Building confidence in girls has never felt more important. At a time when anxiety, self-doubt, leadership challenges, and the pressures of social media are affecting so many young people, Toronto-based Filipina-Canadian choreographer and entrepreneur Janet Castillo-Gerongco of WORK IT Girl is proving that confidence isn’t something you’re simply born with—it’s something you can learn.
With an impressive résumé that includes choreographing for Jennifer Lopez, So You Think You Can Dance, and the Latin Grammys, Castillo-Gerongco could have easily stayed in the entertainment world. Instead, she took everything she’d learned and poured it into Work It Girl, a program that uses dance, movement, mentorship, and leadership training to help girls build confidence, resilience, communication skills, and a strong sense of self.
What started as one woman’s passion project has grown into a thriving community. Today, Work It Girl offers year-round programs, mentorship opportunities, community events, and its signature annual Work It Girl Summit, where hundreds of girls come together to hear from inspiring female leaders, discover their strengths, and realize that their voices truly matter.
We recently checked in with Janet Castillo-Gerongco to learn more!
Why do you think dance and movement are such powerful tools for building confidence?
Janet Castillo-Gerongco: I think that dance and movement are such powerful tools for building confidence because it allows for human self-expression without any words. Sometimes it’s hard to put into words what we’re feeling but when we can express it through dance, we can let those feelings and emotions out and that can help us feel good, confident, and connected to ourselves. Scientifically, dance releases dopamine and serotonin chemicals that help to reduce stress and increase feelings of happiness and joy. Through movement, we get to own and take up space and feel a deep sense of presence. At Work It Girl, we teach leadership and mindset skills and we’ve purposely chosen the power of dance as our vehicle.
Today’s girls face enormous pressure from social media. How does Work It Girl help them navigate those challenges?
Castillo-Gerongco: Work It Girl helps to navigate the challenges from social media by giving them space to reflect and identify their own unique gifts and talents that light them up. We focus on inner beauty and believe that true confidence comes from within. It comes from taking action whether that’s trying something new outside of their comfort zones, being brave and not perfect, and/or celebrating small steps along the way. At Work It Girl, we celebrate and uplift one another instead of comparing ourselves or competing against each other. We know it’s our differences that make our world brighter and stronger.
How do you see a girl’s confidence change from her first class to her last in Work It Girl?
Castillo-Gerongco: I’ve seen girls transform from really shy and/or anxious to being full of joy, happiness and fully expressed. At Work It Girl, we intentionally create empowering spaces where they can feel free to be themselves, use their voices without being judged, and dance and move with creativity and choice. That’s where the magic lies and week by week, we see girls who just need an encouraging word or the permission to share their idea or what’s on their mind. When we play our original Work It Girl music that brings the mindset and learnings to life, they feel so connected to it and have so much fun dancing and even singing along!
What do you think parents often overlook when it comes to building confidence in their daughters?
Castillo-Gerongco: When it comes to building confidence, I think that parents might overlook all the small steps and small wins that their child is going through. Often, we focus on the big wins and grand achievements when it’s really the small moments that are the most significant on their journey. Stopping to recognize those moments in a child allows them to understand that the effort, not the result, is what’s most important. I also think that as parents when we share our own stories of building confidence, including all the hard parts, it helps them to see that we are just like them and we can be partners along the way.
What does confidence look like to you?
Castillo-Gerongco: Confidence is when someone feels the fear and does it anyway. It’s that moment when you have “butterflies in your stomach”, your heart is racing, and you decide to show up anyway because you know growth happens on the other side of courage.
We like to say at Work It Girl that it’s not about being the loudest or “knowing all the answers”, it’s about being able to listen to yourself and trusting that you can figure things out along the way.
What has been the biggest challenge in growing Work It Girl?
Castillo-Gerongco: The biggest challenge in growing Work It Girl has been helping people understand exactly what we do. Because we’re not a traditional dance program or a typical leadership program, it can be difficult to communicate what makes our approach so unique.
Work It Girl brings together leadership development, mindset training, and dance in a way that helps girls build confidence from the inside out. It’s an experience that’s hard to capture with words alone—you really have to see it and feel it to understand its impact.
As we’ve grown, we’ve become much better at telling our story and clearly communicating why Work It Girl is such a powerful choice for families who want to help their daughters develop confidence, resilience, leadership, and a strong sense of self.
What’s been your proudest moment since launching the program?
Castillo-Gerongco: My proudest moment since launching was hosting our very first Work It Girl Summit called “LIGHT UP” this year! To have all our current and new girls and families all in one room to dance, share, connect and learn was such an incredible experience. We had empowering speakers, workshops leaders, and performers throughout the day all committed to celebrating the power of girls and it was such a blast to see it all come to life. Our plans are to host this annually and to continue to expand our programming.
Have the girls taught you anything about yourself along the way?
Castillo-Gerongco: Yes, absolutely! Every week they teach me something new about myself whether that is looking at an idea in a completely different way, having more compassion and patience for myself and others, and to simply enjoy life a little more;) Through our Work It Girls, I’ve been building my own confidence too. They inspire me to push myself further, keep showing up, and to believe that there is no dream too big!
For more information on Work It Girl! Visit their site here.