The Bad Business Practices of Viral Dancer, Aliya Janell
A viral dancer and bad business – A Commentary on Branding During a Shutdown
Aliya Janell has carved a lane in the dance industry and has been immensely successful doing it. After being a dance assistant in L.A. for two years, she eventually decided branch out on her own as a choreographer. After going viral in a dance with over millions of views back in 2017, she has amassed a cult following of many types of women.
When it becomes necessary to pivot in your industry
We should also acknowledge it seems like she has a variety of income already: between partnerships with brands like ShoeDazzle, working for artists such as Nicki Minaj and Tank in the past, teaching extremely popular dance classes for $15 per person , merchandise, having a her own dance tour, and perhaps other paid sponsorships as well. She is definitely not struggling for income. Or wasn’t…
When the world shut down in March 2020, we saw many viral dancers like Aliya Janell scrambling to push out content and create a new lane in the absence of in-person dance classes and live dance opportunities.
Crippling Limitations to the Queens N’ Lettos Brand
One of the most harmful decisions Aliya Janell made when she became viral was only choreographing to sexual and/or trendy songs. This was fine while there were trends, but when everything shut down, the trends – and thus her brand – came to a noticeable halt. The view counts don’t lie. She went from averaging millions of views per video to only scraping by with a few hundred thousand after the shutdown began.
Another limitation is that the atmosphere she creates in her class requires people to complete it. Aliya’s confidence and motivational words (and sex appeal) is what has gotten her noticed, and why people enjoy her classes so much. However, I think her YouTube views went down significantly – thus her audience – in part due to no one coming to an in-person class. Her entire business has a complete reliance on social media and word-of-mouth to spread the word, and the hook is being in her presence. This can’t be sustainable if no one is sharing on social media nor in-person(because….rona). So no one is spreading the word or going to her classes. This can be detrimental to any business, but especially to a dance teacher.
A Lazy Pivot in the Dance Industry During a Shutdown
The Tutorials
The shutdown was unprecedented for the current era of dance, and would require swift adaptation. Especially for the dancers that have to live off of dance. The necessity to pivot was survival.
Unfortunately, Aliya Janell’s pivot during the shutdown was a bit lackluster. It seemed like she was just trying to do business as usual, and probably thought like we all did that this would only last two weeks.
When things did NOT return to “normal,” she appeared to force the Queens N’ Lettos experience into a new medium. A visual medium for her classes. She did this by creating tutorials for some new pieces, and some of her other well-known pieces from the past.
In my opinion, this could’ve never possibly been as successful as her in-person classes because it was never meant to be on that platform in the first place. The experience she offers is meant to be an in-person hype class to feel like a “Queen,” with YouTube videos serving as the highlights to a seemingly VIP experience. The pivot would’ve been maintaining this perception while adapting to the internet medium, and Aliya Janell did not deliver. That grasp of in-person novelty cannot be translated to a few videos teaching choreography.
Tutorials Out of Necessity, Not for the Brand
There was no thought put into her deciding to do tutorials besides making money in a shutdown. If she was going to do tutorials, she should’ve BEEN doing them. Her hottest dances that she has put up tutorials for are no longer hot. And her new choreography does not compare, and even seems a bit lackadaisical. It’s like she’s just pushing out content to collect coin, not to share dance. The tutorials overall seem like she’s backtracking to try to capitalize on a missed opportunity.
This wouldn’t be so problematic if she didn’t start having infomercials for the tutorials directly after she performs her new lackluster choreography. This is a dead giveaway that she needs the money. Which I understand – we’re in a pandemic and we all need money – but this isn’t the way I believe she should’ve gone about, especially from a branding perspective.
The tutorial market has already been oversaturated (I’m looking at Willdabeast Adams who was one of the first to offer them). For her to offer them out of the blue just screams tacky. Tutorials to pieces that have already lost hype or new ones that aren’t worth the hype due to lazy choreography was misguided.
What an “On-Brand” Pivot Looks Like
I think about a local heels dancer in Oakland who goes by the name Vibe.WithMe. Her pivot during the shutdown seemed calculated, precise, and adapted her brand flawlessly. Her brand was more of a sisterhood, tight-knit community with an emphasis on technique.
What she ended up doing was this:
Switched from several crowded choreography-based classes weekly –> To smaller technical-based workshops monthly.
This completely changed the financial model of her classes by offering a monthly package premium of new services, but still could create that intimate setting she’s known for and be safe while doing it. It should be noted that she already had those types of workshops, so nothing seemed off about having more. It seemed as if she had genuine concern for her dancers’ well-being. Her brand is still thriving even now. The limit was six people in an entire dance studio with masks. Now that’s a pivot and it fosters the same feel of sisterhood that she had branded.
“Have an end in mind”
I mention this other dancer because it’s important to start with an end in mind. You can’t be hot for now; you must simmer and sizzle forever. It’s what separates the entertainers from the entrepreneurs. You have to have a back-up plan, and more importantly, an exit plan.
Let’s talk lasting impact
I don’t knock the fact that there are women who have taken her class that have said how confident, beautiful and alive they’ve felt afterward. Based on Janell’s interviews, this seems to be her intention. She wants to make women feel like “queens.” However, we’re talking about branding.
Her lazy pivot showcases a clear disinterest in helping her students. She’s just collecting coins while other choreographers are trying to make dance more accessible at the exact time none of us can actually dance in-person. Capitalism and art have a strange relationship that is both delicate and absolutely necessary. This wasn’t the time for tutorials, and if you were going to do that, you had to deliver a similar product to the one you’ve already been peddling, or it comes off as disingenuous.
Your brand matters, and if you try to branch out too far from your original pulse of the essence you’ve created, you won’t be as popular. But more importantly, your paper will soon dry up anyway.
You can see more masterful, intentional and artistic pivots with other choreographers who have been in the game 20+ years. You see this type of effort and evolution in choreographers like Fatima Robinson who had a seemingly flawless pivot into the film industry, or Sean Bankhead building key alliances with folks like Missy Elliot and Lee Daniels.
I don’t see Aliya having this same type of pull or influence on dance. Strong brand = Influence = Value, and Value = Money. Plain and simple.
Last Words
She pigeon-holed her own brand by only doing trendy and thirst trap content. Her hip hop skills are AMAZING; her performance ability is insane. She should’ve diversified WAY more into these other styles instead of focusing solely on trendy/sexy heels content. The transition to what she’s doing – podcasts, tutorials, etc. – should have already been in the works. Whether this shutdown happened or not, and that’s the problem.
A business is an investment, and there needs to be an ROI when everything is over, the lights dim, and the curtains close. Better late than never, I suppose.
Disclaimer: I do not know Aliya Janell personally, so this commentary is based solely upon the social factors I am able to observe. She could very well have separate sources of income or business models we know nothing about.
Follow the Woke Dancer Facebook page now for updates.
Tags: Aliya Janell
