JustForArtists.com: Art News, Events, Opportunities & Competitions: Interview with Abdel Rodriguez: A Cuban Dancer in Search of the American Dream

Interview with Abdel Rodriguez: A Cuban Dancer in Search of the American Dream
================================================================================
Lesly Chirinos on 03/10/2009 01:20:00
 
Not everything has been easy for this young artist, but his great warrior spirit
inspires us to believe in our dreams. Just For Artists had the pleasure of being
able to share his stories and now is able to share them with all of you.
"If one has passion, self-confidence and perseveres in any attempt, one may get
very far." - Abdel Rodriguez
What is your name and what type of artist are you?
My name is Abdel Rodriguez and I’m a professional dancer.
Tell us a little about who Abdel is?
Abdel is a person who was born in Cuba. I was born under the upbringing of my
paternal family, loving music and dance. I danced in Cuba the “fiestas de
solares” and shared among friends with a drum, a tin can, with music, dancing
amongst us. My life has always been based loving dance and music. I had the
opportunity to study music in Cuba, but I came to the United States and that
interrupted my studies. Here I began to dance professionally and it is what I do
and what I love to do.
So your dance career began in Cuba?
Well, in Cuba, because of the existent regime we are limited sometimes to do
many things, many jobs. Sometimes, maybe because you are not the child of
someone who is in a good position to put you through school or take you to the
world you want, whether that of art or any other professional career. Sometimes,
you have to have influences so that someone can help you. Since I was not, as we
say in Cuba, "a child of mommy and daddy" or "did not have a lever" to position
me in a good position to work or study, I only danced socially in places with
the people in my circle of friends.  Dancing always came from inside of me since
I never went to school for it and never went to a technical class. I would just
watch videos of the people here in the United States, like Michael Jackson, R.
Kelly… people like that, dancing. Then I would take note of all the steps and
rewind the video, and little by little I would do them in front of a mirror. I
positioned myself and I criticized myself saying, "I didn’t put that hand
here, I think I can lead this way" and was constantly practicing. The most I did
in Cuba was dance in Quinces (Sweet-Fifteens) where the Quinceañeras would have
their parties. I danced like an average of twenty Quinces and coordinated like
two or three Quinces. Once I got here, a family member of my cousin’s husband
told me, "I have a friend who has a dance school, go there and see what you can
do." I went to that school for about three months and didn’t like it because I
started dancing by taking the role of the woman. In other words, I danced like a
women because in the school there were fewer women. So I said to myself, "I am
not going to dance as a woman again." So, I left the school and I started going
to clubs constantly, dancing every weekend, and dancing and dancing as I did in
Cuba. I would dance nonstop. After a year, I had a girlfriend that restricted me
from the social life of dancing. When I broke up with her, I began to dance
again and that was when I went back to the schools saying, "look at what I
learned by myself, for myself." The people were like "Wow!" and acknowledged it.
Then I met another girl and we began to go out together to shows and to practice
until this day that I have earned a name for myself and respect here in the
dance community, at least here in Florida.
What are your aspirations as an artist?
I believe that both Americans as well as Latinos that migrated here to the
United States have an American dream. My American dream has always been to be a
professional dancer of the category that would dance a show in Vegas for… I
don’t know… a Michael Jackson… Usher… some thing like that. I think that
is my biggest dream. I would also like, at some point in my life when I have
achieved the means, to open my own dance academy and teach from tap, jazz,
ballet, hip-hop, everything… teach all types of dance, everything that is
related to dance. These are my two biggest dreams and goals.
What have been your greatest achievements in this career so far?
Well, as I said before, after being away a while from the social life of clubs,
I returned to the same school where I was before, where I was dancing as a
woman. I had broken up with the girl with whom I was with before and a friend
told me, "let's go to this dance school, we’ll dance a little and we’ll
distract ourselves a little so you don’t think too much about the problem you
just had." I said, "OK. Alright." So, the owner of the academy saw me dancing
again and said, "Hey you came! You showed up! Where have you been? Look, next
week I am going to have a casting to have a team here at my school." Previously,
I had not belonged to any school. I had not belonged to anything. I had not done
anything. When I went to the casting I had to dance hip-hop and salsa and I was
the first one to be selected. The way I see it, I didn’t achieve anything by
making the team, but it was the first time I was chosen for something like that
and I will always have that in mind. Another thing that I was proud of was that
I was one of the dancers chosen to dance in a tribute to Celia Cruz upon her
death, where Victor Manuelle sang. That was also a great thing for me. On
another occasion I also had the opportunity to dance for Oscar de Leon, who is
my father’s favorite Salsa singer. I took pictures with him and sent them to
my father, who is in Cuba. My father cried like a little kid when he saw the
pictures. My mom, just like for most people, is the best mom in the world to me.
