Rare article about dancing. Tons of information and cool photos of Rob as a kid and accepting his American Choreography Award. Not sure when it was done, but my guess is 2004 or 2005. Here's the text:
Robert James Hoffman III's Success Story
Dance has taken Robert James Hoffman to worlds he never expected. In true Hollywood style, Robert was discovered in a club, then hired to dance, act, AND choreograph the feature film "You Got Served". He now has a recurring role on FOX TV’s "Quintuplets" plus MTV’s improv comedy show "Wild N' Out”. He’s danced for Christina Aguilera, Usher, Ricky Martin, and on films like "Pirates of the Carribean", and "Vanilla Sky”. Despite the impressive resume, this self-proclaimed jester’s biggest passion is creating short character-based videos, which can be seen on this website as well as his own: www.robertjameshoffmaniii.com. Go there. Now. You will laugh till you cry.
Suzie: After watching your videos, I can definitely say you are one-of-a-kind.
Robert: You liked them! Awesome.
SM: How did a nice Southern boy like you start dancing?
RJH: I saw Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. When he moved to music, his body became magical. It wasn’t “Bam -- I wanna be a dancer!” -- but all my creative energy started focusing.
SM: How old were you?
RJH: Four. (Laughs). Flash forward to kindergarten, Mom asked if I wanted to try after-school dance class. The teacher said I was different – I didn’t just do steps, I danced from inside.
SM: Then?
RJH: I didn’t like technique, but everyone said you needed it, so I gave it my all. I loved it once I discovered what it could do for me - the dynamics of jumps and turns. At 14, I left home for performing arts high school for 2 years; then joined Birmingham Ballet. Ballet all day, jazz all night, late nights downtown, hitting it with the b-boys.
SM: When did you discover hiphop?
RJH: At 15; I had Wade Robeson at convention. He embodies everything I desire from creative dance. At 20, I hit L.A. All that training paid off; I did well right away.
SM: Why?
RJH: 110% of it is training. I got here ready to go.
SM: Did you pursue acting?
RJH: I’ve always been a goofball, but acting never drove me. But I did take classes in case those doors would open.
SM: Did you have creative freedom on ‘You Got Served”?
RJH: Amazingly, I was free to do whatever I wanted. I doubt I’ll have another opportunity of that magnitude unless I produce it myself.
SM: How’d you get it?
RJH: It was a fairytale. The producers saw me at Carnival – I guess I have a swagger; I wasn’t even performing that night. But when I’m out, I’m a lunatic. They introduced themselves saying ‘he’s perfect for this role’. Next day I auditioned, and they asked me to choreograph too.
SM: Wow. Probably the biggest payoff ever for just getting out there and being seen.
RJH: I’m passionate about Carnival. It’s the most liberating, coolest thing you can do as a dancer or choreographer. In L.A., someone always has creative control over you, but not there. It’s a huge audience of dance enthusiasts totally stoked, and every dancer in the city at your disposal.
SM: How did you get your manager?
RJH: The exact same way! At the ‘Served’ wrap party, Michael Baum said ‘I saw you at Carnival; I had to meet the guy who walked around like he owned the place’, and gave me his card. I never called; I had no idea how powerful he was, but he tracked me down and said ‘let me represent you.’ Now 100% of my time is acting.
RJH: He tells casting agents to check it out. I began it for master classes - people wanted pictures/bios; it was easier than faxing. Then I thought, why not show my funny videos?
SM: Has work come of those videos?
RJH: Not specifically, but if you do good work and people love it, good things come. Opportunities find you.
SM: Things come indirectly too because people see your comedic gifts. What made you in-demand as a dancer?
RJH: I got no good answers. I was actually a bad boy, always pulling antics. That probably made me fun on the set. So maybe that worked for me, keeping everyone peppy and entertained. Sometimes I got in trouble, but I was good enough to get away with it. First and foremost, I was a good dancer with a good look, and reliable; people knew they could count on me. You gotta be a solid person; people here are intuitive. If you’re not solid, they read it.
SM: How did you meet choreographers who hired you?
RJH: It all starts with auditions. The dance circle is small in L.A.; you go to a coupla parties, you meet everyone. I made a point to be cool and presentable, someone they’d want around. And I do good auditions. If they already know me, I do something zany.
