Utah dancer living her dream on R&B star Usher’s world tour

DRAPER — Copper Canyon High School graduate Imani Peterson is one of the few people who can say that R&B star Usher gave her a hug upon meeting the first time.

It was not lost on her who he was, what he does and how lucky she was to be here. The other dancers on his world tour felt the same.

“Usher’s a legend!” she said, “He’s a great guy. And he demands greatness. He’s in his dad era, and he cares about family, but he still works you hard and cares about the dancers, everybody. He’s a sweet guy.”

After being called to audition for the music icon’s world tour, Peterson was not sure how it would go. She had auditioned for him before, and it did not work out. With roughly 500 people auditioning for three or four spots, some people may have given up from the start, but not Peterson.

After five minutes speaking to her, you realize she is going to bet on herself. Always.

It started for her at Elite Academy as a little girl. She worked — hard — to get to the place she wanted to be and eventually participated in the competitive dance program. She knew she wanted to be a professional dancer with each passing year and, despite suggestions by her parents to enroll in the University of Utah’s dance program, she packed her bags and moved to New York City.

“It was hard, for sure. But it wasn’t like they just were going to let me go. They made me save money, do what I needed to do. I knew this is what I wanted to do, but they needed to see,” Peterson said. “And it’s really scary. I’m in the business of being told ‘no,’ but it’s the constant ‘no’ that gets you a ‘yes.'”

Peterson estimates that while in high school, she danced close to 30 hours week, between competitive dance, drill team at school and being a part of tour conventions. She also was a straight A student. People who know her say she is a determined woman who gets it: Nothing will be given to you. You have to go after it.

That is exactly what she has done this past year.

Her 2024 started off as a dancer for rapper and singer Doja Cat at the MTV Video Music Awards and then moved on to Latin star Maluma’s tour stop in Mexico. The American leg of Usher’s tour ended a few weeks ago, but Peterson is waiting for the European leg, which will start next spring.

Meanwhile, she is working on what will be next, as dancers have to do. She now lives in Los Angeles, where she can audition as a dancer for live performances and also come home to the Wasatch Front when she can.

The folks at Elite Academy are happy and proud of their alumna. Leslie Mulford-Reiser, the Elite Academy studio owner, notes that young women from her programs have gone on to be University of Utah dancers, Las Vegas Raiders cheerleaders and a part of Julianne Hough’s dance troupe.

Peterson’s success falls in line with Mulford-Reiser’s experience with other dancers in her studio. You come to class, you work hard and you just keep at it, all things Peterson had from the beginning.

“I only have boys, so the girls here are like my daughters,” Mulford said. “With Imani … she’s not going to give up. Even as a little girl, she would work and apply herself. I’m not surprised by how well she’s doing.”