PHOTOS: Community without barriers: This Chicago dancer wants to build a stage for all

Arts & Culture, Chicago, Summer 2025

PHOTOS: Community without barriers: This Chicago dancer wants to build a stage for all

August 19, 2025

By Alyssa Rola

Medill Reports

Brandon Jackson is a jack of all trades.

By day, you can find the 27-year-old Chicago native at a hospital tending to patients as a nursing assistant. Apart from his full-time job is an array of gigs, from wedding photography to music mixing and video shoots.

But Jackson’s major passion lies in dance – a community he’s been a part of since he was 18.

“I wasn’t really super smart, academic-wise, in high school,” said Jackson, who started his career dancing covers of Korean pop (K-pop) songs. “So I tried learning dance and realized it’s something I really like. I kept pursuing it.”

Today, Jackson works as a part-time dance choreographer, teaching what he describes as a “hotpot” of styles including hip-hop, K-pop and Latin.

Treading his own path in the dance community prompted Jackson to also help out younger artists, who are in the same position as he was years ago.

Brandon Jackson writing in his notebook — Jackson, who also works full-time as a nursing assistant, describes his dance teaching method as “old school.” Before class, he would jot down and draw choreography movements and positions in his Pokemon-stickered notebook. (Alyssa Rola/MEDILL)

This gave birth to Create InMotion, a group he founded in a bid to open an inclusive space for all dancers – no matter their level of experience or connections.

“I love the Chicago dance community so much, I just feel like there’s certain parts of it that are very closed-off in terms of newer dancers,” Jackson said. “So this was a way for me to give those dancers that didn’t have a connection a chance to showcase themselves and be exposed to the Chicago dance community. My main foundation for the group was that I wanted it to feel like a first step for somebody.”

Jackson showing a photo of his group Create InMotion — In 2018, Jackson started his own dance company called Create InMotion. He aims to give aspiring dancers – even those without connections – the chance to showcase their talents, minus the judgment. (Alyssa Rola/MEDILL)

Jackson and his Create InMotion co-directors veered away from holding auditions for the group.

Recruitments are open, and participants undergo training and choreography rehearsals to “get them to where we ideally want them to be,” he explained.

After months of rigorous preparation, the group then sets to participate in different dancing competitions and recitals.

Jackson doing a practice dance run — One of Jackson’s career highlights was performing at Lollapalooza in 2022 as a backup dancer of BTS’ J-Hope. He credits the Korean superstar group as a major influence behind his passion for dance. “My dream is to dance with them one day,” he said. (Alyssa Rola/MEDILL)

For the younger generation, Jackson encouraged newcomers to drown out the fear and noise, and just focus on their passion.

“There’s nothing more freeing and more enjoyable than seeing yourself do something that can be scary,” he said. “So just be yourself and have fun.”

The dance community can be “intimidating and scary,” Jackson admits. But he encourages newcomers to just try it out. (Alyssa Rola/MEDILL)

As for his next career step, Jackson said he wants to go back to basics – attend classes and learn more techniques to amp up his skillset.

“I need to re-up on my hotpot. I currently ate it all, so I need some ingredients.”

Alyssa Rola is a graduate journalism student at Medill, specializing in magazine reporting. You can follow her on X @_alyssarola and reach her at alyssarola2025@u.northwestern.edu.