SM: Like?
RJH: Instead of a headshot, drawing a picture of my face, or bringing a phony résumé with like 2 highschoool credits. Doing physical comedy, or just standing there in a character during improv.
SM: You have to have the comedy chops to get away with that; not many people could. Or should!?
RJH: And you have to do it with the right intention...
SM: You have a publicist?
RJH: Yes, my manager recommended it … for magazine articles, photo shoots, getting into parties you want to be seen at...
SM: Very Hollywood! Where does dance fit in?
RJH: My dance career was a wonderful steppingstone. Sometimes I miss being onstage, but financially acting is much more rewarding, and I don’t miss those long rehearsals waiting for everyone to get the combo, etc. Dance will always be there, I don’t have to do gigs to keep dance in my life.
SM: Your website’s ‘Advice’ section is great. Can you sum it up?
RJH: Work your butt off. The coolest thing is, back in the day you couldn’t have a career without the right body type - nowadays nothing but you can keep you from being a dancer. If you want it bad enough, you got to train the hardest. I actually left home to find a teacher who pushed me; that’s how much I wanted it. You have to develop ultra endurance, be versatile, create your tricks.
SM: Secondly?
RJH: Just be a cool person. Everyone sees L.A. as this big monster; its not. I expected to meet all these manipulative, dark types, but every town in the world has manipulative dark types – if you’re pulled into their game, it’s your own fault. It’s funny; the people who dog on this town are usually the people looking for an excuse for what they haven’t accomplished.
SM: True.
RJH: You don’t have to demoralize yourself for work; have an air of confidence. Don’t be a namedropper or braggart, but speak about dance intelligently. Show up at auditions and get your butt to the front line; make sure they look at you. But you have to have done the homework; you can’t get by on pure luck or looks.
SM: Any goals?
RJH: It used to be Mr. Dance of America. I got that; then it was to have my choreo seen on a large scale, which happened with ‘You Got Served’. I was happy and stoked, but also unnerved; I’d reached my goals.
SM: I like to ‘blue-sky’ for new goals – open the mind to all possibilities no matter how ridiculous or outrageous.
RJH: Yes. The coolest thing about dance is it can take you so many directions.
Robert James Hoffman III's Success Story
Dance has taken Robert James Hoffman to worlds he never expected. In true Hollywood style, Robert was discovered in a club, then hired to dance, act, AND choreograph the feature film "You Got Served". He now has a recurring role on FOX TV’s "Quintuplets" plus MTV’s improv comedy show "Wild N' Out”. He’s danced for Christina Aguilera, Usher, Ricky Martin, and on films like "Pirates of the Carribean", and "Vanilla Sky”. Despite the impressive resume, this self-proclaimed jester’s biggest passion is creating short character-based videos, which can be seen on this website as well as his own: www.robertjameshoffmaniii.com. Go there. Now. You will laugh till you cry.
Suzie: After watching your videos, I can definitely say you are one-of-a-kind.
Robert: You liked them! Awesome.
SM: How did a nice Southern boy like you start dancing?
RJH: I saw Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. When he moved to music, his body became magical. It wasn’t “Bam -- I wanna be a dancer!” -- but all my creative energy started focusing.
SM: How old were you?
RJH: Four. (Laughs). Flash forward to kindergarten, Mom asked if I wanted to try after-school dance class. The teacher said I was different – I didn’t just do steps, I danced from inside.
SM: Then?
RJH: I didn’t like technique, but everyone said you needed it, so I gave it my all. I loved it once I discovered what it could do for me - the dynamics of jumps and turns. At 14, I left home for performing arts high school for 2 years; then joined Birmingham Ballet. Ballet all day, jazz all night, late nights downtown, hitting it with the b-boys.
SM: When did you discover hiphop?
RJH: At 15; I had Wade Robeson at convention. He embodies everything I desire from creative dance. At 20, I hit L.A. All that training paid off; I did well right away.
SM: Why?
RJH: 110% of it is training. I got here ready to go.
SM: Did you pursue acting?
RJH: I’ve always been a goofball, but acting never drove me. But I did take classes in case those doors would open.
SM: Did you have creative freedom on ‘You Got Served”?
