What’s Shoe Tutting? Filipino Dancer Paves New Lane For Sneakerheads
Shoe tutting is a unique art form and one Filipino-American dancer, Jeremy Tiongson, is looking to make it a staple of dance culture.
Jeremy Tiongson’s unique combination of incorporating shoes with a dance style known as “tutting” has become an entertaining and innovative form of dance. He is hoping to make shoe tutting a more prevalent form of dance.
What is tutting, tho?
Also known as @Angles_TV, the Filipino dancer’s shoe tutting has helped make a name for himself in the viral dance community. Luckily his grind over the years of perfecting this craft prepared him for this moment. Now he plans to capitalize on it.
The response from the dance community was extremely positive. Mario Lopez even took notice and interviewed him on Access Hollywood.
Ever since Jeremy Tiongson was a kid, he had a passion for both shoes and for dancing. As he mentions in our interview, he would go as far as to save his lunch money every day until he had enough money to buy new sneakers.
Now, Jeremy is focused on continuing to innovate and level up. To make this possible, he needed to develop a love for the art first. The Filipino dancer is hopeful the popularity of his niche content will continue to grow. He hopes that his shoe tutting will eventually land a sneaker deal.
But it all started in his early days when he first started dance battling.
Let the Shoe Tutting Begin
As he got older, Jeremy discovered the dance battle scene in the Bay Area. He was inspired by the top dancers and their ability to grow such a large and loyal following.
Jeremy was committed. He would travel across the country to pursue his passion and participate in battles. Some that didn’t even pay the dancers. He was spending entire paychecks to travel to battles and compete for free. Experiences like this would help the Filipino dancer find more supportive audiences.
“Back then, what I was doing was more accepted on the east coast. They embraced what I did. This made it easier for me to be a part of that culture and community out there. It took a while, but a lot of different opportunities popped up. Working with other dancers started to get me some more local support which is something I have always wanted.”
-Jeremy Tiongson
The Only Constant is Change
Society, technology, and dance are always evolving. It is important to stay true to yourself, but you also need to evolve as well.
He needed to transition to taking his focus from battling to content creation. He found that it was more advantageous to be able to do things on your own terms. This is how shoe tutting was born.
“I’m really into innovating and pushing this tutting style to where it’s not a sub-style. I want it to become a main style in dance. To a point where it’s okay for people to want to become a tutter.”
-Jeremy Tiongson
Smooth Seas Don’t Make Strong Sailors
Although Jeremy has experienced lots of growth and success, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Today, so many people experience several internal struggles, from mental health to finding purpose.
The same is true for the 27-year-old Pinoy dancer from Daly City, California. In today’s world of dance, tutting is still not as widely used. During our conversation, The Filipino dancer stressed the importance of not quitting the things you love to do.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. Try not to let the outside opinions of other people affect you or get you off your path.”
-Jeremy Tiongson
He continued, “When I was 17-20 I was being told that what I was doing wasn’t real dancing. It was very hard to hear as a kid. Stick with what you love, and everything you want will all come. Just stay true to yourself and keep doing what you’re doing.”
Tough Times Don’t Last. Tough People Do!
At one point in his journey, he had taken a step back from dancing. He almost gave up on it. The pandemic affected everyone — physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. After losing his job, Jeremy was lost and in need of a new direction.
Many people can relate to this and have experienced something similar. The key is how you respond and how you can pick yourself back up after you’ve been knocked down.
The Filipino dancer showed the world you could get back on your feet by putting your shoes on one hand at a time… Chris Brown even took notice of the shoe tutting sensation.
The Next Move
Jeremy isn’t close to reaching his final form yet. He is looking forward to growing with other dancers and becoming a more consistent content creator. Outside of dancing, he would like to be able to help others with their social media strategy and content creation.
“I would love to push tutting to a broader audience so people could see it for how beautiful it is.”
-Jeremy Tiongson
Jeremy does one-on-one private lessons from time to time. In the future, he plans to start his own dance studio and even host battles. Everyone will come to a crossroads or a hurdle along their journey. Remember, you just have to do what you love and follow your feet.