Jenna Dewan Attends Childhood Dance Competition, Says Life Has Come "Full Circle"

Jenna Dewan initially broke into show business as a dancer. While she was in Chicago, she dropped in on a Tremaine Dance Convention, which conducts classes and competitions. Jenna apparently started competing there when she was very young, and totally fangirled over the experience—and, she just posted a video about it.

By Katherine J. Igoe

published 25 April 2019

in News

Iconic dancer Jenna Dewan, who has hosted World of Dance and has been channeling her roots recently via YouTube videos, uploaded another behind-the-scenes video.
In this one, Jenna goes backstage at a Tremaine Dance Convention, watches other dancers, and even gets a chance to take the stage.
Jenna recently posted a dance video of her dancing to "Taki Taki," and it is mega-sexy.

Jenna Dewan initially broke into show business as a dancer—it's how she met ex Channing Tatum in Step Up—and she's been doing a lot of callbacks to her origins with recent Instagram posts and video. This past March, she happened to be shooting her Netflix TV show Mixtape in Chicago. While there, she dropped in on a Tremaine Dance Convention, which conducts classes and competitions for insanely talented dancers. Jenna apparently started competing there when she was very young, and totally fan-girled over the experience—and, since she just posted a video about it, we too can obsess over how amazing the dancing is.

"I legitimately grew up on Tremaine Dance Conventions," Jenna said in the video, with a picture of her as an adorable dancing tyke. "I started going when I was, like, 10. So that was like...two years ago," she joked.

"This is how I started to dance. This is how I learned to dance. I [ate], slept, breathed dance conventions.... This is a total trip for me," she added. "That was so inspiring and a full circle moment for me."

The video shows Jenna practicing, performing, handing out scholarships, and even coming up on stage to say hi. She also posted video on her Instagram Stories of watching other dancers absolutely kill it on stage.

Just two weeks ago, Jenna dropped in to another class with Galen Hooks:

A post shared by Jenna Dewan (@jennadewan)
A photo posted by on

And earlier this year she danced to "Taki Taki" as part of the promotion for the latest Step Up movie. Jenna, of course, looks amazing in the videos. I'm curious as to whether this is just her channeling her roots, trying to stay fit (she's already there, but I support it), or whether it's a sign of a new dance-related project Jenna is doing. TBD, but I'm excited.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.

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