RJH: Amazingly, I was free to do whatever I wanted. I doubt I’ll have another opportunity of that magnitude unless I produce it myself.
SM: How’d you get it?
RJH: It was a fairytale. The producers saw me at Carnival – I guess I have a swagger; I wasn’t even performing that night. But when I’m out, I’m a lunatic. They introduced themselves saying ‘he’s perfect for this role’. Next day I auditioned, and they asked me to choreograph too.
SM: Wow. Probably the biggest payoff ever for just getting out there and being seen.
RJH: I’m passionate about Carnival. It’s the most liberating, coolest thing you can do as a dancer or choreographer. In L.A., someone always has creative control over you, but not there. It’s a huge audience of dance enthusiasts totally stoked, and every dancer in the city at your disposal.
SM: How did you get your manager?
RJH: The exact same way! At the ‘Served’ wrap party, Michael Baum said ‘I saw you at Carnival; I had to meet the guy who walked around like he owned the place’, and gave me his card. I never called; I had no idea how powerful he was, but he tracked me down and said ‘let me represent you.’ Now 100% of my time is acting.
RJH: He tells casting agents to check it out. I began it for master classes - people wanted pictures/bios; it was easier than faxing. Then I thought, why not show my funny videos?
SM: Has work come of those videos?
RJH: Not specifically, but if you do good work and people love it, good things come. Opportunities find you.
SM: Things come indirectly too because people see your comedic gifts. What made you in-demand as a dancer?
RJH: I got no good answers. I was actually a bad boy, always pulling antics. That probably made me fun on the set. So maybe that worked for me, keeping everyone peppy and entertained. Sometimes I got in trouble, but I was good enough to get away with it. First and foremost, I was a good dancer with a good look, and reliable; people knew they could count on me. You gotta be a solid person; people here are intuitive. If you’re not solid, they read it.
SM: How did you meet choreographers who hired you?
RJH: It all starts with auditions. The dance circle is small in L.A.; you go to a coupla parties, you meet everyone. I made a point to be cool and presentable, someone they’d want around. And I do good auditions. If they already know me, I do something zany.
SM: Like?
RJH: Instead of a headshot, drawing a picture of my face, or bringing a phony résumé with like 2 highschoool credits. Doing physical comedy, or just standing there in a character during improv.
SM: You have to have the comedy chops to get away with that; not many people could. Or should!?
RJH: And you have to do it with the right intention...
SM: You have a publicist?
RJH: Yes, my manager recommended it … for magazine articles, photo shoots, getting into parties you want to be seen at...
SM: Very Hollywood! Where does dance fit in?
RJH: My dance career was a wonderful steppingstone. Sometimes I miss being onstage, but financially acting is much more rewarding, and I don’t miss those long rehearsals waiting for everyone to get the combo, etc. Dance will always be there, I don’t have to do gigs to keep dance in my life.SM: Your website’s ‘Advice’ section is great. Can you sum it up?
RJH: Work your butt off. The coolest thing is, back in the day you couldn’t have a career without the right body type - nowadays nothing but you can keep you from being a dancer. If you want it bad enough, you got to train the hardest. I actually left home to find a teacher who pushed me; that’s how much I wanted it. You have to develop ultra endurance, be versatile, create your tricks.
SM: Secondly?
RJH: Just be a cool person. Everyone sees L.A. as this big monster; its not. I expected to meet all these manipulative, dark types, but every town in the world has manipulative dark types – if you’re pulled into their game, it’s your own fault. It’s funny; the people who dog on this town are usually the people looking for an excuse for what they haven’t accomplished.
SM: True.
RJH: You don’t have to demoralize yourself for work; have an air of confidence. Don’t be a namedropper or braggart, but speak about dance intelligently. Show up at auditions and get your butt to the front line; make sure they look at you. But you have to have done the homework; you can’t get by on pure luck or looks.
SM: Any goals?
RJH: It used to be Mr. Dance of America. I got that; then it was to have my choreo seen on a large scale, which happened with ‘You Got Served’. I was happy and stoked, but also unnerved; I’d reached my goals.
SM: I like to ‘blue-sky’ for new goals – open the mind to all possibilities no matter how ridiculous or outrageous.
RJH: Yes. The coolest thing about dance is it can take you so many directions.
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