Multi-faceted and ever-changing, Lisette Bustamante embodies a true artist with a fearless nature. By never believing that “You’re one thing, and that’s it,” this unique Venezuelan/Puerto Rican beauty soldiers on as she tours the world with A-list stars, including Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Pink, Britney Spears, Paulina Rubio, and Madonna. Encouraging her audiences to simply be themselves and have fun, this charismatic chameleon dances, sings, choreographs, directs, writes, and is evidently the quintessential example that possibilities are endless.

Mateo Magazine: When did your love affair with dance begin?
Lisette Bustamante: It was at the age of 4 when I knew that I liked to dance. There was this record I heard on the radio, and I remember telling my mom to buy it. She went to six record stores to find it, and when she finally brought it home, I played it all day long. I was obsessed. It was clear to me. Singing and dancing…that’s all I cared about.

MM: What job do you consider as your claim to fame?
LB: For me, it was working with Janet Jackson. I really looked up to her, and she was one of the people from whom I learned dance. It was a fantasy of mine to dance for Janet. I never thought it would be possible, but when I got the call, I thought, “This is real.”

MM: You went on to dance with some of the biggest names in the industry and then transferred into choreography. Was this transition difficult?
LB: The transition was really hard for me. It was a big sacrifice to go from dance to choreography because I was still being called for dance jobs. But I knew that I ultimately wanted to be a choreographer. I was called to dance on the “Justified” tour with Justin Timberlake, and I had to make the decision: I either go on tour for 4-8 months with a great salary, or I stay put and try to become a choreographer. If I didn’t make a change, I never would have made it to the next step. So I chose to stay. A couple of weeks after that, Cho and I got called to choreograph for Britney Spears.

MM: That’s a very brave decision to make. Anyone else would have probably taken the easy route and gone on tour…especially with Justin!
LB: Yeah, everyone thought I was crazy. But I knew that in order to be great, you have to sacrifice something and sometimes choose the unpopular thing. You have to believe in your gut in what you want. At the time, I was ready for something challenging and wanted to grow. Also, making the transition was humbling, because I went from earning a working dancing salary to not making as much money on my new path as a choreographer. (Laughing) Let’s just say that there were a couple of broke years.

MM: You combined forces with Chonique Sneed to form a choreography duo. What set you and Chonique’s choreography apart from everyone else’s in the industry?
LB: We’ve never really taken ourselves too seriously. For women, we are choreography chameleons. We enjoy doing choreography that reflects what we like and what we are inspired by, and not necessarily by what the masses like. We go from vaudeville, to musical theatre, to 80s, to straight-up West Coast hip-hop. Our work represents who we are—sexy on some days, thuggish or silly on others. It’s all about the feel-good moves.

MM: You’ve recently crossed lines by moving into a career in music. The name of your album is “Beautifully Complicated.” Where did that name come from?
LB: I had been writing a lot of songs and going through a time of transition. I was really looking within and asking, “What is it that I truly want?” I was going through all these questions with a little bit of doubt. But I realized that it was okay for me to be confused. I wrote a lot in my journal about how I was feeling, and as I was looking through the entries, I thought that some of the material could be used to write some great songs. We have our ups and downs, and our quirks, and some things we love and embrace, and others we don’t—but in the end, it’s okay.

MM: Your latest venture with Chonique is your inspiring “Creating Opportunities” workshop. How would you describe its impact on dancers?
LB: Huge. There is such a need for this right now. Dance is huge, and so many want to be dancers and be on TV. The workshop is based on our personal experiences and imparts lessons that we had to learn ourselves. There was never a class on how to make a business or on how to utilize my skills in a productive way. That’s what we give the kids. We tell them to stand for who they are. They feel very connected to us and are absorbing it like sponges.

MM: What has been your highest high so far?
LB: Directing my first tour with Paulina Rubio. All my blood, sweat, and tears went into the show, but the moment I saw how crazy the audience went in a sold-out arena, and how people were so happy, I literally started to cry. I realized that I was the creator of that…and had contributed to people’s joy. I love my career.

MM: Having lived in LA all your life while travelling all over the world for dance, if you could live anywhere, where would that be and why?
LB: I would live in Barcelona, Spain. I feel so artistically inspired and soulfully soothed there. It’s romantic, mysterious, beautiful—it’s everything for me. There are gypsies singing in the streets and playing guitar. It’s the perfect blend of beautiful, quality art with beach and grunge.