Gemma Asfour can’t remember a time when she wasn’t dancing. She has always been inspired by music and movement. Gemma is now using her creative skills as a dancer to create a new concept video. She is also the host of the podcast Society Inspired in which she opens up the dialogue about difficult topics. I recently had the chance to interview Gemma about her life as a dancer and her future projects.
1. Tell us about your upcoming projects.
- An upcoming project that I have is a concept video I am creating. I know I have been talking about it a lot recently, but it takes a lot of work to complete. There are so many pieces to put together since I am creating it from the ground up. It’s been intense, but I am so excited to see how everything turns out!
2. What drew you to dance?
- I don’t think anything, in particular, drew me to dance. It has always been an instinct for me. I don’t remember a point in my life when I wasn’t dancing. As I have gotten older, my love for movement hasn’t dimmed one bit. In fact, it has grown as I have learned more about styles & cultures and what moves people to dance professionally like me.
3. Where did you find inspiration for your choreography?
- Music is usually the source of inspiration for my choreography. When I listen to a song, if I see a vision for it, I will use that as my source of inspiration for the choreography. What feelings and emotions come up as I hear the song. What pictures are created in my mind’s eye. However, if the music I’m choreographing to is not my choice and is given to me by someone else, I usually break the song apart to the different beats/rhythms. The different parts of the song are typically my source of inspiration.
4. Do you choreograph from start to finish, or do you do sections at a time and put it all together?
- When I am choreographing a piece, I like to do a lot of image work before I start going into the studio and physically choreographing it. I chose the part of the song that I see the most vision for right away to get me started. Then I move through different sections of the song. At the end, I connect it all and see if any changes or additions are needed!
5. What has been your favorite dance performance?
- My favorite dance performance so far that I have done will still be the halftime performance for the NBA Timberwolves with Tone Loc. This has been my answer before, but when I look back on it, I remember not only how much fun I had performing but how exciting it was to have my first industry job be choreographing & performing for the NBA. It was my first main “event” after leaving the competition studio and being a dancer in the industry. I just remember how right performing felt and how happy I was knowing this is my career.
6. What do you hope people will take away after watching you dance?
- What I hope people will take away after watching me dance is an inspiration to be themselves. I say this because getting inspired from watching other people dance or witnessing what they’ve created is such a beautiful feeling. Also, there is this stereotype that art is just a hobby and not a career. So if someone feels inspired to start taking their art seriously after being told they couldn’t, after watching me, that would be such an honor. Art in all forms is so beautiful and vital; it can be your career if you want it to be.
7. What other projects do you have coming up?
- Some other projects I have coming up are a few projects I cannot talk about quite yet. But I’m excited to work with different people this summer and learn more every day. It’s difficult not being able to talk about projects you’re so excited for! I also run a social activism campaign called Society Inspired, where I upload monthly interviews with different activists to create conversations about social issues. Lastly, I am going to be releasing more photography content this summer. Stay tuned to my social media to find out more soon!
8. Where can we follow you on social media?
- You can follow me on my main account @gemma.asfour, on Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube. You can find my social activism campaign, Society Inspired, here: @society_inspired on Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube, and look up Society Inspired on your preferred podcast platform. Lastly, @snapsby.gem on Instagram for my photography content!
