Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Demonstrates how to implement specific internetworking technologies as part of a network-- Covers the latest in internetworking communication protocol such as ISDN, ATM, ADSL, and TCP/IP-- Written by internetworking leader-Cisco Systems, Inc.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Like many of my peers, I did not grow up in dance studios learning movement and doing dance steps my whole life. In fact, sports played a big part in my early life. I played baseball, soccer, football, and tennis at a very competitive level. I was a varsity football player, earning awards in my league; and an Olympic development soccer player, ranked as one of the best players in the Western Hemisphere in my teens. Many of my childhood teammates have gone on to become some of the best soccer players in the world. Dance was just something I liked to mimic from watching Soul Train, American Bandstand and being inspired by artists like, MC Hammer, Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, New Edition, James Brown, Gene Kelly and more. I would mimic these people because I loved music and dance made me feel good. More important at the time, practicing in my garage at home helped my coordination in the field. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I realized how much I really loved to perform. Every year at my high school, there was an annual dance concert. Two of my sports buddies decided to audition for the show, hoping to impress any cute girls who might be at the show. I decided to join them, and we started to put together our routine. We would practice in the school quad at night and watch the shadows cast by the reflected light to make sure we were in sync. We had no idea about dance studios, mirrors, or traditional choreography, but we knew what we liked. We all were big fans of MC Hammer and a group called Guy, so we started with that. We worked hard practicing our routine, and were proud of our "choreography"- which consisted of repeating a step at least four times until we changed to another one. When the audition day came, we threw down our routine and were an instant hit! When show day came, we were surprised to find out that this was the first time that the dance concert had ever sold out. The entire football team, soccer team, and basketball team bought tickets to support us. When it was time for us to perform, the screams and yells were so loud we could barely hear the music. Our routine was called "Timmy's Jam," since I was the leader of the group. I heard the crowd roar and couldn''t explain the wonderful feeling I had. From that moment on, I knew I was a performer. After the show, a woman who owned a dance studio offered us free rehearsal space in exchange for just being around to inspire other boys to dance. We took her up on her offer and went off into the dance world. In college I decided to continue investigating what dance was all about. All it took was walking past a room full of hot girls in jazz class! I immediately signed up for the course, even though I didn't know what jazz was. For the next two years, I was religiously taking jazz classes and perfecting my hip hop skills. I was able to join a dance company called Common Ground, where I learned how to be part of a group and mastered different dance styles. When a friend asked me if I wanted to go to LA to audition for a dance agent, I said, "Sure....what''s a dance agent?" She explained to me that if I wanted to be in music videos, tours and shows, a dance agent would help me do all those things. Even though all my fellow dancers thought I was crazy, I knew what I wanted and went to the audition. Three days later, I signed with the Bobby Ball Agency in Hollywood. But signing with an agent was only the beginning. I had big dreams and being a dancer is hard work! I went to audition after audition with no call backs. So I went on more auditions, and I got some callbacks, but I still didn't book a job for a long time. I didn''t give up however; and finally, after countless auditions, I landed my first job. The gig was working on tour with Carmen Electra, a singer who was produced by Prince. It was a huge job, which led to more auditions and jobs with Diana Ross at the Super Bowl, TLC, Queen Latifah, the Grammys, Soul Train Music Awards, CMT Music Awards, and the MTV Music Awards. I had the pleasure of working with great choreographers such as Barry Lather, Adam Shankman, Jamie King, Travis Payne, Tina Landon, Eddie Garcia, Lavelle Smith, Rosaro and Jamal, and more. I had accomplished all of my dreams, even though people told me that I couldn''t make it in such a competitive industry. After two years, I could walk into an audition and I was a familiar face among dancers, choreographers, and directors. Just like that long ago performance from the high school dance concert, I was still constantly making up my own steps and throwing them around to see what felt good. When I decided I wanted to start working as a choreographer, I put together a reel, gave it to a dance agent, and signed a contract on the spot. Though I was excited to have a choreographic agent, being a choreographer had it's own set of challenges and politics I never knew existed. Who's work gets submitted for the job by the agency? Who knows who? Who has the connections to book the job? As a way to get into choreography, I started to assist other choreographers and offered my own input on jobs. Finally, at an audition to be a dancer in a Chris Rock video, I was approached by the producer to choreograph! I landed my first choreography job. Since then, I have gone on to choreograph for Jennifer Lopez, Jo Dee Messina, Lone Star, and Shane Minor. Besides choreography, and this book, I'm the owner of Dance Atak dance conventions and am writing and producing music for up and coming artists.