My mom is not much of an art lover. She doesn’t follow it much, but she went
once to one of my competitions and I won that time and I saw her crying of joy.
The fact that she could see what I did, what I loved and why I loved it also
made me very proud. The trophy that I won that night, which was the first trophy
I had ever won in the world of dancing, I took it to my father on my first trip
to Cuba and he has it with him as his treasure.
Where does your inspiration come from for all these achievements?
For dancing. There’s a Cuban saying that says "I carry the rhythm and music in
my veins." I believe that I am a living example of that saying. My dad is just
like me in that we never had a well-positioned family with money. Therefore, he
also dances and plays drums because it’s in him and comes from within. I am
just like him. I think my inspiration is my dad. I remember that when I was a
child, like nine or ten years old, there was a wedding and we were both dancing.
I was dancing with a girl more or less my age and he was dancing with a lady his
age. I danced a piece of the song and then he danced another. He would sort of
make me dance more and he would challenge me. Then he would say to me, "yes,
you’re moving your feet very well, but you’re not moving your shoulders."
That's why now when you see that I am dancing Salsa, I move my shoulders as if I
were dancing hip-hop and I mix everything because my dad forced me and inspired
me to be that way. I think that my dad is the greatest inspiration I have with
respect to dancing.
What challenges did you have to overcome to reach your goals, aside from having
to leave your country?
Many, and big ones. My mother does not believe much in… it’s not that she
does not believe, but that she does not… well, it's like a lot of those
parents who would want their child to be a lawyer or a doctor. Therefore, one of
the biggest challenges was, or still is to convince my mom that this is what I
like, this is what I love, and this is what I will continue to do even if it
costs me a leg, at which point I will put a prostheses on and I will continue
dancing. Seriously, I think my biggest challenge has been my mom. Leaving Cuba
was not a challenge, instead it was the possibility for this country to open its
doors and give me an opportunity to succeed in what I like. I had to face the
challenge of convincing my mom, and also some people that because of competition
and since they had been in the market longer closed some doors on me and have
done me wrong. Still, I keep going forward. It’s like a house, if the front
door is closed on me, I go knock on the back door and I will try to enter that
way. That’s what I’ve done, little by little. Making a name for myself,
doing my own thing, showing people who I am. When I dance I try not to copy
anyone, I try to always maintain my style and never vary because in the end
it’s going to be my style, not the style of Miami, not the style of so and so,
not the style of Los Angeles… my style… who I am… the one that I dance.
What have you done to develop your talent?
I’m a 100% complete believer that everyone is born with a star. Everyone is
born with a tracked path. Everyone is born with a gift. Sometimes it is in the
hands of someone else to notice you to help you and correct you or sometimes
it’s up to oneself to say, "I am good at this and this is what I am going to
do." In order to improve my talent, what I like to do sometimes, for example, if
I’ve had ten dollars, I’ve bought a soda or some chips and the rest of the
money I have spent it in a class because it’s what I’ve had to do at times.
I have taken classes because as I say, "I am my biggest critic." Since I was
little, I’ve had my dance partner and my teachers, which were the mirror in my
house and a broom. I learned to dance Salsa only with a broom. It was funny,
when I was about twelve years old there was a school, or there is a school in
Cuba called Lenin, which has nothing to do with dancing, but since you had to
study so much, what people did in leisure time was dance. So, I was studying in
order to go to that school and I mingled a lot with the people there. At first,
they would not let me enter into the casino circles with them because I only
knew how to mark the steps but didn’t know how to do the turns. So from the
outside I would learn the turns by watching and when I would get to my house I
practiced with the broom and do tricks and I’d say, “Well the broom falls, I
pick it up and it doesn’t get hurt, so I’ll continue dancing with it” and
I would dance in front of the mirror and with the broom. After a year or two, I
went one day to enter the casino circle and everybody was like, "Who taught
you?" And I would say, "The broom." That’s how I had to learn a little bit of
Salsa.
How do you start your day?
Well, first of all I brush my teeth. Well, most of the time I start my day
depending on what I did the previous night. I always try to chart a goal for
what I have to do tomorrow and almost always try to plan it that way or do
something related with dancing or I always try to write a phrase to put on my
T-Shirts. I always try to do something that takes me to dancing, or a practice.
