Will West appears in two of the most viral music videos of the last year – Jungle’s “Back On 74” and Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” – and switches seamlessly, sometimes even instantaneously, from style to style. He can go from complete silence to full speed in a split second, then downshift to a fosse-frug, then coolly stroll out of the frame. The young Brit spoke to Dance Magazine while filming a commercial for Verizon in Mexico City before heading south to another gig in Santiago, Chile. Part of the live-action remake of Disney’s Alladin In 2019, West returns to the screen this fall as a dancer and stuntman in Evilin which Grande plays the leading role as Glinda.

Company: Independent artist managed by Shannelle “Tali” Fergus

Age: 26

Hometown: Birmingham, England

Education: Urdang Academy

Origin story: “I was a pretty athletic kid,” says West, who started out in gymnastics and martial arts. “I watched all the Jackie Chan movies.” When B-boy Jovan Rumble came to West’s high school to guest teach a boys’ dance class, “he invited me to train with his crew called the Lab Rats, and from then on I just fell in love with the energy of dancing itself.”

Turning point: In 2017, West had just booked Thrillers Livea long-running Michael Jackson revue in the West End. “I was excited about it, but my spirit wasn’t in it – it wasn’t my thing, it wasn’t my realm.” Not knowing that West was already committed to thrillersaw Fergus West auditioning for a gig with the pop group Years & Years. “I was a huge fan of Talis when I came to London,” says West. “I watched all her videos. I was obsessed and thought, ‘Who is this person?'” Today she is West’s mentor and manager and helped him get out of the thriller contract so he could take part in the Years & Years tour. “It was wild – a complete turnaround in my career,” West adds. “Everything changed.”

Pressure cooker: Filming Jungle’s 50-minute visual album volcano was a whirlwind. “We rehearsed for four or five days, had two days off and then we shot 14 films in two days. But I love the thrill of being thrown in at the deep end like that.”

West on volcano Choreographer Shay Latukolan: “When someone does moves that feel really good, it goes beyond the screen and the viewer can feel it secondhand. That’s the nature of Shay’s choreography.”

What his mentor sees: “I really believe Will is a once-in-a-generation talent. He has a way of reaching people beyond themselves,” says Fergus. “That’s true of him as an artist and creative, but also as a human being – and I think if he wasn’t that way as a human being, it wouldn’t seem quite the same.”

Finding your voice: Inspired by meeting J Lloyd from Jungle and volcano Singer Lydia Kitto, West, says: “I’m looking for a singing teacher. It’s no secret that I’m working on music.”

Notes: West “would drop everything to work with some people across the spectrum of the performing arts.” “If you see Tyler, the Creator on the street, tell him I’m coming. I’d love to work with him – and FKA twigs. Kojey Radical is incredible. Oh, and Daniel Caesar: That’s my guy. I listen to his music, like, every day. Jordan Ward is incredible. I want to be in a movie with Zendaya. LaKeith Stanfield.”