Social Set is comprised of a magnitude of members in a ALL creative fields, and we wanted to pay tribute to our Most Influential Member TAJANA BUNTON-WILLIAMS. She has been a member since the early days of Social Set and since has educated members on the Entertainment Industry, hosted events, taught masterclasses and movement coaching plus more. 

Therefore Social Set would like to award her for her talent and contributions to THE SET in the year of 2018. 

What encouraged you to join?

-I had been in LA for about 3 years at that point, and was looking to expand my network. I had met plenty of people in the industry but felt that I had a lot that I wanted to give back as well as give to myself. I wanted to be able to invest in my work and dig into who I am as a creative, so this seemed like the perfect place to do so. 

Tell us a little about your professional journey as a dancer?

-I have been dancing professionally for 7 years now. Things moved pretty quickly for me, as soon as I got my first professional job which was the Lion King the rest just kept rolling in. I worked on a bunch of UK TV shows and danced and toured with Kylie Minogue, Iggy Azalea and Lily Allen, and then decided to move to the States and since being here I’ve been fortunate enough to dance at the Grammys, BET Awards, MTV Music Awards, iHeart Awards, Tidal, VMA’s , Coachella and toured with Janelle Monae and Beyonce. Its been such a whirlwind.

What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue a professional dance career?

-I would certainly say that you must be persistent, everyday is an opportunity to invest in your craft. Also the past few years I’ve learned that there are many jobs that only dancers can do well, and its good to take every opportunity. From Choreography to Movement Direction, to Body Maintenance, the list is endless. As it isn’t an easy line of work, and to consistently make money and earn a living from it is even harder, but totally achievable. I trained really hard classically and commercially and made myself available for opportunities. I always thought positively and never once doubted my abilities. I think its so important to be your own biggest fan and believe in your talent. You have to believe in yourself and walk, talk and dance with that confidence. The more people you meet the better, as relationships are tremendously important too. Stay focused, stay hungry and don’t allow NO’s or obstacles to get in the way.

What things do you have to look forward to in 2019?

-I’ve been working with Janelle Monae for over a year now and we just performed at the Grammy’s on Sunday where she was actually nominated for Best Music Video, and the video was one that I did Movement Direction on which was super exciting, with more cool performances and projects coming up this year. However whats really cool is that I’ve been doing a lot of talks at seminars and teaching. Giving back and educating is equally as important, which is why guess I won this award haha! I’ve been asked to judge a few dance competitions this year, and teaching and talking on a few panels at the world’s biggest dance event MOVE IT which still is mind blowing to me as I used to attend this convention every year growing up. And the CEO and COO of Social Set and I have been in talks of how we can develop our relationship and other ways in which I can educate aspiring performers, and host and judge events and competitions, so yea, I’m super excited to see where it will lead and what changes I can make in the industry.  

Find Tajana at

www.tajanabwilliams.com

IG - Tajanatokyo