Meet Edgar Vicencio | Dancer, Dance Director, Choreographer, and Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Edgar Vicencio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Edgar, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
You cannot and will not please everyone so it is very important to always stay true to yourself. There will be many people in this world that will have very strong opinions about what you do, your work, your mindset, your lifestyle, etc. but you must NEVER let that stop you from doing you. From doing what you love. From doing what you believe is right for you. It is very important to listen to yourself above all because, at the end of the day, only you will truly know and understand yourself. No matter what you do, no matter how good your intentions are, no matter how careful you are, no matter how much love and passion you move in, there will ALWAYS be people who will just not be there for you, be happy for you, support you, etc. so do not let those people discourage you. If you do everything and move with love and passion, then you will achieve everything you are destined to achieve, Not everything you hear and see from people in your field will necessarily work for you. That is something that you will have to learn yourself through experiences. There are so many people who follow a specific path that everyone tells them to follow and for some, it might work but for others, it might not. Again, even as you learn from mentors, teachers, and other people in your field, always stay true to yourself and what you believe in.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The biggest thing for me, the reason why I do what I do, has to do with one word and one word only, Inspire. Growing up, teenage Edgar would only ever dream about doing the things I have done or am doing now. I would watch a lot of dancers on Youtube or Instagram and would wish I could be like them, I would wish to be able to perform at the stage they would perform at. I would wish to be able to teach so many students like the teams I would see on Social Media or at these dance events. It was all dreams but when one has so much love and passion for something, those dreams don’t just stay dreams. Because I just loved dance so much, I continued to push myself further and further. As the years went by, I was able to achieve many of the things I only dreamed of growing up. Was it easy? Absolutely not. Just like everything in life, obstacles are things you just can’t miss. A lot of it was mental obstacles. I used to be a very shy, quiet, low self-esteem person. I was always having mental battles and struggled a lot with loving myself. I used to believe I was the worse dancer in the room or that I wasn’t capable of doing what my idols and inspirations were doing. There would be times were I would be in a dance class or rehearsal and I would start doubting myself. I would then just continuously look at the clock hoping for it to be over because I wanted to go home and not feel what I was feeling. I would surround myself with people who were doing so much better than me and I would instantly feel small. This, along with many other mental battles, were the obstacles I dealt with every day. I truly didn’t understand how capable I actually was to able to achieve everything I always wished for. Throughout the years, my passion and love for dance just continued to grow more and more and I was continuously being inspired by so many people. I started to notice my progression and suddenly believed that maybe I can actually do it. Since that realization, my self-esteem began to grow and the mental battles I was going through began to become less difficult to deal with. At a certain point in my life, I had a moment of realization: I can do this. That became the drive that pushed me into doing all the things I do now, I was able to meet and even become friends with a few dancers I looked up to growing up. As well as perform on the stages I used to dream of. In addition to that, I was able to achieve my dream of teaching and even have my own dance program where I now direct and teach over 100+ students a week. I look back now at my life and realized that I, a Latino from a low-income family, was always capable of achieving my dreams. All it ever took was love and passion. Now, coming back to the beginning of this story, Inspire. Inspiration is what pushes me to do what I do. My only goal in life is to inspire people to push for their dreams and goals. Working with students in my community, I do my very best to let them know that whatever they want to do in their life, they are completely capable of doing it if they have the love and the passion for it. If they continue on with their life with love and passion, they will be able to achieve anything they set their mind to. My story is about a kid who made his wild and crazy dream a reality. I want every single person I ever encounter in my life that if I was able to achieve my goals and dreams, then they can too. If I was able to do it, then anyone can.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When it comes to going out, for me, I am a very chill person. So, I would take them to where I feel the most relaxed and comfortable. You could never go wrong with going to the beach, whether it be Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu, or any small beaches in the area. I would also take them to see some very nice and photogenic places in LA. I absolutely love looking for cool places to take some cool pictures or videos. Visiting many of the LA museums and tourist places. Walk around Downtown LA, Hollywood, Universal City Walk, etc. For food, you can never go wrong with finding a good burger place. From In-N-Out to Carl’s Jr., you really can’t go wrong with that. During the night, I would enjoy a nice drive through some of LA’s most beautiful sights. Looking at LA at night is so much fun, as well as driving by places like the 6th Street Bridge, Hollywood Blvd, Little Tokyo, Grand Park, Disney Concert Hall, LACMA, Pacific Coast Highway by the beaches, etc. As a dancer myself, I would absolutely take them out to either a Dance session, a Dance class, or a Dance event that happens at many of LA’s different dance studios. Many dance events do happen at huge venues like LA Convention Center, Anaheim Convention Center, etc. We would have the most relaxing and best time of our lives.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My story comes with many people who have created the literal turning points in my life and have been the reason I am where I am today. Starting with my childhood friend Stephany Ruiz, who was the person who got me to try dancing out in the first place back in 7th grade. I would also like to shout out my mentor and now friend Tony (Antonio Elizondo) for being the one who literally made me fall in love with dancing. He has been one of my biggest supporters throughout my whole dance career, inspiring me to want to become the best dancer I can become. In addition. I would like to shout out my old High School All Male Hip Hop Dance teacher Judi. She saw the potential in me and gave me the opportunity to grow as a dancer by creating an All Male Hip Hop Dance Team alongside her, where I got to get a taste of the dance community outside of my hometown. Where I really got to learn a lot from and also give me the opportunity to give back to my community years later. A few coaches/friends who have really been the biggest reason for my growth in dance, Yesenia Rodriguez, Moises Garcia, Jay Chris Moore, and Sarah Ro. Close friends of mine who have been with me since the very beginning and have continued to show me nothing but love and support throughout my years, Juan Fermin, Victor Campa, Kimberly Saldana, Bri Norris, Deondre Lewis, Cammie Tolleshaugh. As a teacher, every single student I’ve ever had the pleasure to teach has been the biggest reason for my growth and my continued love for what I do. Shout out to EVERYONE who’s ever taken a class from me, been on a team i’ve either directed, choreographed, coached, etc.

Website: https://linktr.ee/Irock5able

Instagram: @Irock5able

Other: Tik Tok: @Irock5able

Image Credits
Jose Marquez Daniel Vicencio Andrew Perez Dance Beast Entertainment