{"id":105941,"date":"2025-08-19T10:16:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T15:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=105941"},"modified":"2026-01-01T16:04:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T22:04:37","slug":"photos-community-without-barriers-this-chicago-dancer-wants-to-build-a-stage-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/photos-community-without-barriers-this-chicago-dancer-wants-to-build-a-stage-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"PHOTOS: Community without barriers: This Chicago dancer wants to build a stage for all"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alyssa Rola\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Medill Reports<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brandon Jackson is a jack of all trades.<\/span><\/p>\n

By day, you can find the 27-year-old <\/span>Chicago <\/span>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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Jackson\u2019s major passion lies in dance \u2013 a community he\u2019s been a part of since he was 18.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn’t really super smart, academic-wise, in high school,\u201d said Jackson, who started his career dancing covers of Korean pop (K-pop) songs. \u201cSo I tried learning dance and realized it’s something I really like. I kept pursuing it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Jackson works as a part-time dance choreographer, teaching what he describes as a \u201chotpot\u201d of styles including hip-hop, K-pop and Latin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Brandon
Jackson, who also works full-time as a nursing assistant, describes his dance teaching method as \u201cold school.\u201d Before class, he would jot down and draw choreography movements and positions in his Pokemon-stickered notebook. (Alyssa Rola\/MEDILL)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

This gave birth to <\/span>Create InMotion, a group he founded in a bid to open an inclusive space for all dancers \u2013 no matter their level of experience or connections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jackson
In 2018, Jackson started his own dance company called Create InMotion. He aims to give aspiring dancers \u2013 even those without connections \u2013 the chance to showcase their talents, minus the judgment. (Alyssa Rola\/MEDILL)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jackson and his Create InMotion co-directors veered away from holding auditions for the group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recruitments are open, and participants undergo training and choreography rehearsals to \u201cget them to where we ideally want them to be,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After months of rigorous preparation, the group<\/span> then sets to participate in different dancing competitions and recitals<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jackson
One of Jackson\u2019s career highlights was performing at Lollapalooza in 2022 as a backup dancer of BTS\u2019 J-Hope. He credits the Korean superstar group as a major influence behind his passion for dance. \u201cMy dream is to dance with them one day,\u201d he said. (Alyssa Rola\/MEDILL)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the younger generation, Jackson encouraged newcomers to drown out the fear and noise, and just focus on their passion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s nothing more freeing and more enjoyable than seeing yourself do something that can be scary,\u201d he said. \u201cSo just be yourself and have fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jackson
The dance community can be \u201cintimidating and scary,\u201d Jackson admits. But he encourages newcomers to just try it out. (Alyssa Rola\/MEDILL)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

As for his next career step, Jackson said he wants to go back to basics \u2013 attend classes and learn more techniques to amp up his skillset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI need to re-up on my hotpot. I currently ate it all, so I need some ingredients.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alyssa Rola is a graduate journalism student at Medill, specializing in magazine reporting. You can follow her on X @_alyssarola<\/a> and reach her at alyssarola2025@u.northwestern.edu. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alyssa Rola\u00a0 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.\u00a0 But Jackson\u2019s major […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1034,"featured_media":105947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5251,5542,5521],"tags":[61,891,5531],"class_list":["post-105941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-chicago","category-msj25","category-summer-2025","tag-chicago","tag-dance","tag-dancer"],"yoast_head":"\nPHOTOS: Community without barriers: This Chicago dancer wants to build a stage for all - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brandon Jackson, the founder of Create InMotion dance group, pushes for a more inclusive space \u2013 where aspiring dancers, sans experience or industry connections, can thrive on their own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/photos-community-without-barriers-this-chicago-dancer-wants-to-build-a-stage-for-all\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PHOTOS: Community without barriers: This Chicago dancer wants to build a stage for all - 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