Mitchell Jackson didn't start dancing until Grade 9, but the 20-year-old Greater Sudbury native is making up for lost time.
He splits his time primarily between Toronto and Los Angeles, California, the dancer spends upwards of eight hours a day dancing, and the remaining 16 hours thinking and dreaming about dance.
He is currently teaching at a number of Toronto studios, and has begun teaching in Los Angeles too.
“I've been loving teaching so much,” he said. “It's been taking over my mind.”
Jackson said he particularly enjoys thinking of ideas to help his students improve as much as they can.
He said he tries to come home once every three months, to help out local dancers too, because Sudbury has been so supportive to him.
“That's why I always love to give back.”
Teaching isn't the only thing Jackson's been doing to keep busy lately.
He also dances himself. Jackson said he has been auditioning for backup dancing roles, danced for companies, made special
appearances dancing on TV shows, performed during LG Fashion Week and even landed in the top 50 on So You Think You Can Dance.
Now that he's living his dream Jackson said he couldn't be happier. He no longer has to wait tables to make ends meet.
“Who actually gets to do their hobby and what they love to do for a living?” he said.
The Sudbury Secondary School said he played a number of sports prior to high school, but only made a conscious decision to pick up dancing going into Grade 9.
During his first year, he said he felt as though he were behind all his classmates.
“I started noticing that everyone in my class was better than me, people were progressing faster, people were getting bumped up to enriched levels, and I was like 'wow, if you want to start doing this, you have to pick up the pace.'”
And that's just what he did. The summer before Grade 10, he started watching videos of professional dancers, and other dancers his age, to learn what level he should be at. In Grade 11, he started dancing at Happiness is Dancing, where he danced competitively across North America.
When he began doing well in competition, he said he thought “whoa, I should start doing this as my career.”
Jackson said he wants to split his time in the dance industry by teaching, dancing and choreographing.
“I kind of want to do everything — all three,” he said. “I want to be that person that doesn't just do one.”
He said he would like to pursue post-secondary education at some point, but right now he wants to focus on his career.
“(I) love this so much,” he said. “It's my outlet. I do it all the time. If I'm having a bad day, I'm going to dance. If I'm having a good day, I'm going to dance.”
