Meet Darrell Rivera | Hip Hop Dancer

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

Hi Darrell, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
consistency and persistence. even though i may fail a bunch of times through my career as i build my brand, i stay consistent on achieving my goals, and i stay persistent on being positive that i will achieve them. I believe many people lack consistency especially when they feel defeated. But, I believe true perseverance is when you hit your lowest.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
i am dancer/choreographer from Las Vegas. I actually did not start dancing until i was 18 years old. I’m originally born and raised in San Francisco, CA. I moved to Vegas to attend UNLV to major in hotel management. During college I was dancing as an elective. During that time i absolutely fell in love with dance. It made me feel free, I was able to pour about my happiness or anger each day through movement, and for that 1 hour i was in the studio each day I could lets all my feelings out. I just loved how great it made me feel. i told my mother i wanted to dance professionally. obviously, that is not something an asian mother would want to hear. But, luckily we made a deal, as long as i finish and get my bachelors in hospitality, i can go ahead a pursue dance as a career. My mom just wanted to make sure i have a backup plan and i am secure.

once i finished college i pursued dance full time. I was taking classes around town to train and meet people, also i was volunteering for a lot of free events so i can network and know more poeple in the industry as well. As i learn more about the dance industry i also learn how its very cutthroat and “selective” i was not booking a lot in the beginning because i was asian. Asians were not an ideal look as “sexy” or “handsome” in the dance industry so it was very tough for me to book. There was a span of 2 years where i absolutely did not book anything, i was cut from every audition, and during that time I was even dropped by 2 different agencies that were representing me. I hit my lowest at this time and I quit dance. I ended getting a job at Venetial Hotel as a front desk agent. I told myself “maybe dance was not meant for me.” I worked at the venetian for a year and i hated every part of it. I hated customer service overall. I wasn’t happy with my life, but what i did remember was how happy dance made me FEEL. so, i told myself “i wanna dance… if no one is going to choose me then i’m going to create opportunities for myself.” so i created a youtube channel and started filming all my classes i taught and all the small projects i did. I reposted my videos over and over, I didn’t care who it annoyed. I was going to make sure you saw me. My big first choreography was seen on ellen degeneres and good morning america. I was then direct booked to dance for salt n pepa in their vegas residency show and currently I am dancing for shania twain in her vegas residency show. The consistent work i put in not just social media, but in my craft as a dancer, finally ending showing results and getting me to the right places.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
we definitely have to watch Absinthe! thats my favorite show in vegas! entertaining, fun, and hilarious! definitely stop by area15 to grab a drink and check out the attractions. walk around the linq where there’s plenty of shops and restaurants. at night definitely check out Wynn & Encore for dinner, drinks, and nightlife action

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out Emily Yi for referring me to do this interview and share my story!

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