Check Out FaceOff’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to FaceOff.

Hi FaceOff, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I found that growing up I’ve always been pretty artistic. My first love was visual art. I used to look at pictures of cartoon characters I liked and would try to replicate the image. I learned pretty quickly that I was actually good at it and grew attached to it. I would doodle in my free time but also during class in school which would always land me in a bit of trouble outside of the designated art class we had.

Not too long after I learned I had a profound love for music. I was pretty nice on the drum set. I was instrumentally talented to a fault as this would also be a distraction in classes, but of course to a more extreme level. Banging on tables with pens and pencils and freestyling with friends during the course of a curriculum, some would deem as disruptive I guess. Parent/teacher conferences were fun.

During my days of playing the drum set, I met this kid who would grow to be one of my lifelong brothers. His name is Macston. This kid was even better than I was on the drums. A million times over. And it only made sense as his mom and pops had ties with Berklee College of Music. He had an attic in his house designated to his in-home drum set. He was surgical with it. We met in 3rd grade and literally have been family since then. Little did I know he’d be introducing me into this next phase of my life.

One day I saw Macs gliding like the artists I used to see in music videos. My jaw dropped and I asked him to teach me how to do it. He did….

….I never stopped gliding since.

I remember sleeping over his house one night and we started watching music videos, mostly MJ. He ended up falling asleep, but I remember being up all night watching. I couldn’t tell you all of the videos I watched specifically, but I can recollect one of them. “Smooth Criminal.”

Oh yeah, it was over…

I would glide in and out of rooms, around trash cans, anything. Any moment I could get, I’m gliding.

Some years go by and my family knew I loved to dance, but my sister was the one enrolled in all the dance companies and programs. I remember being in about 5th or 6th grade and my mom used to ask if I would want to do any of the dance programs. My pride wouldn’t let me. You would never catch me in tights on stage (at least that’s what I thought the programs were about). But it wasn’t until we went to one of my sister’s recitals where I had a mental switch.

I remember going to an auditorium with my family to watch the show. The event was sold out. The place was packed. There were a bunch of different numbers that took the stage, some of them hip-hop. They were cool. My dad leaned over to me and said “you don’t think you can do that?!” My pride speaking, I told him “nope!”

But then three guys took the stage. Another hip-hop number. They went absolutely crazy! The energy, the execution, the facial expressions, the performance in general. It was insane! The auditorium started to sound like a concert. I looked around and saw girls just standing and screaming. Throwing their arms around! At that moment, I made an executive decision. I was dancing in the program next year!

Initially my start with dance (like most young boys I would imagine) came from the intent of impressing girls. But something about it stuck with me. As time went on and as I grew older, I fell in love with movement. I trained, I performed, I created and began teaching. All of it. And recently I was reminded by a close friend of mine that I have never stopped since she met me about 8+ years ago. Then I realized that realistically, I haven’t stopped dancing since that day at the recital.

Pretty long-winded answer to how I started dancing, but it all ties together. Till this day, I still practice visual art. Most of the time I draw cartoons to train my brain to pay attention to detail. This definitely helps when trying to learn choreography or when creating it. My love for the drums early in my life definitely enhanced my appreciation for music and has also taught me to listen to it differently. I can manipulate different pockets and this helps to elevate my musicality. I wouldn’t be the artist I am today without these experiences.

This was the start of my story. This is how dance became my first love.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Sure I’ve faced many obstacles. Nothing worth fighting for is ever easy. But that’s the way I prefer it. Facing tough obstacles puts a battery in my back so to speak.

As a young teen, I was in a group called ‘Aleye’. An all-boys group that fell under the umbrella of a company called ‘OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center.’ There were other groups in the company as well. ‘Girls of Imani’ and ‘Imani Jr.’ Both all-girl groups separated by age.

There was another. One that I so badly wanted to be a part of called ‘NIA Dance Troupe.’ This was an older group ranging from about 16-22 years old (maybe even a little bit older, I can’t really remember).

My first audition didn’t go so well. I auditioned with a bunch of others, including one other guy from the all-boys group. In the end, I didn’t make it, he did. This would be my first rejection, but also my first lesson in resilience.

I remember leaving that audition in disappointment. Almost wanted to give it up and just move on. However, it took yet another showcase to light that motivational fire under me and get my focus back on track.

It was New Year’s Eve, and every year in Boston an event called ‘First Night’ takes place in the downtown Copley area. All of the groups under Origination’s umbrella would perform at this event and it was definitely one of my favorite events to perform in each year. So many different venues and shows happening all in one night.

That same year of my rejection into the company, my mom, my sister and I went to watch a group perform at John Hancock Hall. The group was called “Status Quo” (they might sound familiar if you watched the first season of ABDC back in the day). I will never forget some of the moments from that show. The way they controlled the crowd. They commanded your attention and dictated your emotion. I wanted to be able to do that. I knew I could. And I would.