My wife almost always tells me, "You must be crazy." Because I get up, I stretch
in bed and I dance as I walk, doing some shimes and I say, "Look, look at these
shimes I learned." She grabs the camera and sometimes records me. She sometimes
tells me though, "that’s not what you just did. Repeat it because that was not
the same." So I have to repeat it. Sometimes I still haven’t made it to
breakfast when I’m already thinking about dancing. If I’m eating, I stop
sometimes and she asks me, "What happened?" and I say, "wait" and I do a step
and say, "ah there!" And she says, "You’re crazy! You’re crazy!" So, I think
that my day starts dancing many times and sometimes ends dancing. Not always,
but many times it does start that way, dancing.
What projects do you currently have on hand?
I’m participating in different competitions. I had to work on December 31st
and for this year I plan to start a dance academy to teach my own style, the way
I dance. I want to teach people more, not only to make turns, but to enjoy
dancing and have love for it. I want them not only to go to a school and learn
seventy combinations or go learn some shimes and learn how to move their feet
fast or learn one step only. I want people to find more meaning to it. When we
are kids they teach us that 2 plus 2 is 4, but before we learn that 2 plus 2 is
4 we are taught to count with our fingers. So what I want is not just for people
to learn a step, but to learn how to do the steps, and how to combine one step
with another. I would also like to record an instructional video which would be
something very big to achieve.
Aside from being a dancer, do you have some other talent or some other dream as
a career?
I love sports. If I’m not dancing and I have free time, I go to a basketball
game and on Sundays I play in a baseball league. I love basketball and baseball.
I played baseball in Cuba until the age of fifteen. I believe that 98% of Cubans
have played ball. I played up until I was fifteen years old and here I play
every Sunday in a league. On my free time, between Monday and Friday, since I
have little time, I play basketball. I don’t play much because I try to take
care of my feet for dancing, but I always go for a while and grab a ball, shoot
a little, and I run a bit as part of the exercise routine. I think in my other
life if I am not dancer, I would be a baseball player.
What message do you want to leave as your artistic imprint in this life, with
your dance and your style?
Since the culture here in the United States is so diverse because there are many
people from so many different countries and cultures, I would like to imprint
Cuba’s style, what Cuba is. Unfortunately, the Cuban culture has been lost
because of the regime. Many musicians can not play their music here because they
are viewed as being in agreement with the Cuban government, which is not the
case, but it happens. Also, many artists do not reach their goal and don’t get
to achieve anything in Cuba, so when they come here, they find themselves
frustrated. My goal here is to imprint how we dance in Cuba, what is being done
in Cuba and not lose the charisma, not to lose the Cuban essence. I can mix it
with other nationalities and other cultures, but always letting people know that
my style and my personality and what I do comes from Cuba. I can dance at a show
and do a lift or make a law step but my show will always be based on the Cuban
essence. I’ll always tie it to folklore; I am going to tie it to Afro-Cuban
and everything that comes from Cuba so as not to lose that Cuban essence,
letting people know that this is who I am, born in Cuba.
What advise do you want to give the young people aspiring to develop their
artistic talents?
First of all, to have passion, perseverance and confidence in themselves. It
doesn’t matter what barriers exist. The obstacles don’t matter. If they do
not have passion, perseverance and confidence in themselves, I believe that not
only in their career, but as a person and as a human being, they can’t get
very far. If one has passion, self-confidence and perseveres in any attempt, one
may get very far. If you show people that you are persistent and have
self-confidence, people will follow your dreams and your footsteps, and will
trust in what you trust. If I do not show people what I really am, what I can
really do and I that I trust, above anything, what I do, nobody is going to
follow me; nobody is going to support what I do.
Anything additional you want to share with your audience?
Well yes! That here, today, tomorrow and always, there will be an artist
demonstrating what he is and with the desire to do much, a lot of work, a lot of
art for the entire world, for all cultures, for all nations. I am a sincere and
humble person and that's what I also reflect in my shows and in my work, and I
want to let everyone know that it seems like here comes an artist with big
dreams.
Finally, aside from thanking you, I want to know if there is anything you want
to share with your friends at Just For Artists?
I want to thank you for having such a brilliant idea, that beautiful dream of
giving people the opportunity to at least sit and talk, because at times not
many of us have an opportunity or a friend to tell that story to. I feel really
good because in about twenty minutes you have given me the opportunity to tell
you my story, of me recalling everything that I have lived and everything that I
want to do. Now I can sit in the car thankful and say, "This is what I did. I
told it so nicely." Not only to you, but you also give the opportunity for other
people to know my story and maybe a lot of people who read the article and read
what I’ve said are going to say," Oh, that also happened to me. That means I
can do it too." Thank you.