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Most people seek out entertainment. Few are born to entertain. Jonte’ is entertainment personified!

A multitalented maestro of song, dance and creativity hailing from Portland, Oregon –Jonte’ discovered his love for dance by chance at the age of eight. Adjacent to the martial arts class that his parents would often take him to was a jazz/funk studio that piqued his interests even more. After asking the permission of his parents and the dance instructor, Jonte’ skipped martial arts class one night and sat in on an entire dance session. The movements captured him and set his spark ablaze. “As soon as the music started, I jumped out of my seat at the back of the class and began learning the routine. The instructor noticed and quickly moved me to the front. After class the teacher implored my parents to sign me up for ballet,” recalls Jonte’.

His parents understood the chemistry and encouraged the aspiring dancer to chase his passion by enrolling Jonte’ at The Oregon Ballet Theater School in Portland before attending Jefferson High School. During his time at Jefferson High he became a member of the nationally acclaimed dance group, The Jefferson Dancers, and was distinguished as one of the youngest members in the history of The Northwest African American Ballet, which afforded him the opportunity to travel the world and fuel his desire to engage with it.

Upon his high school graduation in the summer of 2001, Jonte’ made the difficult decision to forego a four-year dance scholarship to a respected school in Los Angeles to pursue his vision of himself in the big, and oftentimes unforgiving, city of New York. Two months later, Jonte’ was engrossed in classes at the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, while simultaneously attending other dance sessions scattered around the city. He auditioned relentlessly for a countless number of roles, as he became no stranger to rejection and the harsh reality of exceptional competition. The experience motivated the young and ambitious dancer in unexpected ways – his penchant for excellence ultimately propelling him into his first professional dancing role on February 1, 2004 alongside music royalty, Janet Jackson, at the now infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

Since exploding into the world of dance in 2004, Jonte’ has been virtually unstoppable – working with a myriad of international superstar artists in both a dancer and choreographer capacity. He choreographed, danced in, and played an artistic director role on the wildly popular Beyoncé Experience Tour as well as choreographed an unforgettable Grammy Awards performance by Tina Turner and Beyoncé in 2008. Add dancing credits alongside Bette Midler, Mya and Toni Basil, and you only begin to scratch the surface of Jonte’s diverse professional repertoire.

In addition to dance and true to his “all-around entertainer” moniker, Jonte’ has participated in musical collaborations with the likes of Cassie, Ty Cheng, Shomari Wilson, and Tonex. He has flexed his creative muscles in major film and television shows including Tyler Perry’s “Why did I get married too,” America’s Next Top Model, and BET’s 106 & Park. Naturally, Jonte’s domestic success would eventually spill over into an international brand that has evolved into a modeling contract with Surge Models, campaign commercials featuring Ice Breaker, Hello Kitty, Swatch, and Adidas as well as several choreography credits for K-Pop Stars (The Wonder Girls, JYP, and Tara).

Presently, Jonte’ has lofty plans of producing original music and unveiling a handful of exciting projects in 2015. In all assessments, his entertainment excursion has just begun as he continues to harness his creative energy to produce projects that don’t just entertain the masses but move them. A self-described tenacious, eccentric and determined artist, Jonte’s life is mirrored by the sage words of American writer Dale Carnegie: “Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one, it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.”