When choreographer Quinton Peron logs on to a video call with Dance Spirit, it’s from a hotel room in Arizona. After the interview, he’s off to set choreography on a studio team. Two days ago, he was in Lyon, France, creating a first-ever pom routine for a team that competes at Worlds.

But one of the places Peron has gained the most success is on the Universal Dance Association College Nationals floor. Last year, he choreographed several standout routines: University of Miami’s D1A jazz to “Hot in Herre,” San Diego State’s D1A jazz to “Proud Mary” (co-choreographed with Raven S. Gantt), and Cal State Fullerton’s first-place-winning D1 pom. This  January, his choreography will be danced by Cal State Fullerton, Rutgers, San Diego State, and Butler University.

Peron with the Cal State Fullerton dance team. Courtesy of Peron.

Dance Spirit spoke with Peron about what makes a good jazz and pom routine, his journey from NFL cheer to choreography, and his hopes for the future of competitive college dance.

How did your dance career begin?

I started dancing at 16 years old. I was playing basketball and baseball, and it wasn’t until Season 4 of “So You Think You Can Dance” when I realized that, oh, I want to do this. I saw tWitch and Will [Wingfield], two Black men in two different styles. I saw myself in them and I was like, “I’m done playing basketball and baseball—sorry, Dad.” I joined my local studio that weekend.

I danced at Mt. San Antonio College and we competed at UDA a few times. Then I was in Los Angeles, doing some industry jobs when I decided to audition for the L.A. Rams cheerleaders. I made it and ended up being one of the first male cheerleaders in the league. In those four years my life really changed. We cheered at Super Bowls and won one. It opened so many doors.

How did you become a choreographer?

My [home studio] hip-hop teacher taught at a dance convention, and he could never make it to the studio on Mondays, so he was like, “Hey, Q, I need you.” That led from subbing to running the hip-hop program. Then hip hop led to jazz, one routine turned into three, adding in some solos, and then things started doing well [at competitions]. Then people see you and want to hire you.

Peron and Gantt with the San Diego State dance team. Courtesy of Peron.

I credit my director at the L.A. Rams, Keely Fimbres, for a lot of my success. She allowed me to choreograph for the team while I was still on it. The first dance I ever choreographed for the team was during the 2018–19 season, a home game against the Dallas Cowboys. It was crazy. I was so excited.

Being on staff with Pro Action Dance also gave me a platform. That’s what put me in touch with Cal State Fullerton, my first college team. In July 2021, they came up to me at the Pro Action Dance weekend and asked if I could choreograph their pom [routine]. I was like, “You know I’ve never done a pom routine before, right?” But their coaches, Jennie Volkert and Krysten Dorado, believed in a guy who loved to dance and to teach.

Peron with the Butler University dance team. Courtesy of Peron.

What is your choreographic process?

My process is there is no process. I like to play around a lot. What I’ll do, especially if I don’t know a team, is for the first day have them improv a million times to different music and do a lot going across the floor. We also do a lot of chatting. My first day of choreo is about finding out who needs to be where, who can do what. That way when I lay out the routine in my head, if I know this girl busted out 25 pirouettes into a backflip landing in a middle split, that needs to be in the routine.

I always stage the turn section first and work backwards to my opening. It helps when the coach can be like an assistant choreographer for me, because they know their team.

For pom music, I work with an amazing DJ (shout-out [to] Aaron from Citadel Productions!) and ask the coaches what they want in terms of a theme, key words, or an artist they want to include. When it comes to jazz, I’m very specific. I want people to know “Quinton must have done that” because of the music choices. I love a throwback, an oldie—’60s, ’70s, R&B, soul, funk. There’s a lot of stuff people don’t see on the back end, blasting music in the hotel room and cutting it a million times to see if it flows.

Peron with the Cal State Fullerton dance team. Courtesy of Peron.

What makes a good collegiate jazz routine? Pom routine?

College jazz is tough. You can go more traditional jazz or the lyrical side. Personally, I like an audience reaction. That first two seconds a song plays, I want the audience to go, “Are they really doing this? I love this song!” Music plays a huge role. It also needs to be athletic and very lyrical. What in Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love” says roundoff back-handspring into a 540 into pirouettes? I need to see and feel the lyrics onstage. Maybe that’s my secret code.

For pom, there needs to be at least two 8-counts where we’re all together. Athleticism, entertainment, music, use of stage, and execution—nobody wants to see sloppy pom. Get your motions together, hit them sharp, and have a good time onstage.

Peron with the Rutgers University dance team. Courtesy of Peron.

Who inspires you creatively?

Someone I look up to is Debbie Allen. I haven’t met her yet, and I say “yet” because I believe in putting things out into the universe. She started as a dancer, went into acting and then producing, even co-starring on a show she produced. (Subtle flex.) People always tell me you can’t do it all, and I don’t think that’s the right mentality. She’s the kind of person that’s doing everything.

What are your hopes for the future of collegiate dance?

I want everyone to remember why we’re doing this. It’s not for a plastic trophy. It’s not worth losing friendships over, not worth negativity and nastiness. Also, UDA is the dance Super Bowl. There are so many eyes on this, and we still don’t get the credit we deserve. The schools need to respect them. Dance doesn’t have a season. We’re year-round. Dance teams are just as important as any other athletics. So put some respect on these dancers’ names and treat them like the athletes they are.