition dance circuit but are ready to step it up and try their hand competing against seasoned industry greats in the Upper Division on “World of Dance.”
Dance Mogul Magazine Exclusive…
Dance Mogul: What is it like competing on WOD?
Jake: Competing on World of Dance was an experience I’ll never forget. Getting the chance to share what you love in front of millions of people is such a surreal feeling and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity. I couldn’t imagine going through this process with anyone else except Chau. We grew so much closer as dancers and as people during this experience and it’s so liberating to watch each other take the stage and do what we love most.
CHAU: It was a surreal experience for us to compete on World Of Dance, to say the least, mainly because of two things. We had never competed in a competition with such extreme talent from all over the world and we had never participated in a competition where it was being shot and documented for the world to watch. The two factors made the experience definitely stressful, but even more exhilarating. Though all the contestants, including us, we’re competing for the same high reward, one million dollars, we made friends and bonded with dancers from all over. We will never forget the experiences we had, seeing all the behind the scenes action, bonding in the downtime with the other contestants (now friends), and being able to share it all with each other. Preparing for the competition is a long and tiresome process, and it is so rewarding to know that all our hard work had led us to World Of Dance, not many can say that.
Dance Mogul: You have been running in the same circle for a while now, what do you hope to accomplish by finally working together?
Jake: Working together has made us so much stronger as dancers. It’s taught us so many new ways of creating and we hope that as we continue working together we will thrive in the industry!
CHAU: We hope that by uniting our forces, we can help each other accomplish more of what we want in the dance industry, and even better, to do it together.
Dance Mogul: How are you guys holding up during the pandemic?
Jake: This time has been very difficult but I am so grateful to be home and safe with my friends and family. So sad to be away from Chau during the season premiere but we had such a fun zoom party together and with family!!
CHAU: Due to the shelter-in-place, we actually haven’t seen each other since we finished filming and definitely miss each other but there’s nothing else you can do but try to ride this troubling time out. Jake has been staying at his home base in Elk Grove, and I’ve been staying in my home town in Danville. Thankfully, we had a little Zoom party for the premiere episode, but we can’t wait to get back to moving and dancing with each other!
Dance Mogul: Whats makes a great partnership, how do you build great dance chemistry?
Jake: Building a great partnership is all about trust and chemistry. Fortunately, Chau and I started out as friends which I believe made us so much stronger once we joined forces as a duet because we already that bond and chemistry as friends. With being so close, we were able to open up with each other and really get our emotions out of one another.
CHAU: We’ve talked about this topic so often and always agree that trust and good ol’ classic friendship is the key! First off, trust is a must when you are creating and practicing a routine with dangerous and risky choreography, if you don’t trust your partner, you won’t get anything done. Another huge advantage is having a friendship that has grown and strengthened over time. Being in rehearsal mode for 35 hours a week can become tiring really quick, physically and mentally, but when you’re friends and have the same humor, you find the funny moments and make it through the days quicker and happier. We’ve been friends for 5 years now and our relationship gets better and better!
Dance Mogul: Is there anyone you would like to thank for helping you on your journey?
Jake: The main person I want to thank for helping us on this journey would be Tanya Kuzia (our mentor/ Choreographer). Thank you Tawnya for believing in us and working so hard to help us achieve our goals! You truly put everything you had into us and I will forever be grateful for you.
CHAU: We most definitely need to thank our families for the constant support, love, and encouragement to do what we love and to just go for it, we would always be a mess if we didn’t have you! And we MUST thank our choreographer and mentor who we love, adore, and are eternally grateful for, Tawnya Kuzia (as well as her husband, Jason, for being our dance dad). She has given us all of her time, energy, care, and most importantly, the push that got us to the ultimate dance competition, World Of Dance.
