Meet Benicka Janae’ Grant | Professional Dancer and actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Benicka Janae’ Grant and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Benicka Janae’ Grant, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
One thing I’m always going to do is keep going. I do have moments where I want to give up but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel keeps me from giving up. There’s always going to be obstacles but my faith gets me through them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started my career as dancer. I’ve been dancing my entire life and I danced in a professional dance company for 7yrs. I also have done quite a few musicals and commercials as a dancer. For me, dance is something that has always come natural to me. About 3-4 yrs ago, I tore an abdominal muscle and that was the hardest part of my career. I was out for 3 weeks. I couldn’t even lay in bed comfortably. You’d be surprised that your really use your abs for everything in your life. That part of my career was the hardest because getting back in to dance was scary. I didn’t want to hurt myself again. Thankfully I had a team or physical therapist and doctors around me to make sure I was always ok.

Fast forward to July 2021, I moved to Atlanta to further my dance career. Little did I know, I would shift to acting and now I am an actress. I’ve done a lot of background work and a few features. Acting is something I love just as much as dancing. I’m still new in the industry but I do my best to make as many connections as I can. Every day is a challenge. You have to constantly push yourself and believe that you are right for a role. Even if you don’t get a role, at least you were seen and trust that the casting directors will remember your face. You have to get in to those classes and continuously work on your brand.

I want the world to know that you can do anything you put your mind do. Stay grounded in your faith. Know that the journey is not going to be easy but you have to stick with. Just when you feel like you want to give up, something major comes. Know that God does everything in His own timing. Whatever is for you will come to you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I work a lot so I don’t go out much but I’d take my friend to Gocha’s breakfast bar for brunch one day. We’ll go to Suite Lounge for another brunch. We’d visit the High Museum. We’d go to one of my favorite restaurants, The Garden Room. We’d go to Ponce City Market. That’s all I can think of honestly. I love to eat so that’s what we’d mostly be doing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh wow. There’s so many things and so many people. I will say that my boyfriend is someone who always pushes me towards success. He saw something in me before I say something in myself. He’s constantly reassuring me that I can do something even when I feel like I can’t. I am so grateful for him.

Another group of people that have something to do with my success would be quite a few if the cast of Tyler Perry’s “Sistas”. I fell in love with the show in about February last year. After that, I started to Instagram stalk the cast! Lol I also would watch interviews and they gave so much advice about various things. Being grounded in your faith. One of them also said that rejection is really redirection. I do a lot of background work right now and one of the guys in the cast said in the interview once that “you’re closer to being in the game by sitting on the sidelines as opposed to not being in the game at all.” That’s something that’s always resonating with me.

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