LOREDO Malcolm is one committed dancer who first came to our attention as a Top 10 Dancer in Season 3 of SYTYCD. He never loses sight of his humble beginnings in homeland Jamaica and the obstacles he has had to overcome to follow his passion. Inspired by the talent of the next generation of dancers, Loredo has worked tirelessly for the past four years to give a ‘Company’ experience to dancers pushing into the professional field and now also runs a ‘Junior Program’ with his ‘LoCreAdo Dance Company’.
Loredo spent some time with us recently telling us a bit about his unique program …
What do you look for when you are selecting your talent in your auditions?
What I am trying to create with this program is getting in a certain level of dancers, the best of the best from all over Sydney and what I look for in the audition is how quickly the dancers can pick up choreography, how they match style, technique and how great they can be in improvisation… and that’s kind of where I make my ultimate decision because I think it’s a beautiful tool to have as a dancer.
I try to get as many advanced dancers as I can and take just a few that may not be as strong but have potential to grow as a performer with my guidance. The audition that we just had went for two hours… I don’t cut people in the audition, everyone does the whole audition and then I send out emails to the ones that are successful. Everyone at least gets to experience the whole audition process.
What drives your passion to do this?
Coming from Jamaica when there isn’t a lot of opportunity there especially for dancers. Male dancers really can’t dance freely and the start that I have had wanting to dance all my life and having to be afraid of it. Coming to Australia where everyone is appreciative of everyone for who they are and what they want to do, it really gave me the drive to pursue my dreams. I always wanted my own company; it has always been a DREAM of mine! I’ve still got a long way to go but I have to thank SYTYCD because it basically gave me the publicity of people knowing who I am and I am so grateful for that show. However, the hard work didn’t come from me being on that show. The hard work came from my sleepless nights, dedication, publicizing myself even more, going out there and emailing people and saying I want to do this and everything I planned to do. This is also what I am trying to teach my students in this program that SYTYCD is a great outlet but the workload has to come from you after the show, its about going out there and promoting yourself and keeping yourself in the public eye. When I started in 2009, I didn’t have the funds to get the company where I wanted it to be initially… so I just kept building it up over the years. I am someone that will do whatever it takes to make something work.
Every Sunday I am with my company rehearsing from 7am-11.30am, then I have to quickly drive over to the theatre by 12noon to get ready to do two shows of The Lion King. They worry for my wellbeing and health because it is kind of another full time job outside my contract and it is important but my company will always be my priority. I always just try to push through. When I am working in The Lion King I always have to make sure that I am on my game, I make sure that I am always giving 100% . It has been tough to mange both work and the company but I’ve proven to myself that I can handle it so I hope I can keep going as much as possible.
So proud of this young man…talent galore, motivation in spades, discipline to give 100%…he keeps pushing his bar higher and going for it! Doesn’t seem like more than 10 years ago I first met him at Jamaica School of Dance and have been keeping track of his work!! Love him!!!