Cool, Clever and Creative: Jesse Lee Santos

Jesse Lee Santos is one name in the dance industry that speaks of continuous hard work, unquenchable passion, and bewildering success. As one of the three judges at the Dance USA Dance Semi finale along with Greg Chapkis and Shivani & Chaya, Jesse has raised the bar of the competition for this year and for future years.

Jesse Lee Santos started his career as a dancer in 1999 by touring with some of the most famous singers and artists in the music industry such as Britney Spears and Mandy Moore just to name a few. He has taken part in many award ceremonies and shows such as The Grammy Music Awards, The Soul Train Awards, Peoples Choice Awards, MTV Music Awards and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with iconic celebrities like Madonna, Alicia Keys, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Blaque and countless more. 

In addition to awards and shows, Santos has also appeared in and choreographed numerous music videos like “Wild Wild West” with Will Smith, “Crazy” with Britney Spears, “Most Girls” with P!NK, “Irresistible” and “A Lil’ Bit” with Jessica Simpson, “Pass the Dutch” with Missy Elliott, and “Hands up” with TLC. Santos has also expanded his talents and interests into Hollywood where he appeared with Mike Myers in “Austin Powers 3”, Rob Schneider in “The Hot Chic” and Jessica Alba in “Honey”. He has also embarked on a directorial venture by directing his own movie, “Being a Girl” starring JD Pardo. 

Throughout his career, Santos has also been the assistant choreographer for “America’s Best Dance Crew” and the supervising choreographer for the “ABDC LIVE The Tour” where he managed the ABDC Champion crews, Super Cr3w and Blueprint Cru.

Having spent so many years and gaining tremendous experience in the dance industry, he opened his own dance company, JLS Entertainment in 2005. Santos admits that he always looks for diversity, uniqueness, and dedication from his dancers. He believes that each dance performance must be “one of a kind”; something which sets each performer apart from the others. 

Come and meet Jesse at the McDonald's Dance USA Dance semi-finale. Tickets: https://bit.ly/2Mk7evm