Welcome to the JJGirl Spotlight, a series featuring the smart, talented, fearless young faces of Jo+Jax.
Today, meet 12-year-old Emma Hellenkamp. In addition to her 91,000 Instagram followers and many awards, Emma definitely shines in the dance world. You may know her as the 3rd runner up on the hit TV dance competition So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation where she tapped her way through the 13th season of the show and into the season finale. She also won 1st overall at Showstoppers, Starbound, Spotlight, Groove, Move and Adrenaline. Talk about some amazing accomplishments! Here’s more to know about this beautiful girl…
Favorite dance styles: “A few of my favorite styles are contemporary because of the movement, ballet because of the elegance, tap because of the rhythms and hip hop because of the funk that goes into it.”
Favorite choreographers: “One of my favorite choreographers is Anthony Morigerato. He inspires because of his personality as well as his amazing tapping.”
Dance idols: “One dance idol of mine is Gaby Diaz. I had the opportunity of going through SYTYCD with Gaby as my mentor. We became as close as sisters. She is genuine, a phenomenal tapper, and an amazing person that I look up to.”
Dream role: ”I don’t know what my dream role is yet. I know I want to dance for the rest of my life whether that’s on Broadway, in movies, or with a professional Ballet Company.”
Favorite school subject: “I like math because I love calculating different ways to get answers.”
Favorite ice cream flavor: “My favorite ice cream flavor is rocky road because it has almonds, marshmallows, and chocolate ice cream mixed in one.”
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? “If I could eat one food for the rest of my life I would eat pasta, because that is one of my favorite foods.”
Favorite book: “My favorite book is Out Of My Mind because it made me feel mixed emotions all throughout the book.”
Favorite movies: “My favorite movies are Moana, La La Land, and Sing.”
Must-see TV: “So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, Fuller House, and Dance Academy. ”
If you could perform a duet with anyone, who would it be? “Savion Glover because he is an idol of mine.”
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? “Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Alaska.”
If your life were a movie, who would you cast in it? “The person who would play me in the movie would be Gaby Diaz, my BFF would be Jenna Johnson, and my love interest would be Bruno Bars.”
What’s the weirdest thing in your dance bag? “My crunchy, disgusting lucky socks.”
Favorite way to hit the stage: “I like hitting the stage as a soloist because it’s just me, myself, and I. I also like to perform in a group because I have all my friends on stage with me. I would rather be the performer than the choreographer because I love being on stage. I also love performing in music videos because I love playing with the camera as well as being on camera.”
Favorite Jo+Jax: “My favorite Jo+Jax items are the Sweet Tee, the Sling Shot Top, the Prism Top, and the Cali Top. The Jo+Jax bottoms I like are the Flip Shorts, the Chevron Shorts, the Bandit Shorts, the Jetway Leggings, the Pro Leggings, the Astro Shorts, and the Ready Set Sweats. ”
Meet the rest of the JJGirls!