Rockabye

Tiny Dancer (JJ)

Career

Joseph Francis Mazzello IV or "JJ" was a natural-born dancer. In the womb, his Papa would refer to him as his "tiny dancer." Outside of the womb, he was wiggling, rolling, crawling, bopping, walking far before his other siblings, when their baby milestones came along. He felt alive when he danced, even if there was no music at all, just a simple beat to tap his toes too.

However, as a child, and being the first Mazzello boy in the family, his Dad had other plans. Baseball. Now, it was not his father's fault. His daughter loved to watch baseball with her father. She even joined a softball team, briefly after retiring from tap class and before her modeling career took off. He loved baseball as a kid. He still was a die-hard Yankee fan. If he was such a fan of the sport, why not his son? Why would it be bad to get his son into Little League and show that the Mazzellos still had it on the field? Sadly, it wasn't in the cards for Joe's namesake. JJ was miserable on the field.

JJ is still thankful for that fateful day when his Papa brought him along to pick up Clara from dance class and JJ just got up, went to the bar, and followed the moves of the other dances as best as his little toddler feet could.

Papa had a conversation with Dad after witnessing such a talented little guy and luckily his Dad could see how the thought of getting back on the field brought tears to JJ's eyes. It wasn't traumatizing. The other team players were nice. But he had no interest in running, throwing or hitting a stupid ball around a field. He felt he was far more useful on stage where his body could be the poetry to music. Where he could lose himself completely and let the melody take him far away from the shit of the world.

By the age of seven, he was attending dance competitions. His father made sure to travel with him to every event, even if it was difficult with four children. Thankfully, the family was privileged enough to split their time and money spent on trips to other state competitions. If it wasn't his Dad, it was his Papa and if it wasn't his Papa, it was one of his dancing friend's families who would be willing to let him carpool to the next event.

Even though there were very few boys, so sometimes JJ stuck out like a sore thumb, it never bothered the other parents when JJ tagged along. Of course, JJ wouldn't attend a sleepover and be in the same room as the girls but he didn't mind. He'd stay to himself and text his best friend, Jude, who was back home, doing stupid math homework or telling him a brand new tale about his father's clumsiness. JJ would often remind Jude that he was also accident-prone but Jude was soon to correct him and say that it was nowhere near as accident-prone as his other sibling, Lennon, though seemed to be in a new cast or brace every other week.

Needless to say, JJ was good at what he did. And everybody knew it. By the time he graduated from high school, he was on his way to attend a college or university that was the best fit for a professional dancer like him. And yes, even before entering university, he considered himself a professional. Try to tell all his first place dancing competition awards otherwise.

It was a difficult pill for his dads to swallow when JJ decided to move to New York for school. Juilliard was his dream, as it is for many dancers. In the back of his mind, he knew he would always come back home. That's where his family was. That's where his boyfriend's family was. But he felt that he needed a break from the house of 5+. Also, going to New York was a great opportunity to test his basic living skills. He went around the west coast (most of the time) for his dance competition. Even though he was born in New York, he was in LA by the time he went to Kindergarten. He felt that it was only natural to go back to his home tuff for something. And since he started dancing in New York, why not make his official mark there as well?

After a few whines, grunts and pleads to stay (mostly by Dad), JJ was 18 and off to Julliard. It wasn't always easy, since so many other dancers looked, walked, talked like him. How was it hard to be unique when everyone around you wants the same thing? Sometimes it felt like a dog-eat-dog world out there but with the support of his boyfriend (at the time) and his Can-Do attitude (mostly adopted from his Papa), JJ made a name for himself.