Jami Taylor is the creator/owner of Imaj’n’Nation MultiPod/Imaj Dance Center, a Cleveland Heights dance studio that is a gathering place for creative people to express themselves. The term “multipod” is short for multipotentialite or an individual with many creative interests and pursuits. This name fits Jami and her place of business (located at 1916 Lee Road) perfectly because she does so many different things well.
Although she runs a dance studio, Jami is a late bloomer as far as being a dancer. Yet once she discovered her love of dance in high school, she took off. She joined the Cavs dance team and her natural love for music, dance and motivating others came into full bloom, taking her from being a dancer and choreographer to being a coach and teacher.
Because of her abilities and connections, she is often called upon to organize events across Cleveland. I personally witnessed her magic when she created a dance routine for the halftime performance for the Cavs at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse earlier this year. She only had two weeks to cut music, create choreography, and find dancers. If I did not see it with my own eyes, I would say the task was impossible, but because of Jami’s hard work, everyone was able to come together and honor MLK through the power of dance.
What’s next for the Imaj’n’Nation MultiPod/Imaj Dance Center? Currently, Jami is creating membership packages open to those who are new to dance and those looking to challenge the skills they already have. She also plans to continue to create and collaborate with creatives throughout Cleveland and beyond.
Recently, I caught up with Jami for an interview about how she got interested in dance, her experience working for the Cavs, what her studio is all about, and what’s next for her.
How did you first get started in dance?
I actually started dancing late. I was a vocal major at the Cleveland School of the Arts, and I ended up having to move to Florida to live with my aunt. In Cleveland I was on the cheerleading team. So when I went to Florida, I wanted to do cheerleading as an extracurricular, but when I went in there, they were a different type of cheerleader. They would toss people in the air and do competitions. In the south, cheerleading is like football. It’s a big deal. I was a smaller person, so I’m like, ‘If I get on cheer team, they’re gonna try to throw me, so I’m gonna try for something else.’ So, I went and tried out for the dance team.
Did you dance?
Yes, I danced. But my dancing started in the hood. My dancing started in the womb, actually. But as a trained dancer, it started in high school. I didn’t have any technique at all. So, I was just kind of throwing myself all over. Nowadays all dance has technique, but I’m referring to ballet and jazz and the foundations of technical dance. I knew hip hop, and that was just because I grew up in the hood.
Would you say you’re kind of a late bloomer?
Oh, absolutely. Once I made that team, I realized how far behind I was, but I needed to be prepared for the season. This was in the summer, so I just had to fast track my way. My goal was to stand behind the girls that were in the lines in front of me when we were practicing and just mimic them. I would set goals for myself. Once I learned a skill, I would be like, ‘Okay, I’m going to be in this line,’ and I would just keep progressing until I got into the front line. By my senior year, I had a solo and I was top of the team and captain.
How did you end up working in a dance studio?
Once I left school, I came home to Cleveland. I stayed here for a year, and then went to the University of Cincinnati. I tried out for that dance team, made it, and just did the same thing I did in high school – I just basically asked a lot of questions and stood behind people and learned how to do technique based on that. I ended up not being able to dance my senior year because my knee got hyperextended. After that, I came home to Cleveland and tried out for the Cavs dance team.
I made the team the first try. I went back to Cincinnati to finish my classes and graduate over the summer. Then I came back to Cleveland and went into rehearsing for the dance team. I ended up staying with the Cavs for 15 years.
I danced for four years, took a year off, and came back when we got LeBron. I didn’t see dance as something I was gonna pursue as a career until that year. I danced one more year, then I decided to do choreography.
I also went down to Atlanta and tried out for the Hawks and didn’t make it. I was devastated. But I realized it wasn’t because I wasn’t skilled enough. It’s just that you’re not always what other people are looking for. I came back and worked for the Cavs for another 10 years and helped them create the Scream Team.
How did you open your current studio?
I realized that most of the dance studios are from three to 18, but most of the dancers I was working with were adults. A lot of the Scream Team was like me, they came from the neighborhoods. They were self-taught dancers. I realized that there wasn’t a place for them to go and actually train.
I opened a studio in Midtown while I was still working full time. Ultimately, because the schedule for sports is so crazy, it started to become our practice facility for the entertainment teams, but the team would not pay for that. So, I was paying for it out of pocket. I ended up closing that studio and after I separated with the Cavs, I ended up opening another space in the Flats. Eventually I found this space and decided I was going to put a dance studio here, but I knew I didn’t want it to be a traditional dance studio. I spent a year renovating the space, sanding the floors, painting the walls. It was a lot of sweat and literally tears. I remember being really upset that nobody was helping me, then I read a book where it said God gave you the vision and released the expectations for everybody else to get it. That made me feel like, ‘It’s okay.’ It also helped me realize I didn’t have to have an answer for what the studio was going to be. Because I knew it was gonna be something, I just didn’t know what it was.
What year did you open the studio?
2017.
In six years of having the business, do you find it difficult?
Me and this business, we battle all the time. Sometimes it’s the most beautiful thing to be able to see people come in and utilize the space you put so much work into. But at the same time, it’s challenging. There have been plenty of times where I’m like, ‘I’m closing the studio, I can’t,’ and then someone will come in and they’re like, ‘I just love this place. I need this space. This is my space to be able to release.’ And that just moves me out of the way. It reminds me that this is not just about me. This is about us. I gotta do whatever I need to do to complete the mission.
Is it difficult having a business in Cleveland Heights?
Not at all. It’s been rewarding because it’s such a community. Cleveland Heights is a place full of people that are strong in their individuality, living together.
If you could project a year from now, what would you imagine for your space?
I think this space calls to multipods. We live in a society that says you have to specialize in one thing. But there’s some of us that are all over the place. We do all kinds of different things and do them well.
So, to relieve that stigma of being flighty or not focused, we have a space for people that do a lot of things well and like to explore and challenge themselves. It’s a place for folks like that. I envision this being a membership-based space. Some of us don’t get to come into our own until we’re older or whatever, so to have a place where you can just be your authentic self, that contributes to the overall community, that’s how I envision it.
To book Imaj’n’Nation Dance Studio for a private event or take dance or performance art classes, connect with Jami Taylor on Instagram @inthepod or call 216-860-5730.
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