Very few people are triple threats in the world of entertainment. It takes hard work, confidence, an eagerness to learn and, of course, passion. Meet Phillip Jaco, a 20-year-old second-quarter De Anza College student, who has had the talent to sing, dance and act since birth.

On June 26, the day before he was born, his mother was dancing the night away at a party for his grandmother’s birthday. “I came out dancing,” said Jaco.

Dance, especially hip-hop and Cumbia, a Spanish genre of dance, interests him because he loves the feeling of freedom he feels while dancing. “It’s like you’re in your own world,” said Jaco.

It wasn’t until he was a sophomore at Willow Glen High School that his interest was acknowledged. His love for musicals led him to meet the musical director of a play he was in during high school.

Mark Alabanza helped him realize his gift of song; he taught Jaco how to challenge what he could do with his voice. He changed his bass voice into a baritone, and trained him how to harmonize and learn different melodies.

He would continue to develop his now well-established skill by performing in talent shows, plays and musicals. He joined the Atlas School of Dance and took classes for two years in advanced hip-hop.

Instructor Vernon Gallegos said Jaco “is one of the seasoned dancers and a leader in the class,” and “he also has a great attitude, he remembers everything and is easy to work with.”

Jaco currently volunteers at the Sunnyvale Community Players, choreographing the junior production of the musical “Once on this Island” which opens at the end of the month.

“Once on this Island” is ironically the same musical where his singing talent was first discovered. Now it is the same musical where he is getting his first experience at choreographing.

He invents the moves for part of the show, and plays the part of the villain known as Papa Ge, which is the same part he had in high school.

He hopes to be a paid choreographer in next year’s Sunnyvale Community Players production of “High School Musical 2.” He also wants to open up a studio to teach the art of dance to other enthusiastic dancers.

His one-year-old niece is his biggest inspiration. “She is impulsive like me and picks up on a beat and dances,” he said.

By studying the choreography of musical artists such as Chris Brown, Janet Jackson, PCD and Britney Spears, one can become as talented at dancing as Phillip Jaco. After all, says Jaco, all you have to do to know how to dance is, “let your mind run free and let your body follow.”