Daily Inspiration: Meet Edward Refuerzo Jr.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Refuerzo Jr. 

Edward, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I was born and raised in what used to be a little town south of Houston called Pearland, TX! Just like every other traditional Filipino family, my parents raised me to be a healthcare professional. I never even considered dancing as I was a musician more than anything growing up! In fact, I wanted to pursue being a musician whenever I was younger. I primarily played piano, but I did also love to sing. My parents convinced me that I should put away my dreams of being a musician and to keep it as a hobby. Believe it or not, I even was the heavier-set kid most of my life, who had barely any self-confidence, self-esteem, and love for myself. I felt so trapped in what my parents wanted me to do that I didn’t really feel like I was living for myself nor was my own person. But don’t get me wrong, I love my parents very very much and understand that they raised me as best as they could in the way that they knew best. The way that I found dance really was by chance of wanting to try something new! It wasn’t just a journey to explore a newfound passion or even a weight loss/ fitness journey, but also a journey where I got to really learn, understand, and love the human that I was and wanted to become. I started in 2015, mainly as a means to lose weight. It wasn’t even with dance classes; it was Zumba at my university’s gym haha! My best friend, Chelsea Soriano, convinced me to eventually go to my first hip hop class, which was doubling as an audition for a dance team at another university in our college town. Luckily, I made the team, and I was a very proud member of Choreoblock, the University of North Texas’ Filipino Student Association dance team, for 3 years. I eventually got to help choreograph it my last year as well, which was great to be able to give back to the team.

My goals for dance have changed pretty much every year as I continued to learn more about the art. They started off small, such as joining a team and being able to perform on a stage. Then once I accomplished that, I dreamed of performing on the World of Dance stage with The Neighborhood, which at the time, my leaders and older members of Choreoblock got to do! I got the bulk of my training in Dallas from The Neighborhood’s home studio, Dancing for a Cause. I was on the team for 2 years and made some very amazing friends and mentors who I still love so dearly. It was around this time that I really pushed myself to work out to be able to have the stamina and endurance to be able to handle doing a full set on stage for competition.

There was talk about an audition for an NFL hip hop team, and the first thing I told myself was honestly, “you’re never going to make it.” But I at least went to try out the prep classes, where I met the director of the program, Jenny Durbin Smith. Little did I know that she was going to be my next mentor! Everyone in the environment was so welcoming and supportive that it inclined me to at least attend the audition! This was a very rigorous process as there were SO many people who attended the audition, and the size of the team was supposedly going to be 20. This was the experience that I feel got to let me have a taste of what the industry would be like between rehearsals, performances, and little gigs that happened on the sides! I really had so much much fun the one football season I danced with the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm & Blue Co-ed Hip Hop Team! I feel like I really learned to take care of my hygiene, fitness, and mentality. They were exactly the positive influence that I needed in my life at this point because it was a pivotal period in my life in which I had to decide if I was really ready to close the dance chapter of my life or move forward with what my parents wanted for me.

In that same time, I was also asked to co-direct Dallas’ first all-female hip hop team, Team Athena, with Evan Miller. Alongside some phenomenal and talented individuals to create with: Darius Brown and Tamara Valle. We took our girls to World of Dance. I loved being Papa-thena for these girls so much. I don’t mean to sell myself short, but I admit I felt unprepared for this role as well as being an instructor at my studio, but I did my absolute best to lead them with love and care.

I was in a relationship with someone for a couple years in my dance journey who introduced the idea of moving to California to pursue commercial dancing, which I will always be thankful for. After getting a taste of the industry with the Cowboys, I was seeking more. To perform on more stages, to learn from new teachers, to meet new people, but also a change of scenery. Graduating from college was such a weird time, but I decided to take another leap of faith. I decided to put away grad school and the medical field to leave the comfort of the state I grew up in to pursue this dream. It came time for me to prepare moving to California, which I had no idea how crazy this next chapter was going to be. Saying that my move/ first couple months of being in California was chaotic is an understatement. Being completely surrounded by an oversaturated city with so many different personalities and stories as well as dance training was overwhelming. There are so many people teaching over here that I had no idea who to take from. I try looking back on the past 2 years here in LA, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I have loved every lesson that I have been taught, every person that I have gotten to cross paths with, and all the new experiences that I am grateful to have. It’s not that I have a ton to say about what is happening currently or what has happened in this LA chapter, but I would rather my art, growth in my movement, and confidence within myself speak for itself. I have spent the past two years training and building a beautiful network, both inside and outside the dance community. Recently I have felt more sure of myself to actually go for it. Proud of all the hardships that I have overcome, and preparing for more to come. I have full intentions of spending 2022 wholeheartedly being fearless and pursuing the industry.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

The road has been anything but smooth. In the journey of learning to understand myself, I have had to understand, learn, unlearn, or even reframe habits and perspectives about myself in order to move forward! Being the heavier set kid growing up, I really had to learn to love myself. Flaws and all. And in what better art form to express that than dance! I feel there is a certain level of vulnerability and humility a person must have to really allow themselves to feel okay with throwing their limbs and body in ways that they aren’t used to. I, personally, do not think that I have a natural talent for dance, but in turn, I will train day and night to get something to look right in my movement. Something that I don’t often tell a ton of people was that around the closing of my second season on my studio team, I planned on completely closing my chapter on dance as I felt like I wasn’t feeling fulfilled anymore. Looking back on it, I was dancing for the wrong reasons around that time. I felt like I lost the reason for why I was dancing, which was because I had so much fun doing it. It shouldn’t matter whether I am good or not because I genuinely enjoyed it and a hunger to learn more. We are all on our own journeys. When I danced for the Cowboys, my inspiration and motivation had been reignited.

