Jared travelled to Korea in 2011 for a year to teach English and consider his place in the world. He continued to study dance and began to see it as an expression from within. He also met B-Boy Born, the B-boy who had inspired him to start dancing!

When he returned home, Jared began to dabble in music - singing, drumming and playing guitar. He performed at Sled Island with band Advances and released two Trap and R&B albums with Bow Valley Wolf Pack.

Jared’s love of dance was reignited when he discovered house; he was entranced by its amalgamation of genres, fluidity, and freedom. Over the past 15 years, he has completed formal dance training and performed in numerous shows globally (incl. at The GRAND), and taught dance classes at studios across Calgary (currently teaching at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks and Free Spirit Dance).

When Jared reached his 30s, he was once again confronted with questions around his life’s purpose. He decided to quit his job to realize his dream of being an artist full-time. “Being an artist isn’t easy, but it offers the opportunity to be alive,” he says. Pursuing art full-time has also enabled him to explore his latest creative endeavour: dance filmography.

Regardless of which medium he’s working in, Jared’s method is to “discover” a meaningful story, “display” it to others, and allow it to “dissolve” and take on a new form.

In terms of his career highlights to date, Jared recalls the 25-min solo project he performed at Fluid Fest last year, which included film, projection mapping, dance, poetry and live music. He also mentions two recent projects with W&M Physical Theatre, teaching dance 3x/week, and his role as Artistic Associate at the WildDogs Film Festival.

At this stage of his career, Jared’s focus is shifting to helping emerging artists. “Young Jareds won’t gain an awareness from those that have learned and don’t share,” he says. He is also interested in the administration side of the arts and is keen to influence the development of grant programs to better meet artists’ needs.

When he’s not pursuing artistic ventures, Jared enjoys coding, front-end web development, brainstorming ideas for new apps, and being a cat-Dad to Cosmo and Miso.

📸 Photo credit: Asim Overstands

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