Meet Our March Cover Star: Tricia Miranda

February 28, 2017


Photo by Joe Toreno

Her YouTube channel has more than 1 million subscribers. MTV has hired her to produce and star in her own reality show, “Going Off.” More than a hundred and fifty eager dancers will line up just to get into one of her classes.

But why is everyone so obsessed with Tricia Miranda?

The 37-year-old baggy-pants-wearing, giant-hoop-earrings-loving choreographer from Yuma, Arizona, is a master of the viral video.

She uploaded her first class-combination video—to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”—in 2014 to promote her upcoming classes at The PULSE On Tour. It “accidentally” got more than 30 million views.

The former Beyoncé and Britney Spears dancer already had serious industry credits to her name, but clips from her classes at Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood are what have made her a star. They have even boosted the fame and professional careers of many young dancers in her class, like Jade Chynoweth, Gabe De Guzman, Aidan Prince and Kaycee Rice.

When asked what makes her videos go viral, Miranda lists four things:

  1. Her students: “The dancers are mind-blowing.”
  2. Her music: She normally teaches to Top 40 songs, which people are searching for online.
  3. The film quality: The cinematography is professionally done.
  4. That party vibe: “We’re all screaming and telling jokes, laughing, being silly,” Miranda says. “I like to create a safe, supportive environment. I want my dancers to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and not feel intimidated. They can mess up, they can be themselves.”

A version of this story appears in
Dance Magazine‘s March 2017 issue.