“A landmark documentary...delineates how virtuosity becomes identity”
- Debra Cash, NPR/WBUR
Ejoe Wilson
Ejoe Wilson started dancing in the late 1970s when Hip Hop was exploding uptown in the South Bronx. As a young teenager, Ejoe appeared in numerous music videos, winning the Apollo Theater's Amateur Night competition four consecutive times and earning a place at NYC’s prestigious High School of Music and the Performing Arts, then joined the burgeoning NYC House music/dance scene. One of the best-known of the House dancers, Ejoe is famous for wicked humor and dance savvy. With a smiling attitude of “no sweat, bro” he will mimic the challenger’s move, then twist it his way, transforming the others’ dancing into Ejoe’s move.
A virtuosic House dancer, he demonstrates easy command of movement choices and the dynamic ebb and flow of his moves. A master rhythmist, Ejoe layers his tempos, tossing his body into the air then dropping to the floor and spiraling back up in multiple turns in non-stop motion, using smooth transitional steps to begin the next long phrase. As an early urban-street-dance teacher in Japan, Ejoe introduced House to a predominantly Hip Hop-based Japanese community. Quickly he created a nationwide following, choreographing and dancing with Japanese pop super-groups ZOO, T.R.F, and Namie Amuro.
One of the "principal" dancers for international superstar Mariah Carey in the 1990s, he also joined the Elite Force dance crew and later worked with Will Smith in major videos, "Men in Black," and "Getting Jiggy Wit It," as well as opening the “Soul Train” 25th Anniversary Special, American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Divas Live. In 2002, he joined the cast in the Off-Broadway dance musical, Stomp. He maintains an active teaching schedule, reaching thousands of students worldwide. Currently he is host and co-founder the weekly "Soulgasm" House-dance party in Manhattan's Lower East Side, where he also DJs. He is the host of the annual House Dance International dance competition, and founder and artistic director of dance company "BeyondPhenomenon."