Another big struggle was the initial move to California. I’ll be honest, I did not have enough money saved. I couch surfed my first month, worked random odd jobs from Craigslist, and DoorDashed every single day until it was time to take class all while I was job hunting. It  got really lonely. One of the hardest things was calling my loved ones (especially my little sister) back at home and telling them that I was fine, and then getting off the phone with them only to break down in my car. Thankfully, a college friend and his sweet family took me in for a couple weeks until I found a place of my own! Eventually, I found an apartment with some old high school friends, a decent job that I’ve been working for the past couple years, and new friends along the way who really made the transition so much easier. Forever will I be thankful for them.

The Edward that people see now is a million times different than the one who started dancing or even the chubby kid from high school, but understanding who I am as an artist has been a difficult one. I do feel like I was one of those who moved to LA without truly being ready for the mental hardship that came with chasing the dance industry (i.e., who I was, understanding what I would like to do within it, who I would like to dance for, and what kind of impact I would like to have). But being surrounded by many others who are also struggling artists has really eased my worries and allowed me to zone in on planning what is going to be up and coming. The discipline of taking care of my mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health as well as having to defer myself from indulging in settings that will not help me grow in longevity has been a learning process. It’s not like I’m a machine who is constantly training though because I also would still like to explore and enjoy the new state I moved to! The more that I have taken time to understand myself and really experience life, has really translated into my movement and my spiritual being.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

Back in Dallas, I used to create/teach/choreograph a lot more than I do now, but moving to California has shown me that I would like to be a canvas for other people to create on. It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t choreograph, but I would like to use it as a means of expressing my passion projects. I am a very eager student to learn and would love to bring back the knowledge I obtain here over to Dallas! Analyzing my dance recently has shown that my strongest styles that translate well on my body are jazz-funk and dance hall, but I did begin most of my training in hip hop. A lot of my dance friends at home know me by my crazy facials whenever I perform!

One of the things that I feel will set me apart from others is my work ethic and hunger to learn. My roommates, especially, know how late I will practice a combo incessantly after working a full 8-hour day, another 3 hours at a part-time job, and 2-3 dance classes afterwards just to feel content with my training. There are days whenever my energy is low, but if I am feeling motivated or inspired, I have been trying to push myself to get up and ride that wave of inspiration.

Another thing that will set me apart is the heart that I have. This isn’t just for the industry but in life. I am a huge empath that rarely finds someone that I do not get along with. I do feel that the love that I give and am willing to offer truly is one of a kind in the sense of compassion and understanding. I want the best for every single living being on this planet and hope that they are able to find happiness in longevity! And if anyone ever needs someone to listen to or talk to, I am here. I know exactly what it’s like to be in the darkness, and I would never allow someone to sit there by themselves.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?

Don’t be afraid to try something new! We really only have one life to live. And if you are in a headspace where you don’t think that you can do it or you aren’t good enough, just Dare to Believe. As cliche as all of that sounded, it’s how I’ve been living my life. How are you going to know if you like it or are even good at it if you don’t even try it? You really don’t know what can be the start of a whole new life-changing journey for you. And if it doesn’t work out, then you at least can be content with knowing that you at least got to try it. Have an open mind, and open heart! I really am most proud of myself for finding something that I am so passionate about that it makes my heart ache thinking about it. In the best of ways though! I am very grateful to have found something that I am willing to sacrifice current pleasures in an effort to allow myself to obtain the things that I want in this career path. I hope that every person on this planet is able to find something that they are passionate about. I feel like it makes life more fulfilling.

If I were to have advice for those wanting to pursue the dance industry, prior moving to California, I would say to do your research. Figure out who you are as an artist, who want to dance for, who their choreographers are, who they were mentored by. In fact, because one of the things I would like to do is dance backup and maybe go on tour, I would suggest just watching live performances to see what you could be getting yourself into. If you are training, be intentional with it. Don’t just say that you are training to train. Have a goal in mind and a plan of how you intend on reaching and attaining those goals. Be open to change and adaptable to different styles of dance. But most of all, understand who you are as a human and as an artist because it can be so easy to get lost in the extravagance of LA.

Contact Info:

• Email: therefuerzo@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therefuerzo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edward.refuerzo/

Image Credits
Rhiannon Lee
Jeremy Knies
Jimmy Love