This hip-hop diva soars with her feet on the ground.
by Evadne Anderson
Do what you love. Do what you are. Fatima (Fa- TEE-ma) was born to dance. So dance she did - despite initial parental objection. Today, she is one of the hottest hip-hop choreographers around. At 26, she's being courted and feted by singers and producers around the world. In Japan, young people wear FATIMA T-shirts. In Germany, adoring Backstreet Boys fans chant her name. (Fatima is up for an MTV award for "Backstreer's Back.") She's the image maker, the dance inspiration behind dozens of sensational music videos. Busta Rhymes's "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" earned the 1998 Video Producers Award. Kudos were showered on the fabulous hip-hop tango sequences of Dr. Dre's "Been There, Done That" (Music Video Producers, Best Choreography Award 1997). Just about anybody who's anybody has worked with her: Will Smith, Mary J Blige, LL Cool J, Whitney Houston. Michael Jackson, Brandy, Aaliyah - the list goes on and on. But Fatima, born in Little Rock, Arkansas, wasn't blessed by any fairy god-mother handing her glass slippers and saying, "Dance girl!" The family moved to California when Fatima was four. As the oldest of three children in a single parent household, her responsibility was to watch her younger sisters while their mother worked, taking them to the park, to piano lessons, to gymnastics. Her childhood dream was to have her own hair salon like her mother. But clearly, Fatima's heart and feet would take her elsewhere. Pretending to be the Solid Gold dancers, the three young sisters were constantly entertaining family friends with their lively, impromptu routines. As a teenager, Fatima worked in the hair salon during the day, spending her nights club-hopping and entering dance contests. At age eighteen, she found herself in the right place at the right time. She reminisces: " An artist was looking for some dancers, so my friend and I went onstage at the club, battled some other girls and won." That was the beginning. Two years later, the music-video industry was buzzing about the dazzling young choreographer of Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" video ( 1992) starring Eddie Murphy and Iman.


 






Today, Fatima maintains a hectic pace choreographing music videos and live performances. As a dance teacher, innovation and versatility are her trademark, putting her in great demand in places as geographically diverse as Hawaii, Denmark and Japan. Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys pays homage: "She's the greatest dancer alive, I think. She means so much to the group... She's worked with us from the beginning." Discussing the personal qualities that have been an asset in this demanding business, Fatima reflects in a quiet, melodic voice: "I think being able to communicate with people is my greatest strength. To be a successful choreographer you have to do more than just be able to make up the dance steps. It's being able to come up with fresh, new ideas and being able to listen to the producer and the director. Maybe you don't always agree with what they want to do, but you have to give them the product. We're a creative team-- the producer, director, choreographer, and stylist. We have to be able to get together and collaborate. You must be able to deal with people, with all the drama." Largely self-taught, Fatima also says its being "a good mimic" as another factor in her success. Whether it's the St. Louis Shake or the Florida Squirrel, the tango or African dance moves, in no time they've metamorphasized into something that reflects the distinctive Fatima energy and creative genius. In the first few months of '98, Fatima's schedule would have made the average dancer throw away her Capezios forever. She says with a laugh: "I hop all over the place. Sometimes I get a call and it's, 'We need you in Morocco!' so I'm there." But there's a cost for this whirlwind lifestyle that seems so glamorous. One cost must surely be boneaching fatigue after long, gruelling work days. "But, I just love what I do!" Fatima sparkles with enthusiasm: "I love being creative! I guess that's what drives and moves me. I try to relax as much as I can and adore pampering myself at spas." Also, the plus side, at five-foot-six, she effortlessly maintains her high definition body at a 110 pounds "eating just about everthing, and eating all the time." Nowadays, Fatima dances professionally only occasionally, choreographing more often. "I like ro stand back and watch," she says. "I really like being behind the camera." She expresses appreciation for the friendship and advice of Rosie Perez during her early years and admiration for dancer-choreographer and now, director, Debbie Allen. To young hopefuls yearning to follow in her footsteps, she advises, "Just don't let people intimidate you! Take a lot of classes, learn your craft, and just stick to it. Don't get frustrated. It can be intimidating on those auditions with girls who've been in the business for a while. But you've got to get up there and work it!"