Jennifer Weber and the Power of Authenticity, Ownership and Understanding
I can only take from my own experiences and hope that feels authentic onstage because it is coming from my authenticity.
Jennifer Weber is an Emmy Award winning and Olivier award nominated choreographic artist based in New York City and Los Angeles. At 44 years of age, she has racked up quite the list of accomplishments, and enjoys the privilege of finding success in a dream that was born in her heart more than three decades ago.
Currently, she’s making headlines left and right for her contributions to not one, but two Broadway shows that opened earlier this month. And with all the buzz surrounding her and her work, we were most inspired by her display of some universal core competencies as it pertains to authenticity, ownership and understanding in a strong work ethic and the advent of chasing your dreams.
Jennifer Weber x Universal Core Competencies
From what we’ve been seeing and reading lately, we understand that Jennifer is a hard and consistent worker, with a collaborative heart and a true love for what she does. Here are some of the core competencies that we see on display from her work:
Self Esteem – One’s capacity for perceiving and respecting one’s own inherent value. (The Academic Glossary)
In an Instagram post, Jennifer shared a childhood photo of herself with an “Oscar” award that her parents had gotten her alongside a photo of her as an adult with an Emmy Award that she won for her choreographic contributions to “Hip Hop Nutcracker featuring Kurtis Blow” in 2019. With a bright smile painted across her face in both images, Jennifer concluded her caption by saying “I think I basically look the same.”
The post inspires the thought that Ms. Weber has long known that she is worthy of support and celebration, and that she is worth believing in. It inspires the thought that she has long understood and embraced the idea that her dreams are worth chasing.
Self-Expression – One's capacity for sharing one's own thoughts, feelings and ideas with others, especially in writing, art, music or dance. (The Academic Glossary)
According to a recent article, published in The New York Times, it was seeing “A Chorus Line” in New York at nine years of age that precipitated Weber’s dreams of Broadway. As the author of the article puts it, “once back home in Amherst, Mass., she just started doing it, choreographing a dance for herself and her younger brother and recording it on a video camera borrowed from the library. She had never taken a dance class.” (New York Times, 2022)
Positive Attitude – One's capacity for consciously employing a thought process that encourages the production of confidence and clarity in real life experiences through words and actions. (The Academic Glossary)
In the same article referenced earlier, there were significant notes pointing towards the positive energy that Jennifer Weber has exude. “When she comes into the room, the room lights up,” Kurtis Blow says of her. Kurtis was featured in the Emmy Award Winning production of Hip Hop Nutcracker, a project on which Weber was the choreographer.
Awareness of Motivational Needs – One's capacity for perceiving, understanding and communicating that which drives a person to take action towards a goal or a directive. (The Academic Glossary)
We chose to highlight this universal core competency because it often speaks to a certain level of leadership in a person, and that’s what we’ve gleaned from all the things we’ve learned about Jennifer Weber so far. As a hardworking and critically accomplished choreographer, she is respected as someone who understands the profession both technically and personally in that she is a strong director who carries authority while also creating a safe space for dancers to feel free and in charge of their own contribution to a collaborative body of work.
Today, you can see her two shows, &Juliet and KPOP on Broadway in New York. You can also stream The Hip Hop Nutcrakcer on Disney+, or catch the live performance on which the film is based by visiting The Hip Hop Nutcracker on Tour.