Courtesy of Ben Chung

What kind of art do you do?

I am a dancer/choreographer/fashion designer/studio co-owner/brand developer AKA a “dancerpreneur.”

What inspired you to start creating art?

I fell in love with music and dance at a very young age. I began dancing in high school, kept it up through college, pursued it professionally after graduating, and haven’t stopped ever since. I loved everything about the way dance made me feel. It was a way for me to get lost in music and movement, and in that perfect sweet spot of being completely immersed in it, nothing else mattered and I could be anything I wanted. I learned later that dance translates to people of all different walks of life and has the ability to inspire people to create and express themselves in ways that go beyond my understanding. That is the beautiful power of art.

How has art changed your life for the better?

It has given me an outlet not only to be myself, but also to connect with others. Once you can make a connection with someone without even having to exchange a word, that’s powerful. It has afforded me opportunities to turn my passion into my career. Though very unconventional in respect to my Asian cultural heritage (Korean to be exact), I have been able to convince my parents that there are other avenues of pursuing successful career paths that are outside of the box of being a lawyer or a doctor. You can look at pursuing art, or anything that you are passionate about for that matter, as carving your own path and finding a “new success” so to speak.

How has your art affected those around you / your community? How can we check out your art?

Through dance, we have been fortunate to become a voice and ambassadors for our dance community. We’ve gained mainstream media exposure through being finalists on MTV’s "America’s Best Dance Crew" Season 8, as well as continuing to engage an ever-growing audience through our YouTube channel. We have our own home and headquarters called The Kinjaz Dojo in Monterey Park, CA, where students can come take classes, learn, and train with the Kinjaz as well as with many other amazing teachers.

You can see what The Kinjaz are up to here and see what’s going on at the Dojo here.