SHABBA-DOO: As we talked about, my sister was my motivator.
Shabba d how to#
So, his dance career was just something he was kind of pulled into, but his “inner-lion” surfaced and he learned how to feed himself while entertaining others.īelow is the conversation we had about his life and extraordinary career over Thai food and a mean side of green tea ice cream:ĬHOPS: How did you get your start in dance? Who or what influenced you to do it?
His younger sister was the extrovert of the family who also danced, but needed someone to go along with her to dance contests or shows, and he ended up competing too simply because he was there. How he’d just dance for himself alone in his room because it made him happy. He opened up and shared about his background and childhood in Chicago. Being a natural introvert myself with a job/hobby that also forces me out of my shell, I could relate, which immediately put me at ease. Here I was sitting next to one of my personal childhood superheroes on our way to grab a bite to eat, but one of the first things he said to me, which I was surprised to hear, was that he was a natural introvert. I was slightly intimidated by the situation. We hopped in his car and started talking immediately. So I suggested we go for a bite to eat and feed our “inner-lions” while talking about his career and what he’s up to now. Quite the impressive resume!īy the time class was over, we were sweaty and starving. Just to name a few things he’s done in his 40+ years career as a choreographer and dancer: Original Soul Train Gang dancer, member of The Lockers, star of the Breakin’ movies, Hip Hop Hall of Fame inductee, has choreographed for the Academy Awards and Michael Jackson, performed on Broadway, and toured with Madonna and Sinatra, not to mention being a cultural icon of hip-hop and the 80’s. Shabba-Doo would know a thing or two about being a lion.
Shabba d full#
Who doesn’t want to be a free and full lion? So, if you can perform for yourself, enjoy yourself while you do it, and not do tricks for anyone else’s approval or claps, you will always be a free and full lion, and won’t need others to “feed” you. If others like you, that is great, but the sounds of an audience’s applause fades. That is what should fill your “inner-lion’s” belly. The “field lion” gets his food when he wants it, not when someone else hands it to him, or as a reward for performing tricks.īasically, perform for yourself, because that is what should satisfy you. The “circus lion” gets his food only when he does tricks for it. The “zoo lion” gets his food because he can’t get his own and must depend on others. Each lion needs to eat, but how they get their food is what makes the difference in their being. He explained there are three types of lions the “zoo lion”, the “circus lion”, and the “field lion”. He gave several metaphors about talent and performing that I could tell came from a place of personal experience (he can easily spot the students that are there because they think it’s cool, and will kindly call them on it, and the ones that are there because they “feel something inside” and need to express it, and encourage them to push that expression further), but the main metaphor that resonated with me was about the “lions”. I stayed through all three of his classes that day, and each one had a philosophical element to them. Because you may not be able to walk out of class with those moves memorized and perfected, but you can walk away with a different view or attitude on your abilities, feeling freer to express yourself, and all of that can filter into other aspects of your life.
Dance is art, art is expression of self, be more concerned with the heart, passion, and the source of your motivation rather than perfecting a move you were taught. Instead he encouraged them and explained not to be concerned with missing steps. Even though his students missed dance moves, or couldn’t lock down the routine, he didn’t just dismiss them as novices or non-talents. He actually does care that his students learn something by the end of the hour. staging generic dance classes to make money just because he has a big name in the industry. Within minutes of walking into Shabba-Doo’s dance class for the first time, I could tell that his sessions weren’t a “vanity project” i.e.
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