Home > Faculty > Hip-Hop > Sho-tyme
For those who know Ray Johnson the dancer and choreographer, no further
description is necessary. For those who do not, there is much to be said
about this dedicated, creative, and incredibly humble artist known to
all as Sho-tyme.
SHO-TYME most recently choreographed Gwen Stefani's performance for the
Teen Choice
Awards in Los Angeles.
Authentic and original, he comes from New York City, where the combination
of having an upbringing in “the streets” along with the presence
and influence of the church and its gospel music gave him a background
rich in many experiences. Hearing any type of music was an instant motivation
for him at a young age; he would envision movement in his head almost
instantaneously upon hearing the first notes. Thus, he began choreographing
routines with friends as they hung out on the streets, boom box in tow.
Under the name “Plain & Simple”, they would perform at house
parties, on the sidewalks, and for anyone who took an interest in watching.
The unique thing to note about Sho-tyme is that he had no formal training.
Actually, his approach to dancing and choreography was quite the opposite
to may other choreographers out there in the industry – instead of
what is commonly revealed by other choreographers who often say something
along the lines of, “I watched and tried to mimic all the Janet Jackson
moves on her videos”, he actually decided not to watch those videos
over and over again – only on occasion. He chose not to take class
or train under anyone. His mission was to make an effort to stay true
and original to his own style rather than mimic somebody else’s movement
or shadow their style. Even to this day, he purposely does not turn on
MTV to see what is happening as far as the choreographic aspects of today’s
artists are concerned. His approach is to remain focused on what he envisions,
hears, and feels when he hears a particular piece of music or when he
first walks into a rehearsal space to begin work with the dancers or the
artist for the first time. As a result, his work and reputation is seen
as something that is fresh and carefully crafted from the inside out.
Sho-tyme does credit choreographer and teacher Keith Williams for showing
him a style of dance that was more precise and clean visually. He used
to sit and watch (not partake) Keith teach class, eventually assisting
him on many choreography jobs as time progressed.
Sho-tyme started to work professionally as a dancer with artists such
as Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, C&C Music Factory, Salt-N-Peppa, and TLC.
On these jobs, he also often assisted the choreographers but it was his
outstanding performance with TLC that caught the attention of dance recording
artist Mya. She immediately requested to work with him on her upcoming
projects and music videos hence giving Sho-tyme the opportunity to establish
himself as a choreographer. From that point, things began to roll as industry
people began to take note that this dancer was presenting a choreographic
style that was completely fresh, innovative, and different than what was
presently out there.
In addition to choreographing for established dance artists like Wyclef
Jean, P. Diddy, Mariah Carey, Macy Gray and the dancers that perform
or tour with them, Sho-tyme has recently been spending a lot of time
developing new, up and coming artists. He is extremely intuitive with
each artist’s
gifts and personality and is a specialist in working with them in order
to present a vision that represents their own particular style. As a
result, he has become a favored choice among labels wanting to develop
their upcoming stars and in the past year was responsible for creating
moves for the likes of 3LW, Nivea, Mikaila and of course Christina Milian
who had Sho-tyme perform a duet with her on the Dave Meyers directed “AM/PM”
music video. Look in the future for new artists like Def Jam’s Kandice
Love and LovHer coming out soon. SHO-TYME choreographed the new Gwen
Stefani, Serious, video in Los
Angeles for director Sophie Muller.
As far as why he calls himself “Sho-tyme”…it was a name
that would always challenge him each and every day as a person and as
an artist. Not only does it represent an alter ego to his somewhat daily
humble and sometimes introverted personality where he is always ready
to rise up to the challenge to “put on a show” for anyone at
anytime, it also reflects something that is not an easy thing to live
up to. Thus, a note in the hip pocket to always strives for the best and
gives the best each and every day.
Class Description
Int Adv HIP-HOP
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