Today we’d like to introduce you to David Lee.
David, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up in a traditional Chinese family (and being the youngest of six children), a life in the arts was not a luxury that was provided for me. I moved around a lot a during my youth – being raised in Tujunga, moving to Simi Valley, to Dallas TX, to Alhambra, Irvine for college, and eventually settling in Monterey Park.
I’ve always had a deep connection to music and that serendipitously led me to discovering dance during my sophomore year at Alhambra High School. I fell in love with the dance community and was overwhelmed by the positivity, support, and its culture. A majority of my time at UC Irvine was spent taking dance classes, late-night rehearsals in parking lots, and various performances around Southern California all while balancing multiple jobs and being a full-time student.
Immediately after graduating from UC Irvine with a B.A. in Fine Arts, I made the bold decision to pursue a career in dance as a choreographer. With it being a highly competitive career, filled with uncertainty and my mom’s fear for my financial stability, I knew that this was something I was meant to do.
I began teaching internationally in China, Japan, Netherlands, Canada, and multiple states in the US. Through dance, I was able to work with organizations that I never thought was accessible including the Dallas Cowboys, the LA Clippers, and China’s street-dance themed competition show – “Hot Blood Dance Crew” – which garnered nearly 2 billion views during its run. I spent five years working with The Lab (winners of NBC’s World of Dance Season 2), and more recently, working in Artist Development with talents such as Meg Donnelly, SoSuperSam, Shokichi, Fais, and Zak Waters.
I am currently serving my 6th year as the Artistic Director for Culture Shock LA, a non-profit organization that uses Hip-Hop music and dance as a vehicle to enrich the underprivileged youth population in LA while creating purpose driven art. I am also a resident instructor at The Kinjaz Dojo and the online dance platform – STEEZY Studio.
Fun Fact: The front desk receptionist at the local dance studio who had signed me up for my first dance class in 2006 has been my partner for the past decade and is now my fiancé.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Most (if not all) artists can relate to the instability of income. As a choreographer starting off, I was teaching a few regular classes a week, but the number of students who take class can always vary – which means your paycheck will also vary. Workshops or traveling gigs didn’t happen all the time and there was a period of time where I wasn’t booking a lot of jobs – which became discouraging. I felt like I was competing with other elite industry choreographers who were booking often when I was really only competing with myself. This led to me constantly comparing myself to other dancers, choreographers, and even people in other occupations. Life experiences eventually taught me that I had to be courageous and vulnerable in order to grow and that helped me discover the route I wanted to be on. By putting my work out there for others to see, surrounding myself with positive like-minded individuals, and being dedicated to my craft, I was able to endure the struggles and come to the realization that my success wasn’t defined by monetary value, but by my own happiness.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
The easiest way to describe what I do is to say that I am a professional choreographer who specializes in artist development with a focus in urban choreography and hip hop. But it goes deeper than that.
I am an artist, a leader, a choreographer, a dancer, a creative, and an educator. If there was something that sets me apart from others, it would be my wide range of skills and my dance vocabulary partnered with my adaptability. I wouldn’t bubble myself as only a dancer and choreographer – both of those things go hand in hand with my experience in directing, music editing, production, set design, lighting design. I would like to coin myself as a dance engineer. All of these skills are activated with my role as the artistic director of Culture Shock LA. So many variables go into the process of creating a full-length show – but I love that challenge! We are currently preparing for our latest production – MOIRAI – an immersive silent disco dance show – which plays on Dec. 27, 28, 29. (Come check it out!)
I have always gravitated towards helping others which complimented my passion for teaching. I have been very fortunate to be able to travel the world and work with major artists and companies, but the thing that I have the most appreciation and love for recently is teaching beginner level dancers. I pride myself in being a great teacher and knowing that I can help people build confidence in a classroom speaks volumes because that confidence translates with them outside as humans in the everyday life.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t think there is too much I would change, but if there was one thing – I wish I would have taken more risks instead of being so calculated.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 6262338794
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lpdavidlee
- Other: http://cultureshockla.org/
Image Credit:
@rhileephotog @tiffanie.marie @steezystudio @vibrvcy
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