As one of the fiercest dancers in the industry, Janelle Ginestra also has the body to prove it. She just finished choreographing part 6 of the Step Up franchise, which recently gave us a good excuse to start up an argument…
Who would win in a dance-fight between Janelle, Iggy Azalea, and Beyoncé?
Well, we ran into a stalemate and decided the only way to break the tie was to send a note to all three women and whichever one replied first would be the winner. To the victor goes the spoils, and to us went a lovely chat with an even lovelier woman.
Urbasm: Hey Janelle, what have you been up to this year?
Janelle Ginestra: Well, I just got back to L.A. from a 2-month long work trip to Beijing, China.
Urbasm: That’s awesome.
Janelle Ginestra: My boyfriend and myself were choreographing the next installment of the $700 million Step Up movie franchise, Step Up 6, which is super exciting. The moment I got home, we started a new competition show on NBC with some of our Teen Beasts, which are our “teen” age group kids in our company called ImmaBeast, where we competed against the most recognizable and talented dancers ever. That was a ton of crazy hours and hard work, but amazing bonding with our ImmaBeast teen family, each other – my boyfriend and I, because living, working and sleeping together is just not enough time.
Urbasm: (laughs)
Janelle Ginestra: Now, I’m doing my taxes and trying to refinance our house.
Urbasm: Awe.
Janelle Ginestra: Which is not fun. Amongst trying to think of amazing new ideas and visions to create some badass ART this year!
Urbasm: Well, this year is definitely off to a great start. What would you say has been the key to your success so far?
Janelle Ginestra: My key to success is being true to Janelle and not caring about what others feel and/or think about me. I need to be authentic to me, and I need to sell that to whoever is trying to buy it.
Urbasm: How would you describe your signature style?
Janelle Ginestra: My signature style is power and commitment.
Urbasm: Who would you most like to dance with if you had unlimited access to every person who’s ever walked this earth, both past, and present?
Janelle Ginestra: Lady Gaga, Britney Spears – in her early years…
Urbasm: (laughs) her early years…
Janelle Ginestra: Beyonce, Michael Jackson, and 2Pac.
Urbasm: That is a great list. Okay, from a fitness standpoint, we’ve read that you do some pretty aggressive strength training. Describe one of your favorite routines?
Janelle Ginestra: My favorite thing in the world to do is legs.
Urbasm: Janelle doesn’t skip leg day! So what is the most impressive thing you can do fitness-wise? You know, like a 300lb bench press or triple lindy flip.
Janelle Ginestra: My favorite workout – I don’t know how impressive this is (laughs). I like using TRX Bands – 3 single leg back lunges with 20-pound weights in each hand. On the third lunge, I drop down to a plank with weights still in hand – foot still in TRX. Then do three push-ups, then three knee-to-chest with leg outside of the TRX. [Then I] stand back up and repeat 7 times.
Urbasm: (silence) We’re imagining that – and yeah, that’s kick ass. We’ve been told by women that most men today don’t know how to dance. Do you think this is true?
Janelle Ginestra: (silence)
Urbasm: Okay, allow us to rephrase that. What would you say to ‘that’ guy who says, ‘I can’t dance”?
Janelle Ginestra: I would say… “Take four shots of tequila. You’ll find your groove!”
Urbasm: Yeah, that does work for us – usually for the worse – but it works. What do you think a woman can learn about a guy based on the way he dances?
Janelle Ginestra: How timid or confident he is, and the obvious… how he will bone her.
Urbasm: We bet most guys wished they’d paid better attention in their college dance class. And finally, what are the three things that every guy should know, according to you?
Janelle Ginestra: Guys should know that girls want gifts. Even if they say you don’t have to get them anything, they lied. I personally love surprises, even if it’s just as little as finding a note in my purse.
Urbasm: Yes.
Janelle Ginestra: Another thing, if I say I’m on a diet and you try to help me stick to it when I want to eat that piece of cake… know that you’re going to get that ‘Oh really, you think I don’t need cake’ look. Even though I asked you not to let me eat it.
Urbasm: We know that look.
Janelle Ginestra: Just let the b*tch eat the cake without trying to help… because she’s going to anyways.
Urbasm: (laughs) ‘Let the b*tch eat cake’. I don’t think we can follow that up with anything else. Thank you so much, Janelle, it has been our pleasure.
And if you also like having your cake and eating it too, we recommend following Janelle on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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About Dr. Eric J. Leech
Eric has written for over a decade. Then one day he created Urbasm.com, a site for every guy.
About Dr. Eric J. Leech