“If you never apply any pressure to your gifts, you won’t know what’s inside of you.”
—Kristyn Marshall
When asked for a quote that represents his story, Jadell Lee chose the one above. As an active dance educator, touring adjudicator, adjunct professor, published author, and professional speaker, Jadell certainly has several gifts to share. He also specializes in helping others find their talents as well. This deep need for bringing out the best in others gets its roots from Lee’s story of hardship and triumph.
Escaping with dance
Growing up a latchkey kid, Lee certainly could have taken a downward turn but discovered dance instead. Using his exceptional skill, Lee pursued a college education with vision and grit, where he pursued his passion.
But getting to that point was not without its challenges. Struggling with depression that led to suicide attempts and homelessness, Lee was in desperate need of help. So, he immersed himself in perfecting his craft, used dance as a creative outlet to escape the negativity of his past, and began looking towards the future.
Education, training, and success
Lee studied Modern dance, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Ballet, and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Dance from the University of California, Riverside. He trained under professionals who taught at the summer Alvin Ailey Intensives in San Francisco and with professionals who danced with the Philippine Ballet Theatre, Ballet Pacifica, and the Los Angeles Ballet.
Lee’s intensive training and dedication to his craft have also inspired him to push other artists to discover their exceptional talents. Many of these students moved on to become television, film, and music professionals for productions and organizations such as the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco 49er’s, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” MTV’s “Taking the Stage” and “Americas Best Dance Crew,” NBC’s “World of Dance,” and the CWTV’s “Americas Next Top Model.”
Those are some pretty outstanding credentials; however, Lee’s exceptional efforts go beyond the dance studio. He is also a dynamic motivational speaker, seminar leader, and author who focuses on personal development. Lee is represented by Go 2 Talent Agency and has been featured on FOX, NBC, CBS, Yahoo Finance, Thrive Global, Accesswire, NewsBreak, and in many other media outlets.
Giving his unique gift
These days Lee keeps busy sharing his incredible gift of dance by serving as an adjunct professor of dance at Seton Hall University, where he teaches an Industry Prep for Commercial Dance course focused on preparing dancers for the commercial industry. This Hip Hop & Jazz Funk choreography based course gives a dive deep into performance, talent agency representation, live auditions, virtual submissions, and rapport building. In addition, he teaches Hip Hop, Jazz, and Contemporary & Lyrical dance at The Dance Center of Carmel.
Lee is also a faculty member with Thrive Dance Experience, a respected Assistant Director and judge for CRU Dance Competition, and serves as a Guest Master Instructor for Abby Lee Dance Company. But Lee says his mission involves “more than dance.” This dancer has developed a unique element into his instruction. Lee weaves social-emotional learning that mixes creativity with understanding for a sense of healing through dance.
Adding SEL to his instruction, Lee says he can not only help dancers grow their professional dance careers, but he can also focus on their personal development. He is primarily devoted to children, teens, and young adults struggling with self-esteem issues. Using dance as a source of inspiration, Lee can show his young dancers their value and the importance of investing in themselves.
Just as Lee has incorporated social-emotional learning into his instruction, he says he can help his coaching clients grow to the next level of their excellence and help them make their instructional program stand out from the rest.
Expanding his dance coaching service
In 2021, Lee plans to expand his role of dance coach and grow his coaching program for aspiring dance instructors. As a professional dance coach, Lee knows what it takes to make it in the industry and wants to share his expertise.
He says his coaching approach can help people create a step-by-step strategy that fits their unique goals as dance educators. Just as Lee has incorporated social-emotional learning into his instruction, he says he can help find that particular element inside each of his coaching students and help them make their instructional program stand out from the rest.
Lee can also help budding dance instructors outline networking opportunities with talent agencies, dance conventions, and workshops. Finally, Lee adds that he will show his students how to book classes worldwide.
Final thoughts
It’s Lee’s incredible success story and distinctive approach to teaching dance that sets him apart from the rest. He is undoubtedly a role model to embrace as a champion for those who need someone to bring out their best. Lee believes sharing the gift of dance is the least he can do in the blessed life he’s been given.
You can follow Jadell on Instagram.