Rising Stars: Meet Jessica Neshay Christian

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Neshay Christian.

Hi Jessica Neshay, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m 23 years old and I was born and raised in Nashville, TN. At the age of four, my grandmother placed me on my church’s praise dance team where I fell in love with how dance made me feel. At the age of seven, dance became a part of the way I communicated with the world, and at age 11, I knew I was going to change the world with my dancing. I was raised by a single mother with four kids so there was no extra money for dance lessons. YouTube was the place I went to learn dances and watch my favorite artist and choreographers. I always loved putting girls together and teaching them dances so I guess you could say being a choreographer came naturally. From ages 13 to 18, I began to train more seriously under my now godmother LaToya Bennett- Brown. She started a dance team that was also a mentorship program through the YMCA which allowed me to perform all of Nashville at different events.

From there as I grew older, dance was always a part of my life. I was my school’s cheerleading team choreographer and also the captain of The Intermezzo In Motion dance team. After graduating high school, I went in to attend Belmont University where I joined the dance team and by year 2, I was the President. While in college, I was accepted to the work study program at Millennium Dance Complex Nashville. After being an intern for three months, I was asked to teach kids hip-hop. From there, I worked my way up and eventually had my own weekly class. Life happens, so after my internship was up, I took a break from teaching to focus on graduating. Six months before graduating, I started teaching a weekly heels class at MDC and by the grace of God it excelled. As I still continue to teach, I have now started to travel to different cities not only teaching but inspiring people through my own dance brand called Chapters By JessicaNeshay!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ehh, I’ve had a lot of people doubt me or say I wasn’t ready to teach and at first it used to bother me but then I realized if God didn’t think I was ready to be at the place I am today, he wouldn’t have me here. That along has kept me focused on his plan for me and not what others have to say. Me also, being a full-figured black women who teaches hip-hop and heels has also caused friction as well. People tend to place an image in what they think a “Person”, “place”, or “thing” should look like but that has never stopped me because as long as dancing and teaching makes me happy, I will always do so!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a choreographer, creative director, and dance instructor. I teach weekly heels classes at Millennium Dance Complex Nashville as well as pop-up hip-hop classes!

I also own a brand called Chapters By JessicaNeshay which is geared towards helping people find their chapter in life through dance!

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am a huge risk taker and the person I take the most risk on is myself. I do this because I know I won’t let myself down, and if I do I know I can always fix it. Taking risk is something that comes with entrepreneurship, the job is literally taking a risk and hoping for the best. The biggest risk I’ve taken would have to be traveling all the way to Texas to host a class! I didn’t know anyone and it was my first time teach out of state. I know I would have to work OVERTIME to make sure I could at least pull in five people. With prayer and consistency, I was able to sell out both classes (with Covid restrictions). So I will always take a risk on myself before anything! 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jessicaneshay_?igshid=ifty2hwfk70q
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/AyeYoPiinkie
• Other: https://instagram.com/chaptersbyjessicaneshay?igshid=1tmxsotpo7am6

Image Credits
JessicaNeshay Christian