Britney Spears’ one-time dance instructor breaks out in the star-studded film Cadillac Records.

As told to Damien Scott; Photograph by Photography by Sam Comen
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(groomer) Al Bondi; (STYLIST) JANET LIn; (CLOTHING) JACKET BY ERIC HART; TIE BY BEN SHERMAN; SHIRT AND JEANS BY DIESEL. (photos) Ap photo WHO 26-year-old former dancer and choreographer for the stars turned big-screen actor, writer and producer

BIG BREAK: “I left high school in February of my senior year and moved to New York to go on tour with Stomp. Then I came to L.A. and started taking dance classes every day. In 2002 I started choreographing for Britney. But it wasn’t my passion; acting has always been my passion.”

STAYING CLASSY: “You gotta play the game sometimes, and you gotta juxtapose your art versus the commerce. But whatever genre of film it is, there should be an expectation of class and artistic merit.”

STAY IN THE CUT: “I believe in mystery. You don’t see Will, Denzel or Leo [out there], and these are the biggest stars in the game. The reason is that they’re a mystery. If you’re all out there on the cover of [gossip] magazines, you feel common. You see celebrities with no talent. We have people that have done two movies, and they’re followed like crazy and this huge hype is created early. It’s a double-edged sword. The media is dangerous.”

I CAN’T BE YOUR SUPERMAN: “I didn’t turn down [the role of Green Lantern], but I was in the running for it, and I kinda pulled out. It wasn’t where I wanted it to go. Cadillac Records is where I wanted it to go. I want to do more grounded films; I don’t need to be a superhero. There are a lot of real-life superhero stories that need to be told.”

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