When it comes to careers, a lot has changed for Jordan Rodrigues and his character Christian Reed in Dance Academy. Stepping slightly away from what they know, Reed has begun teaching and Rodrigues has made a crack for the music industry.
“In the film I actually don’t dance as much in the series and Christian has gone on to teaching,” Rodrigues says before adding, “I do a little bit of dancing”.
“I’m in a different shape to the one I was in, in the series, but I’m also slightly envious because it would have been fun to dance a little bit more. But I do think I danced just the right amount of time in the movie…I don’t think any of us had been dancing consistently since the series, so hats off to them for making it work.”
The same could be said for Rodrigues’ step into the music industry, having recently live streamed his backyard EP launch via socials and performed a gig of all originals at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles.
“It was exactly how I imagined it would go,” he says. “I was quite nervous playing my original music in front of a crowd for the first time, but it went really well. I was over the moon with the response and just being on the stage and letting go for a bit.”
Interestingly, music is a passion he also shares with fellow Dance Academy star Keiynan Lonsdale. After living together in Sydney filming the initial television series, the pair are now incredibly close, with Rodrigues confessing they can “call each other up about anything”.
For Lonsdale, Rodrigues served as the motivation for him to step into his own solo career – being the first person to ever hear him sing live. The musical bond and friendship soon took the duo to performing covers they released on YouTube.
“When it comes to music [for us] it’s always about pushing the boundaries; writing, the sound, all that. He was actually the guy that told me I should pitch the first song I ever wrote to Dance Academy. And now that the movie is released it’s actually in the film and I probably wouldn’t have had the guts to pitch it to Joanna Wermer without him,” he says.
Beyond music, Rodrigues is still following his passion for acting, having since starred in The Fosters, had an appearance on Hawaii Five-O and most recently wrapped up filming Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut of Lady Bird.
“It was a dream working with Greta, and also the cast. I don’t think I’ve worked with such seasoned actors before, so I’ve been learning a lot,” Rodrigues beams. “I was quite intimidated on set but I learnt a lot. It was nice to work with her so close and figure out tiny little details in the scene. Greta has such a good vibe on that set, it was very relaxed, very calm and a lot of fun.”
With more acting roles surely in his future, it’s only fitting to take a look back to where it all began for the actor with Dance Academy’s newest film installment.
Written by Amanda Sherring
