A Christchurch raised dancer who started out checking his moves in the reflection of a drum kit box is now performing in front of more than 80,000 people a show on one of Asia’s largest concert productions.

Caleb Jerome is part of the principal dance cast on Taiwanese pop star Jolin Tsai’s Pleasure Stadium Tour, performing across mainland China and Taiwan.

Tsai, often described as the Madonna of Asia, is one of the most commercially successful artists in Chinese language pop music, and her productions are among the most technically demanding in the region. Jerome has now performed on three of her tours, including the Ugly Beauty Tour in 2023 and 2024.

Speaking to chrislynchmedia.com while on tour, Jerome said the scale of his journey still caught him off guard.

“When I stop and look around sometimes I’m like, man, I have come a really long way. It’s surreal,” he said.

“I think about my younger self practising in a studio, using the reflection off a drum kit box to check my movement, and the jump from that to this feels massive.”

He credits the city where he grew up with sparking his career.

“Christchurch is where it all started for me, where I first competed, where I first recognised the hunger for the craft,” Jerome said.

“But when you come from a smaller city, and even more so a smaller country, you have to be intentional about your growth. Resources are more limited, so you have to place yourself in spaces that are going to push you forward.”

Jerome began competing in hip hop as a teenager in Christchurch, training at Swarm Studios and going on to represent New Zealand at the HHI World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, where his crew placed tenth in the world in 2019.

He later moved to East Auckland to train under New Zealand choreographer Kiel Tutin’s NZX programme, alongside some of the world’s leading dance crews. It was through Tutin that Jerome was connected to The Squared Division, the Australian creative production company behind the Jolin Tsai shows, and to the international circuit that followed.

His first major touring job changed everything.

“It just opened my eyes completely, meeting dancers from all over the world, sharing perspectives and different ways of seeing things,” Jerome said.

“It showed me what was actually possible, what kind of life I could create for myself that I genuinely couldn’t have comprehended before that moment.

“I had a solid foundation, good support, great friends, dancers I’d trained and grown up with who affirmed that it was the right time and that I was ready. Now I’m four or five years into touring and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Securing those jobs, he said, was brutal.

“The dance industry is incredibly competitive, especially when you’re auditioning for a major production or a big artist. You’re not up against the best from your local area or even your country. You’re in a room with the best dancers from every country in the world, all going for the same spot. Particularly if you’re auditioning in LA, the level in that room is something else.”

Technical ability alone was not enough, Jerome said.

“A huge part of it is your personality, how you hold yourself in a space, how you interact with people, how you communicate, the energy you bring into the room.

“Because at the end of the day, these are people you’re going to be in an eight to ten hour rehearsal with, or on the road with for six months. Everyone’s asking the same question. What’s this person going to be like to be around?”

Jerome is now on his third stint of more than three months in China, and said the country still surprised him.

“It takes a little while to find your rhythm moving from city to city, but once you do, you settle into this real sense of gratitude for being somewhere so different from home,” he said.

“I think it’s easy to put a country in a box before you’ve really experienced it. But the landscape of China is so vast, and there’s so much history here. Every city feels different.”

He said exploring with castmates made the experience richer. “You’re exploring these new places together, getting a little lost, going on mini adventures between shows. China’s a beautiful place. I feel lucky to keep coming back.”

Beyond the stage, Jerome’s screen credits include Apple TV’s Chief of War and Netflix’s One of Us Is Lying. He is represented in the United States by MSA Agency and in New Zealand by 3WJ+Boy, and has been invited to coach crews and companies abroad as they prepare for the HHI World Championships.

Asked which artists top his wish list, the self described hip hop kid at heart did not hesitate.

“Kanye and Kid Cudi are up there. Those are artists who use a live show as world building, where there’s a whole concept and creative universe behind it. That excites me on a completely different level,” Jerome said.

“And then Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, and Janet Jackson, for the style of movement, the sound, the choreography that comes with that world. They’re icons who’ve genuinely contributed to that part of the culture. That’s just dope to me.”

For all the stadium lights, Jerome said he remained grateful simply to be working.

“I know there are people out there just as talented who never get this opportunity. So much of it comes down to timing, hard work, being in the right place at the right moment.

“As long as I’m on a stage doing what I love, that’s a blessing in itself.”