Growing up in Kanagawa Prefecture, Jessica "JJ" Rabone had little interest in learning about Western culture. Born to a Japanese mother and British father, she rebelled when her parents tried to speak to her in English. As for living abroad, that was something that never crossed her mind.

Things changed, however, when she started taking dance lessons at the age of 17. Wanting to be able to communicate well with her American instructor, a teenage Rabone took English more seriously and was soon able to comfortably hold a conversation. At 21, she decided to head out to the U.S. on a three-month tourist visa in order to learn more about dance "from the best." Within two weeks of her stay, she knew there would be no coming back.

"I passed an audition to dance for Sho-Tyme (real name Ray Johnson), a famous dancer and choreographer who'd come to Japan from New York," says Rabone, as she describes the events that led to her decision to visit the U.S. "As I could speak English, I assisted him (in Japan), and watching him upclose inspired me to broaden my horizons. In Japan, I was mostly being taught by people who learned techniques from American videos. (Going to the U.S.) was a chance to go directly to the source to see, and possibly work with, the people who choreographed those videos."