Tweetie – Star of Dances From Tha Hood

Saturday saw the premier of Tweetie’s Dances From Tha Hood and I’m really sorry I missed it though the clips on the site give me a pretty good idea of what’s up.  Tweetie is a hip hop dancer and choreographer who recently appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.  Dances From Tha Hood capitalizes on the current upsurge of simple dances to simple hip hop songs and attempts to bridge to the Web with viewer created videos and related offerings.

From the press release:
On the first episode, the show will feature dances that include the "Aunt Jackie," the "Lip Gloss," and the "Toe Wop."…Throughout the season TWEETIE also visits with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B who, in turn, break down the dance elements of their hit videos. In this episode, Tweet Boogie chills with rising rap star Lil’ Mama, who’s taking over the charts this summer with both her hits "Lip Gloss" and Avril’s "Girlfriend Remix."…

Also prominently highlighted throughout "Dances From Tha Hood" is a call to action from TWEETIE asking viewers at home to submit (either by upload or wireless device) videos of themselves doing the latest dances to the show’s sister site, www.dancesfromthahood.mtv.com, in addition to uploading their own dance clips, kids can rate, comment and rank each other’s videos.  The highest ranked dance clips on the site are then featured in the aforementioned "Getting It In" show segment.  The site will also feature the latest "DFTH" mobile episode and include exclusive messages from TWEETIE to her online dance community that will update periodically.

This is a smartly conceived and well-timed show that’s "Executive produced by Sway Calloway, Sean Lee, Dave Sirulnick and Ocean MacAdams" with Smoov as the "party-roving musical director".

Wynton Marsalis iPod Commercial

I think this is the iPod commercial in which Tweetie appears. 

Here’s some background, also from the release:
Tweetie was born Lenaya Straker in the Bronx, NY…She got accepted into Fiorella LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts.  While there she majored in ballet, modern, jazz, and was able to showcase hip-hop dance in various local talent shows in the area as part of All Stars Talent Show Network…Her dedication and determination enabled her to graduate school and later work with the likes of Jay Z, Destiny’s Child, N’Sync, Mya and Angie Martinez…

Tweetie can also be seen as a featured dancer in the Stride Gum Campaign and stars as the spokesperson for "Dances from Tha Hood Mobile Phone Series", available on Sprint, Verizon, Cingular, Amp’d and Helio phones. She is also appearing in the NIKE Women spring/summer collection and in the new IPOD commercial featuring Wynton Marsalis.

Tweetie teaches in New York at The Ailey Extension and the Peridance Center.  She’s also taught at the Illadelph Legends Festival and Jacob’s Pillow so she’s the real deal on multiple levels.  That also means she’s accessible to serious dancers and dance students in a way that musical artists at her level would not be.

Official Site:
Dances From Tha Hood