Dance Mogul: What inspired you to start dancing?
Star: As a little girl, I had always enjoyed watching Barbie Ballet movies, Cats the Musical, Singing in the Rain, Michael Jackson, and other great dance films. One of the most inspiring events that I can remember was attending the Lulu Washington Dance Performance when I was three years old. I remember watching the entire show, which ended at midnight and meets Jasmine Guy in the bathroom during intermission. She then asked me if I was a dancer, I proudly said yes, even though I didn’t know who she was at the time. Ever since then I have aspired to be a dancer.
Ryan: My inspiration to dance was my mom. My mom is a professional entertainer/dancer and seeing her perform on stage seemed so fun and exciting, right then and there I knew that I wanted to do the same thing.
Kori: What inspired me to start dancing was being enrolled in a ballet class and just loving the feeling of being free to express myself.
Dance Mogul: How do you balance dancing with your school and home responsibilities?Alisson: Well, school always comes first so I get school work done and always keep my grades up. But when we have a show and we are backstage or out somewhere and we are waiting, I always have something that I work on, like reading a book. So I manage my time really well.
Star: Because I have been dancing since I was 3 years old, balancing dance with school and home responsibilities was always a part of my schedule. Even though it, sometimes, can be overwhelming, I find time to do homework during dance breaks and do my best to take care of my home responsibilities over the weekend.
Dance Mogul: Do you guys recognize bullying in school and do you feel dance is a good way to combat it?
Regan: Being an eighth-grader sometimes I see six graders getting bullied. I always try stopping it, if I witness it, or tell an adult or try to help if it doesn’t put me in danger. I think dance is just a great way to let your emotions out, so if you’re tired of getting bullied and your feelings are hurt, then put it your dance. Just dance everything out!
Ryan: I feel that you can find forms of bullying everywhere. For me, dance certainly releases any anger or sadness anyone causes me but for others, who are being bullied, tell someone about it and join activities like dancing or acting classes. They can really help you release any negative emotions in a positive way.
Dance Mogul: What was your Shake It Up experience like?
Kori: Our Shake it up experience was so surreal. We had the best time of our lives. The experience is something I would never forget.
Alisson: I honestly have to say it was the BEST time of my life! Also having the opportunity to show the whole world what we love to do was amazing. We really hope to inspire people to follow their dreams because if you work hard you will achieve if you believe.
Star: It was so much fun and exciting because just being chosen out of 90,000 audition tapes as one of the six contestants was amazing. It was so refreshing to meet others who love the same thing you do, but they express it in their own way. Also to meet great and inspiring people such as Justin Bieber and to work with Chris Scott made me very amped up to perform. But the best part of it all was getting on stage with my 4 best friends and dancing our hearts out for millions of people was priceless. We definitely SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT!
Ryan: The “Shake It Up” experience was definitely a dream come true. It was so exciting to meet the “Shake It Up” cast and dance crews from other states. Knowing that so many people liked our dancing enough to ask for autographs and pictures, even after the show is over, really boosted our confidence, not only in our dancing but in ourselves. We love our Xtremers!
Regan: It was so much fun! I enjoyed every second of it. Doing what I love on TV was like a dream come true and it’s opened up so many opportunities for us!
Dance Mogul: How does it feel to have kids from all over vote for you and support you?
Regan: It feels good to have all these kids like and accept us for who we are and I love meeting new fans that we inspire to dance!
Alisson: It feels amazing just knowing that we’ve inspired people and that kids and adults around the world actually received the messages we try to convey to them through our dance
Dance Mogul: What do you guys hope to accomplish in your future?
Ryan: In the near future we hope that we can show our dance moves in more places than just California. We are, also, working on music because it’s good to be well rounded. We hope to start releasing some singles soon.
Star: We hope to continue to inspire other kids to follow their dreams because dreams will come true and, also, to be able to work and choreograph with/for great artists.
Dance Mogul: Do you guys have other talents?
Kori: My other talents are acting and modeling.
Regan: We all sing and act!! Ive had 7 years of acting training so I hope to go further with my acting too!
Alisson: I enjoy making bracelets, I like to sing, and I also take art classes at school.
Ryan: We all have other talents, I enjoy singing and at the moment I am learning how to play the piano and guitar to hopefully accompany our future music. We all like to act, model and some of us are even in costume design classes.
Star: I enjoy writing poetry, I have, also, been told I should do stand-up comedy and I dabble in nail art.
Dance Mogul: What advice would you give to the youth wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Star: Don’t ever doubt yourself, because even in the worst times the best moments can happen. You are the only obstacle in your way. Also, your family is your worst critic but your biggest fans.
Regan: I would tell everyone to just follow their dreams, don’t ever give up and Show up and Show out!!
Kori: My advice to the youth is to stay focus and keep believing in yourself and never give up on your dreams.
Alisson: I would want them to know that they should keep their head up and they should follow their dreams. I know a lot of people say it but I used to think that I wouldn’t be able to go as far as I wanted to, but look how far I’ve made it now. Dreams do come true if it’s what you love to do.
Ryan: Some advice I would give to someone is to believe in yourself and follow your dreams. It may seem a little cliché but they are very important because there are a lot of people who don’t want you to succeed aka haters and you have to prove them wrong.
Dance Mogul: Is there anyone you want to thank?
Ryan: If there was anyone I would have to thank first, it would be our parents because they run around and help us with everything we need. Star’s mom, Misty, helps with a lot of decorations and clothing, her dad, Bjorn, films most of our shows and deals with us when we sleep over Star’s house and rehearse. He also is producing our music. Alisson’s mom, Martha, lets us rehearse at her house. Cori’s mom, Yolanda, helps with food and transportation and my mom, Adrienne, is our choreographer/manager. She gets us on interviews, red carpets, choreographs our routines and comes with us everywhere. Without our parents, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Star: I would like to thank family and friends for all their love, support, and also patience with me.
Regan: I would like to thank God and all the parents that back us up and our choreographer and my mom, Adrienne Mari’ya. I would, also, like to thank the whole “Make your Mark” crew and Bella Thorne and Zendaya for letting us have the opportunity to perform with them on national tv!
Kori: I would like to thank God first and my family for their support. Also, my friends who are like sisters to me and Adrienne for all the hard work, dance moves, long hours and love she has given to us…Thanks so much for believing in Urban Xtreme!
Alisson: I want to thank the “Make Your Mark” crew, especially Shannon and Katrina, for boosting my self-esteem even though we didn’t win the competition. Urban Xtreme’s parents for all the tears and sweat that they’ve put into this. They have given us so much support. I could never thank them enough. Thanks to Urban Xtreme for always being there for me when I needed them! Most of all, I would like to thank Adrienne Mari’ya for everything that she’s gone through just to help us reach success. I would also like to thank her for helping me realize what my true passion was, and now thanks to her dance is what I eat, sleep, and breathe.