The next year I came back to Aleye on fire. I performed my heart out at every show, I engaged the audience and my facial expressions were always on point (hence FaceOff). My company was stunned. They couldn’t believe the quick turnaround. I was so ready to take everything I thought was owed to me (which at the time was just a spot in NIA Dance Troupe haha). That summer, we performed all across Massachusetts. Each show, I carried the same chip on my shoulder and performed with the same level of intensity. At the end of our shows, we did a Q&A session. We’d pass the microphone down to the person on our right, we’d introduce ourselves and continue to pass the mic along. Each time I got the microphone in each city, the crowd would erupt.

That feeling was special.

Through all the disappointment I felt, I took that and turned it into something positive. I was locked in. Time passes by and here we are again, back at the NIA auditions. I had my mind made up. I’m going to be undeniable this time around. We went through all of the normal progressions, learned choreography, tried it out to the music, and prepared to audition. One of my mentors at the time, David Brown was choreographing the combo for this audition. When it was my turn to step in front of the judges, I had to perform the dance with 4 others in front of the judges. David danced with us as well.

The music comes on, and I left it all on the floor. There was a moment I will never forget though. As we move through the dance, we are nearing its end. David choreographed a sort of statement finish where we drop to the ground at the end of the piece. As this moment approaches, David messes up and kind of laughs and walks off. I keep going, 5, 6 7 and DROP!

The room erupts (including the judges), and I lay on the floor for a moment and catch my breath. The judges gather themselves, I stand up, a grin on my face and walk off to the side of the room. By the end of the audition, I’ve finally made it into NIA Dance Troupe. I couldn’t have been more excited, making it through my first tough obstacle.

I never knew how essential this moment would be for me and my future. It gave me character and it gave me resilience. Some years later, I’d travel to New York multiple times with friends, audition for Clear Talent Group and never get picked. I’d travel to New Jersey to dance at Monsters Dance Convention hoping to get cast, it wouldn’t happen.

Once I moved to Los Angeles I went through my fair share of auditions. Agency’s, award shows, videos. Any job you can think of, I probably auditioned for and didn’t make the cut. I even slept in my car for a few weeks, kept the faith and prayed every night.

The easy thing to do would’ve been pack it up and head back home. But I stuck it out. Through maintaining faith, staying motivated and being relentlessly resilient, I’ve been able to direct book music videos, and perform at live shows, festivals and the Super Bowl. I’ve been able to share parts of my creativity and teach at studios like PlaygroundLA, Millenium and EightyEight studios. I’ve been connected with so many great people and from all different art forms.

OrigiNation helped shape me and mold me. Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, Musau Dibinga and Muadi Dibinga brought me into that studio and taught me professionalism. They taught me integrity, discipline and purpose. Lastly, they showed me that dreams do come true. You only fail when you give up. I’ll never forget what that studio has done for me. I remember them through previous obstacles and I’ll remember them during the ones I’ve yet to face!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Most of what I do at the moment is teach hip-hop classes. I teach most consistently at PlaygroundLA and EightyEight.

When I was back on the East coast, one of my biggest dreams was to be able to move to LA and teach at some of the studios I used to watched faithfully on YouTube. To my credit, I’ve accomplished that goal and I think that is what I am most proud of.

Next, I’ll be looking to capitalize on it further by teaching overseas at some point.

I think something that separates me from others is that I understand my purpose and I stand on integrity. I don’t let the pressures of this art form define me and what I can do in this space. Sometimes we get lost in the digital age and look for approval from bots on social media and lose sight of the reason why we dance. I like to maintain my vision as well as my focus on my purpose and remember that dance isn’t forever. We are older a lot longer than we are young. I want to take full advantage of my God-given gifts while I still have the means to.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe in life it’s important to take risks. If we live life in a safe space, we are depriving ourselves of experiences that could potentially have life-changing value.

While there’s a possibility for that value to be either positive or negative, I still believe it’s important to take that risk. This gives us character, and knowledge and can provide life skills. And we all have dreams. No matter how big or small, we all have them. One of the most impactful quotes I’ve heard recently was “die with memories, not with dreams.”

And in order to do that, you have to take risks.

The biggest risk I’ve had to take so far was moving across the country. I left a solid job, fresh out of college, working at BMC Health NetPlan in Boston. I was there for about nine months. One day I picked a date and told myself I was going to pack it up and move to Los Angeles. No job, no apartment, no plan. I’m just going to do it.

And so I did. It was the best decision I’ve made for my life and career.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_face0ff/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwI42wfVKDPTZrN0PJ1x9kg

Image Credits
Keren Sanai Ricky Tan Vidisha Jain