We’re looking forward to introducing you to Geena & Natassja & Gio. Check out our conversation below.
Geena & Natassja & Gio, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
We’re wanderers slowly finding an open path. Tri-Beats started out as a for-fun hobby to showcase our passion at an anime convention. We would take opportunities that came our way and work on our projects based on what the next wave was. As time went on, we realized there were certain goals we wanted to achieve and places we wanted to reach. New festivals and conventions start up, and we often realize that there might be a place for us. Not every chance we see is like that, but doing research on these opportunities gives us information for future endeavors. This passion has been steadily growing, and we work hard to get where we want.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Tri-Beats is a dance performance trio from Kansas City. Our members include siblings Geena (me), Natassja, and Gio. We focus on original choreography to genres like J-POP and K-POP. We perform at events like conventions and festivals, both local and out-of-state! You can find us in crowds involving K-POP dance cover performances, cultural events, and Asian pop culture.
We upload often on our social media accounts, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. You’ll find videos of our dances, both live and filmed dance covers, on our YouTube (@tribeatskc); you’ll find more content and announcements on our Instagram and TikTok (@tri.beats.kc).
Want to see us soon? Our next performance is in Oklahoma City, OK on October 4th at the Asian Night Market Festival! Want to see us in Kansas City? On November 23rd, we’ll be performing in KC Idol✧Festival: Treasures Untold at Planet Anime KC!
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Growing up, all three of us were on the introverted side. We enjoyed quiet hobbies like listening to music, watching videos, or playing on our game consoles. To this day, we still are drawn to these hobbies as adults. However, none of us seriously saw ourselves being involved in such a diverse, extroverted passion. We were on a path to living comfortable, introverted lives.
There’s definitely a difference when comparing ourselves now to our younger selves. We now have practice sessions, contact events to set up performances, and even manage our own social media pages. We didn’t believe we would be doing anything grand, but now, we’re taking on stages and finding ourselves in these communities that embrace performing.
Growing up together, I’ve noticed we all have certain skills that help us when it comes to performing. Personally, I tend to get a grasp on the setting and audience, so I use that to strategically decide our setlists and choreography. Gio has always had an affinity for picking up physical movements, and he’s great at executing them in an exciting way. Natassja’s emotions are straightforward, and she’s able to genuinely emote on stage.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Each of us were introverted but caring kids growing up. Looking back, we were too kind and didn’t have a lot of confidence. I feel that if we were told straightforward, encouraging words more often, we could have built up our confidence more. I feel that saying, “That’s cool that you’re playing the guitar!” or “You worked really hard.” would be kind things to say to our younger selves. Even a strict reminder like, “Stand up for yourself!” would help the younger us.
When we took Taekwondo together, we always heard words of encouragement from our peers and instructors. Simple things like that definitely helped us grow confident in our own ways as kids.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
We asked our close friends what they think really matters to us! We’re so thankful that they say kindness really matters to us. Whether it’s towards our teammates, audience members, or other performers alongside us, we try to be kind both openly and silently. We take care of each other as best as we can, send our well-wishes to audience members to enjoy the rest of the event, and quickly slip in a “Good luck!” to the next act going on stage. We’re so fortunate that we are surrounded by kindness and are able to repay it.
Along with kindness, our friends have also replied that things like inclusion, friendship, and finding balance really matter to us. Even outside of performing arts, all communities need this system of support. Again, we’re so grateful that we can reciprocate the support we’ve received from friends and viewers in the community.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
We all agree that we would stop procrastinating, and try a little harder at life. Some of us just want to live, and get our life together! Immediately, I would stop settling and work towards making that possible in all aspects of life.
As aforementioned, our younger selves kept to “low-key” and introverted activities. I hope that in 10 years, we’ll all grow and learn about ourselves, because we have much more life ahead of us! I’m proud of what our team has become in these past three years. I wish for us to put more of our authentic selves into Tri-Beats in any aspect, whether it’s our style of dancing or performing at events that mean a lot to us.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tri.beats.kc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tribeatskc
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tri.beats.kc
Image Credits
luckyphotoig, skinoue626
