Meet Kyle Vicente ~ House Instructor

We sat down with House instructor Kyle Vicente to find out his inner-most thoughts...ok maybe we weren’t that creepy, but we definitely got to know him more!

Tells us about a bit about you!

I really love video games, I’m a huge geek... I’ve been dancing since I was 13 years old. I’ve been doing house, hip hop, jazz, tap, musical theatre, ballet...anything I could get my hands on really. But yeah, the biggest geek of all time, well maybe not all time, but you know...that’s me!

Wow ballet, I’m trying to picture you doing that now! What’s your favorite kind of dance?

Oooh...Well house and hip hop would be my top picks, but I also love doing locking, and I love popping...but if I had to choose one, which is extremely hard, I would have to say house just because I feel most free doing it. So that would be my pick.

Why do you teach at iDance?

I find the studio space super cozy, and so I’m always feeling very invited. The students that come always seem super happy to be there so it’s really easy for me to come to class and feel like I want to be there. They’re always super open to asking questions and learning new stuff, so I’m always feeling pretty good about coming in and showing some new stuff, and they’ve been leaving feeling good about it.

That’s awesome. What have you got on the go these days?

Right now we just finished our 4th year at Culturally Defined [a semi-professional dance training program, focusing on the foundations of Hip-Hop], coming up on our 5th, and out of all the years I think this is our most successful, seeing the dancers grow so much. So I’m really happy to be a part of that and running that program. Other than that, teaching kids, all the time, every day of the week, keeping me busy. Not every day but pretty much.

Wow, sounds like you’re crazy busy. Are you performing right now?

I would like to be performing more. I’ve just been really focused on teaching and my company, but my goal this year is to be a little bit more active within myself and getting back on stage and sharing.

We can’t wait to see you on the stage again! You & Culturally Defined were wicked by the way. Can you tell us any little known facts about you?

Hmmm, I’ve been living in Vancouver my entire life. I’ve travelled a little bit. I’ve never been outside North America, who am I? Shame, I know. But hopefully next year, we’ll see. I’m a super huge geek, love video games, comics, anime, you name it. I go to conventions all the time. I like looking stylish when I go though…

Sweet! [both laugh]

Maybe I’ll dress like Pikachu one day, who knows.

Dress like Pikachu? Oh my gosh! [laughs]

One day I’ll just show up like that! I’m ready. Oh my gosh…

[both laugh]

What do you think of the staff and students at iDance?

It’s hard for me to say about the staff because I’m only there twice a week so I never really get to see anybody, except for the people that are right before or after me, or at meetings which is sometimes very brief. But I love being there, like I said before, it’s super inviting. The students are always awesome and open to learning new things which is the best because then I can always come in with new stuff, and it pushes me to come in with new stuff, so it keeps me on my A game.

Sweet. Anything else you want to add?

Hmmm...favourite colour is purple...I love adventures...I’m 28, born in 1989...um, I dunno [laughs]. Having a great time, the summer is finally here!

Right?!? We’re loving it! What would you say to students who are nervous about dancing?

If you’ve never danced before, just build up enough confidence to get into a class, either by yourself, with a friend, whoever, with a group of people, take the class...if you feel like you struggled really hard, come back because the first time is always the hardest. And then I’ve seen this a hundred times, over and over again, after a month of one person coming to take class, all of a sudden they want to be front and centre because they’re that much more comfortable. Even if it’s just once a week. So yeah, just come to class, have fun doing it, always find some sort of positive outlook on it even if you felt like you didn’t get anything out of it just because you were struggling, you got something out of it no matter what it is. Just have fun, enjoy life. Be you. And let other people know.

Awesome, thanks Kyle!