For issue 17 of AMBITION, we were thrilled to have caught up with TikTok dance stars Brooke Blewitt and Jess Qualter, better known as ‘Brookie and Jessie.’ The hooded dancing duo, famed for choreographing the ‘Jiggle Jiggle’ dance amongst many others, talk to AXJ about their rapid rise to popularity and what’s next for them.
Where does your ambition come from? What keeps you creating?
J: Music is probably the main one.
B: Yes, liking songs that we have on Spotify and then dancing to them.
J: We’ve danced our whole lives so it feels like it comes naturally.
You’re both professional performers in musical theatre. Tell us a little about how everything kicked off with your TikTok dances!
B: When we graduated from musical theatre college, we spent a lot of time at home.
J: We graduated to no auditions because of the whole pandemic. So we spent a lot of time at the flat watching TikToks. We were addicted to TikTok since it came out. And then we made one video together, ‘Jiggle, Jiggle,’ kind of as a joke.
B: We posted it online for fun not thinking anything of it, and then it went a bit mad. That was the first one we did which was crazy.
When was the moment you realised that you two were onto something?
J: When Jiggle Jiggle blew up, and then we created a joint account after about 3 videos and it started doing well.
B: People were telling us we should do a series. I think the first moment we realised was when ‘Jiggle Jiggle’ was on The Jimmy Fallon Show. It was like, ‘oh my god, people in America are seeing this.’
How strategic were you with the shades and hoodies and the fact that it’s become your brand look?
J: It was so by mistake. We had no makeup on and we were making pasta in our hoodies in joggers, because that’s just what we wear around the house. I was like, should we put the hood up and the sunglasses on, so if it flops, our identity is hidden?
B: And it just stuck. Now it’s the brand.
How long does it take to create these dances and talk us through your process?
J: It really doesn’t take long, especially if we like a song.
B: If we love it, we’re bouncing ideas off eachother. It takes about 10 minutes.
What advice do you have for aspiring creatives?
J: Literally just do it.
B: If you’re thinking about putting the content out and you’re just overthinking it, just post it.
J: What’s the worst that could happen? If you love it, other people will to.
B: And just have fun!
You bagged yourself a deal with Netflix for Stranger Things promo. Was that your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment so far, and if not, what has been?
J: At the time, that was the craziest thing ever. The Jimmy Fallon show was big because that was the first thing ever.
B: Fortnite. The fact that people actually buy the dance and they care. Just seeing anyone else do the dance who we don’t know.
J: It feels a bit surreal.
If you were to cook your success down into 3 things what would they be?
Jess: Fun?
B: I like staying relatable.
J: Fun, relatable…
B: and chaos!
If you had a microphone and the whole world was listening, what would you say?
J: Nothing matters, we’re on a big floating ball. It’s not that deep.
Since you two have blown up, it feels like your gas on the pedal ever since. What’s next for Jessie and Brookie?
J: I think we’re just talking to a lot of artists and hope to keep dancing with them!
B: We have so many different ideas and want to get more involved in the music industry. Just stuff we never thought we’d be able to ever do.
Can you teach AXJ a quick dance in 5 minutes?
We’re going to try and teach you ‘Made you Look’ by Meghan Trainor!
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