Tsola Akuya’s dream of signing with an agency and becoming a professional dancer came true in the hallways of The Movement Lifestyle, a hip hop dance studio in North Hollywood.

At The Movement Lifestyle, Akuya was able to learn from pros, rehearse for auditions, try out and showcase skills and even get her big break.

Professional dancer Tsola Akuya (Courtesy of Tsola Akuya)

Akuya networked with professionals in the industry who eventually helped her land a contract with Go 2 Talent Agency in 2017. The agency represents dancers and choreographers and helps them book jobs.

Through networking at dance studios like The Movement Lifestyle and the help of her agency, she landed a background dancing gig with pop artist Pharrell Williams, which led to other opportunities.

“Working with Pharrell Williams has been my favorite. Through him, I got connected to so many things [projects],’' Akuya said. “Traveling the world, dancing with other artists like Missy Elliot, Fat Man Scoop, Usher, Jay Z, Beyonce and all these other people.”

But the studio that was a foundation for Akuya’s success — The Movement Lifestyle — struggled during the pandemic and closed its doors indefinitely in October.

Running a big-city dance studio has always been a daunting task due to high and rising rents. The pandemic has made it infinitely more difficult.

The Movement LifeStyle was only one of many popular dance studios in LA that closed down during the pandemic. Other popular LA studios that shut their doors include ImmaBeast Dance Company, Edge Performing Arts Center, The Sweat Spot and more.

Movement Lifestyle co-owner Shaun Evaristo held back tears in an emotional September 6 video he shared with the studio’s 75,000 Instagram followers. “Announcing this is probably the hardest thing I will ever have to do, but I share this with you to let the world know what is going on," Evaristo said.

“I am on here to officially announce the closure of our studio here at Movement Lifestyle,” Evaristo said.

Before Coronavirus emptied LA’s collective spaces Akuya took classes at such popular dance studios.

Back then, she did not want to count on her agency to book jobs. She scored the majority of her gigs based on who she knew in the industry and from networking at dance studios like the Movement Lifestyle.

The pandemic has slowed down gig work for Akuya. She says she rounded up about a job per month because the industry was slow. She posts her most recent performances on Instagram to keep her 6,000 followers updated, and to potentially secure work.

While she booked far fewer jobs, she was glad to discover that some of the ones she did were big ones, including performing on live television at the New Year’s Eve on Fox Countdown, a commercial with a makeup line , and her first acting job on an undisclosed show for HBO.

Navigating Alone

Not every dancer is lucky enough to have an agency to fall back these days.

Dancer and choreographer Rebekah Denegal has to fight to make it on her own. She relied on showcasing her skills and building relationships with choreographers and other dancers at studios.

Denegal says that most top choreographers are continuously booking dancers they already know during the pandemic. It is a daunting task for dancers like her who are trying to get noticed by these choreographers.

“Covid has put a limit on them [choreographers] going outside of their circle for auditions,” Denegal said.

She has been constantly updating her Instagram with freestyle videos of her dancing and small projects she recently worked on, which could lead to job opportunities.

Rebekah Denegal's dance class flyer. (Courtesy of Rebekah Denegal)

Unable to secure much work, Denegal has not been able to land many major dance bookings, but like Akuya, the pandemic caused Denegal to evolve and figure out more of what she is interested in.

She started teaching at Athletic Garage Dance Studio in Pasadena early in the pandemic. Denegal started off teaching virtual classes, and has pivoted to in-person instruction with limited numbers of participants.

“Teaching is one of my favorite things to do these days. I like teaching open levels for beginners, and that has been helping me out a lot mentally,” Denegal said.

Virtual Classes

Denegal says she missed the intimacy and personalization that came with teaching in person and is glad she is able to teach in person again.

Many studio owners whose businesses shut down were forced to move dance classes online and onto zoom or on social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook.

The Future

Although no one knows what the future holds, the pandemic has already changed the LA dance infrastructure.

“I used to be a work-study at Movement Lifestyle when I first came to LA,” Akuya said. “That was one of the only studios you could go to and get a full-rounded training when it comes to commercial choreography and commercial hip hop.”

Some dancers who relied on these studio spaces that are now closed have ample time during the pandemic to explore more of what they are into such as teaching and choreography. Dancing is a short career unless a dancer takes on the role of a teacher or choreographer.

Akuya says that many professional dancers are stepping into teaching and choreographer roles, and it is going to be interesting seeing the future of the LA dance infrastructure.

“It’s going to be interesting seeing the new generation of the industry because it’s open [minded]. Come in for the taking if you want it,” Akuya said.

The dance studios where many professional dancers built their foundation may be gone, but they will always be remembered by the LA professional dance community.

“I believe it [LA dance scene] is not going to be gone forever, those legacies will live on, but I feel like almost every studio I went to closed,” Akuya explained. “All of them. It makes us [dancers] look around like ‘what’s next for us?’”