It would be a disservice to Galen Hooks to attribute her magnetism to something as elusive as The X Factor. With over 20 years of professional experience, more than 70 performance and choreography credits dripping in A-list celebrities, a social media footprint of more than 300 million views and growing, and regularly sold-out master classes around the world, Hooks has put the job. Without missing a single step, she has achieved success and wants the same for you.
Hooks spent her early dance training at two competitive studios in Walnut, California. Dellos Center for Fine and Performing Arts. At the age of 7, she participated in “Star Search” with the dance group Girls of Paradise. (According to Hooks, they were Junior Dance Champions with eight consecutive episodes as winners and four stars each time.) She then signed with an agent and began training at major Los Angeles-based dance studios such as Edge Performing Arts Center, Moro Landis (now Millennium), and Tremaine Dance at age 9. “I was in a tap company with Greg Russell and a jazz company that Marguerite Derrick and Michael Rooney ran,” she says. “I was very lucky to have teachers of that caliber from an early age.” At 9, she starred in a Montell Jordan music video, at 10 she starred in a film called: Mrs. Santa Clausand at 11 she was dancing on Nickelodeon. When he turned 15, Hooks got the role of his life. Austin Powers in Goldmember. She hasn’t stopped working since then.
Despite the crazy schedule that comes with constant bookings (to date she has worked with Britney Spears, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, Rihanna, John Legend and more . ), Hooks graduated from high school and even earned a bachelor’s degree in law and society from Penn State. “When I did the Super Bowl with Janet Jackson [2004]I was 17 and spent rehearsal breaks studying in the corner,” she says. “I studied on the bus while on tour with Snoop Dog and finished college while working as an assistant choreographer at Camp Rock.” While some may argue that commercial dancers must choose between dance and higher education, Hooks is here to set the record straight. “My dance career and education are intertwined,” she says. “I paid for my education through the money I made from performing, and studying law was instrumental in my time as president of the Dancers Alliance, as well as my time on the SAG-AFTRA board.”
Besides the benefits of a good education and a college degree, Hooks wants the dancers of 2024 to pay close attention to her schedule as a choreographer. “I followed the traditional journey from dancer to assistant [for Marguerite Derricks, Jamaica Craft, Jamie King, Andre Fuentes, among others] to associate choreographer with choreographer,” she says, adding, “[Dancers should not] just go from studio dancer to choreographer. There’s so much to learn before you get to that point.” She has similar feelings when it comes to becoming a master educator. “I started teaching at small conventions here and there when I was 15, and it wasn’t until 10 years ago that I really I felt like I knew what I was doing. I had to cancel my classes when I was teaching at Debbie Reynolds Studio because only two people came in. Every time I have a sold out class now, I feel grateful that I am became a better teacher over the years. You can’t replace experience.” Hooks now teaches around the world as a master educator, has created her own method of teaching dance, and even launched an online training program to share her wisdom more widely.
On the origin of Galen’s Hookes method
“It started as an intense audition. As someone with both a choreographer’s and a performer’s perspective, I wanted to lift the curtain on what choreographers actually look for in auditions. Then people started booking and wanted to know what to do after they started work, so I did an intensive on set. After that, everything started to grow, so I turned it into the “Method of Galen Hooks”. In my intensive and professional classes for aspiring dancers, I teach them how to analyze choreography. How to break down the moments in a routine that the choreographer wants to shine. What to do about your face, your eyebrows, the corner of your head – where your chin should be. At the beginning of the class, the dancers would be laid off, but at the end of the class, they are hired. I teach these two-day intensives in person all over the world. In addition to that, I created GHM On-Demand, which makes all of this information available online.”
For creating inclusive dance spaces
“My classes are for every style, level and age of dancer. Not everyone pursues a dance career, and everyone is welcome. I have parents who have danced but don’t feel comfortable going to big studios to take lessons, but want to experience the joy of movement again without all the negative mental spaces people can get into. My years of experience have allowed me to feel very confident teaching anyone, any style, and getting the best out of them.”
Her advice for aspiring professionals:
“Choreographers really crave smart, mature dancers. Many young people are talented, but what is their perspective? What do they mean? What do their eyes say? How do they walk around the room? If: [people] dance with a backward swing or do eye rolls and pull faces that are not emotionally motivated, these are dead giveaways that they are not professional. A clever dancer delivers what the choreographer wants. Dancers have to discover who they are and learn what looks great on them – especially on camera. Passing on that skill is really important and will get people booking.”