Why Dancers Shouldn’t Wait to Create

By Jessie Ferguson: Founder of BOOT Dance Project

I’ve always had a brain that doesn’t stop creating. Even as a kid, I’d leave class with new ideas spinning and movement I wanted to explore. My mind was constantly choreographing, even when I wasn’t supposed to be. It would distract me, in dance class, and even at school because I was always imagining how things could move.

Eventually, one of my mentors noticed. She saw how much my brain was racing in class, how I wasn’t just focused on learning the combinations but thinking about what came next. One day she said, “Why don’t you create a solo for yourself?”

I was about thirteen, and that question changed everything. It was like she gave me permission to do what my mind had already been doing all along. Suddenly, all the ideas that had been swirling around finally had somewhere to land. I spent hours in the studio piecing together phrases and figuring out what felt true to me.

I’ve always been a now person, not a “save it for later” one, and creating became my way of processing what I was feeling in real time. Those early opportunities shaped everything, the way I move, the way I teach, and ultimately, the reason BOOT exists today.

BOOT Camp: Creation Lab is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s an idea rooted in that same spark. We believe it’s so valuable for young dancers to explore creation early on, to learn that curiosity is worth following, and that process can be just as powerful as product.

For two days this December, dancers ages 13+ will step into a space designed not for perfection but for process. Through improvisation, composition, and collaboration, they’ll explore how movement ideas form, how to shape them with intention, and how to communicate through dance in their own voice.

They won’t leave with a polished piece but they will leave with the tools they need to continue exploring their creations further.

At BOOT, we believe that learning to create is just as essential as learning to dance. When dancers are empowered to make movement they become leaders and innovators.