Jonte' Moaning (born October 9, 1982 in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

), also known as Jonte, is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

choreographer, dancer, singer-songwriter, and model.

Life and career

Jonte' was born on October 9, 1985, in Portland, Oregon. He began his dance career at the age of 13, enrolling in the

Oregon Ballet Theatre Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is a ballet company in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company performs an annual five-program season at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and conducts regional and national tours. It was featured in t ...

.Noah Michelson
"Need to Know: Jonte' Moaning"
''Out'', 25 January 2010 After graduating from high school , Jonte' moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to train with the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...

. In 2004, he performed as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson in the controversial

Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show took place on February 1, 2004, at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, as part of Super Bowl XXXVIII. It featured Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock, and Jessica Simpson. The halft ...

.Rebecca Imaizumi
"Interview: Jonte' on Choreographing Beyoncé and Solo Single 'Dejavux'"
''Blouin Artinfo Japan'', 15 December 2013 He is perhaps best known for his work with

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

as a choreographer on her 2007 world tour,

The Beyoncé Experience The Beyoncé Experience was the third concert tour by American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was staged in support of her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). The Beyoncé Experience consisted of 96 shows in 2007 over five legs. Fan-club ticket ...

. He also choreographed a number of Beyoncé music videos, most notably "

Freakum Dress "Freakum Dress" is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé from her second solo studio album ''B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Rich Harrison, Angela Beyincé and Makeba Riddick. "Freakum Dress" received comparisons to Dest ...

." Jonte' is also active in the Japanese entertainment industry. He first visited Japan when he was invited to teach dance workshops in Hiroshima in 2004, and since then has worked as a choreographer for major Asian pop artists and groups including

Jolin Tsai Jolin Tsai (; ; born September 15, 1980) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of C-Pop", she is considered one of the most influential figures in Chinese popular culture. She is known for her continual rein ...

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

Wonder Girls Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single " Irony" and 5 members: Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna and Sohee. After Hyuna's departure in July, Yubin was added int ...

2PM 2PM (; romanized; ''Tupiem'') is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Jun. K (formerly known as Junsu), Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho and Chansung. Originally a seven-piece group, fo ...

Miss A Miss A (stylized as "MISS A" or "miss A", Hangul: ) was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in July 2010 with the single " Bad Girl Good Girl" as a quartet consisting of Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy. Their ...

, and

T-ara T-ara (; ko, 티아라) are a South Korean girl group formed by MBK Entertainment in 2009, consists of four members: Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin and Jiyeon. T-ara's career is marked by hook-heavy dance-pop music, a result of their close partners ...

. In addition to choreography and modeling work, Jonte' has also makes frequent appearances in Japanese television programming and advertising campaigns, most notably for Lotte brand Ice Breakers and Tokyo Mode Gakuen, an academy of fashion and design. He was also featured in the promotional video for the J-Pop group

GReeeeN Greeeen (stylized as GReeeeN) is a Japanese vocal group from Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, comprising the all-male four members: HIDE, navi, 92 (read as "kuni"), and SOH. They made their debut with Universal Music in 2007. Their logo image i ...

's 2013 single "A-I-U-E-Ongaku," which was used as the opening theme for the

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

''Line Offline: Salaryman'' and ''Linetown'', though he is perhaps most recognized for his appearance in the end credits to the long-running NHK children's program ''Tensai Terebi-kun''. Jonte' released his first solo single, "Bitch You Betta" in 2008. He has stated that he was inspired to become a solo artist while working with performing artists and feeling that he "could do it better." As a performer, Jonte' is known for his androgynous look and trademark high heels. He is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, and although sometimes referred to as a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

, does not identify as such. In an interview with ''Out'' magazine, he describes his own gender identity as follows: "I'm just an androgynous male. That's it. I look good in women's clothes so I might as well wear them, you know? That's what it is. I'm really not a drag queen. Although I love drag queens, that's really not me.""Need to Know: Jonte' Moaning"
''Out'', 25 January 2010

Discography

* "Bitch You Betta" - 2008 * "Ya Rude!" - 2011 * "High Kick Pow" (EP) - 2011 * "Tiger" (featuring Dai Burger and Ansoni) - 2013 * "Alcoholic" - 2013 * "Dejavux" - 2013 * "Klassy" (Collaboration with Jack Rayner)- 2020

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moaning, Jonte 1982 births LGBT African Americans African-American choreographers American choreographers LGBT choreographers African-American male dancers LGBT dancers American expatriates in Japan Living people Artists from Portland, Oregon LGBT people from Oregon Male models from Oregon American people of Togolese descent American people of Beninese descent

Life and career

Discography

See also

References

External links