Meet Jasmine Shannon Miggins

We were lucky to catch up with Jasmine Shannon Miggins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jasmine , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Developing my self-esteem and confidence came from staying dedicated to my love of dance and
performance. Throughout my
childhood I wasn’t always accepted and performing & dancing always gave me the confidence to trust in myself, know my worth and focus on my dreams. Whenever Im about to perform, there is a zone & character I tap into and the feeling of being free in your artistry is the best feeling in the world.

Another big part of developing my confidence was that
my support system was strong and having a family that always saw something in me made me feel unstoppable !

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I was born & raised in the South Bay of LA where I started dancing at Lula Washington Dance Theatre at the age of 7. I knew I loved dance & continued to stick to it all the way up to my college tryouts. I then danced in college at Oregon State University for 4 years & from there, went on to dance in the NBA for the Portland Trail
Blazers 3 seasons. As my journey continued, I moved back to Los Angeles & started the commercial industry in 2018 and have now been apart of it for 7 years. Throughout my journey back in LA, I got married and now have 2 boys that are my world!

With all that has changed from the beginning of my pro years to now, I prayed for more stability so I could see my family more & balance my work/life to ensure I can be the mom & wife that I always wanted to be.

In 2023, I received the opportunity to apply to be the Director of a Division 1 College team at my alma mater. I took the risk and after 3 months of interviews, I was offered the position. This was definitely a big decision I had to make, but it meant more time with my husband and kids & dedicated time educating & mentoring the next generation of performers, while still
choroegraphing, performing & building community!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities that I feel are the most impactful to my journey are my work ethic, personality & ability to communicate. Kindness goes a long way and if you make a good impression, that can open so many doors.

Another piece of advice is don’t be afraid to ask questions! The worst thing that can happen is getting a NO and even though that can be intimidating, at least you can walk away from asking a question with more knowledge and understanding.

My last piece of advice is always be a student. No matter what, you should always feel like a student in your craft! Even if you feel like you’ve accomplished so much, there’s always so much more to learn! Be fearless & GO FOR IT!

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I think this is so important to talk about because whenever you’re trying to grow or accomplish something you’ve never done before, it can sometimes be overwhelming.

My advice is to find what you know brings you peace outside of your craft/ work. I think being able to detach from your passion is important because you’re able to look at it from an outside perspective and reflect. For me
yoga, reading, hiking or working out helps me. Also, Journaling is a great release if you like to write. Light a candle, play some music and just write what comes tk mind!

Also for my creatives, sometimes its hard to do your passion as a job because your passion starts to become just “work”. Remember to tap into your craft outside of just making money from it. As a performer, that may mean getting in the studio and freestyling, choroegraphing a piece to a song that is inspiring to you, etc. Tap into your craft without it being for work and thats always a good reminder of what your “WHY?” is in your craft!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jasnationn