Bethlehem, PA
Founder/Choreographer of Born Into the Arts
Dominick tell us about yourself ?
I was born and raised in Bronx, NY on Cedric Ave where hip-hop was born. I was raised through the church which helped me to have good morals and values. Growing up in my childhood it was a challenge because my mom was addicted to drugs and my dad spent time in the penitentiary. Due to these reasons I lived in a lot of different shelters before my grandmother and my aunt took me and my sister in which helped create a form of structure in our lives. However I was not motivated to move forward.
So this caused me to place myself in a group home. My negative feelings were making me become rebellious such as cutting school, hanging out with the wrong crowds, and losing all the morals and self respect I learned from growing up in the church. Even though peer pressure and negativity made life so much easier to cope with I always had an uneasy feeling in my heart because of the conflict between the negative world which never matched the person I was raised to be.
I always had the heart to care about others more then I cared about myself. I always had the courage to fight for what I believe is right and I always wish that I had the power to change the world to a better place. But these feelings didn’t fit my life because of the negativity I was comfortable with. So I wore this mask of frustrations and I blamed everyone else for what I went through just to ignore the change that I could have made within myself. An experience I had with saving an older couple from an apartment that was on fire changed my perspective. It was at that very moment I felt like I mattered and that I had a purpose. In addition my mothers strength to beat drug addiction motivated me to be the person I knew I was to be and to make major changes in my life.
"My mothers strength to beat drug addiction motivated me to be the person I knew I was to be and to make major changes in my life..."
What inspired you to become an entertainer?
Growing up with my aunt she was really big in the hip hop industry. She was known to be the biggest female hip hop promoter in New York. In fact she started out comedian Tracy Morgan and so many underground hip hop artist. Being around my aunt, the church, and music introduced me to the passion of dance. Every night before my aunt had an event my family would have a gathering before they go out. There was dancing and fun all around. My sister and I would get called out to dance for everyone and that was when I found my joy in entertaining people.
Dominick's Aunt and comedian/actor Tracy Morgan
The family gathering before evening event..
What challenges did you face in becoming an Entertainer and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge I faced was trying to find where I belonged in the dance world. I didn’t have a particular label not being just a popper, locker, or breakdancer. I was a free spirit and just created my own movement according to the direction of the music wherever it took me. What helped me to overcome this was just being myself and being unique. I realized I had something different to offer and my originality was enough. People then took interest and saw my potential.
"I created my own movement"
What advice can you give to up and coming dancers who are looking to grow and start their own journey?
The best advice I can give dancers is to always remember the passion that you had when you first started in this art form without the acknowledgement and the expectations of others. You must stay true to yourself and know that you have something to offer. When you are dancing and you feel the music it’s like being in the middle of the club the music is blaring around you and you feel every vibration to ever beat and the only thing that matters is the enjoyment and the freedom of enjoying that sound, feeling, and using your gift in expressing yourself through movement.
How can Born Into the Arts personally make an impact in the community?
When I started Born Into the Arts I wanted to create something different from a normal dance studio. I wanted to be able to show how people can unlock the artist in them. In the beginning of time before their was art their was blue in the sky and green in the grass that gave the idea for someone to create color. That color gave them an idea to create portrait paintings, a bird gave someone an idea to sing, their was a chopped down tree that gave someone an idea to create the drum which then produced rhythm and movement. So the mission of Born Into the Arts (BIA) is to pull out the best from each child by allowing them to understand that they themselves are the creator of the art form that they are learning which is key in being true and original to yourself. At Born Into the Arts (BIA) it’s important to know that you can be different and unique which makes you special. Children will come into BIA as students and will leave BIA as leaders making an impact in their community.
Please be sure to visit Born Into the Arts dance company located on
6000 Hamilton Blvd Allentown, PA