Today we’d like to introduce you to Donovan Gibbs.
Donovan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My Name is Donovan Gibbs, I am 25 years old.
I started dancing at the age of 12 in my parent’s dance studio in El Paso, TX, called Desert Eagle Productions Dance Studio. I graduated a year early from high school and took a year to figure out what I wanted to do for my future. Upon returning to school for my freshman year of college, I started working for a company called NDA. (National Dance Alliance) I would travel all across the US teaching dance to high school and college-level athletes.
In 2013 I auditioned for FOX hit TV show, So You Think You Can Dance. I made it straight through to Vegas week. The TV Show also did a huge story on me that aired as one of the highlighted dancers. I soon received calls from Los Angeles Dance Agencies, as well as a Professional Dance Convention that wanted to hire me out to teach.
After a year in a half in college, I felt College wasn’t for me. I needed something more.
So the summer of 2014 I took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles to pursue dance. Five years later, I have performed with Janet Jackson, Camila Cabello, Becky G, J Balvin, Sofia Carson, Zayn, Fetty Wap, and Tinashe just to name a few. I have been seen dancing on the Billboard Awards, Disney Music Awards, Ellen DeGeneres, Heart Music Festival, Netflix, and more.
Two years ago I started my business, DGEMPIRE, which is my teaching and choreography company. About six months after that I started another company called, The Bridge Training Program. The program takes professional choreographers to studios across the country and helps bridge the gap between students and the dance industry.
This is just the very beginning and I feel that there is so much more out there for me. With my faith in God and the help of my family, I am excited to continue the journey of being the difference in my industry. I want to be the signs of love, perseverance, and compassion, in hopes to continue to change the world, one human being at a time.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road on this journey has been nothing but blessings. Yes, they were obstacles, but I feel obstacles are used to help build your character in order to carry out your purpose on Earth. One of the first blessings that come to my mind happened when I was nine years old. My 3rd-grade teacher wanted me to get tested for ADD/ADHD. Upon seeing a doctor, my blood pressure was really high for my age, therefore not allowing them to prescribe me any medications. The wanted for me to see a heart specialist.
A couple of days later I saw a heart specialist and was determined I had Coarctation of the Aorta. A surgery that is done before the age of three. Basically, my valve that pumps blood from my heart to my legs, got extremely narrow towards the middle. The procedure was to cut the infected section out and then reconnect it. A week later I was in surgery. I remember flat-lining during the procedure and having an out of body experience. That is why the number one thing I lean on in life is my faith. After the surgery the Dr. had said three things. One, I wasn’t going to be able to do an extracurricular activities, and I would need surgeries again throughout my life. Two, if the valve was three millimeters longer, I would’ve died during surgery. Three, that little cobwebbed like vines had grown in the infected area, and that was what was keeping me alive so long. The Dr. said in all his years of surgery he had never seen anything like that. I month later I went back for my monthly check-up. The Dr. Said the tissue cleared up extremely well. That I was allowed to do anything I wanted now, and I wouldn’t have to have surgeries anymore. As you can see I am here thriving 25 years later.
Next blessing was when I was 16 years old. It was in the middle of junior year, during a time in US history, when the economy was really bad. My parent’s studio is a mentorship program and had a lot of at-risk youth that attended the studio. My parents decided to sell our house and car and move into the studio to keep it going. During our ten month stay in the studio, my family slept on tumbling mats and cooked food on an electric little burner. We took showers/baths in a 4 by 4 plastic toy bin, by getting water from the outside building hose, and then heating up the water on the burners. All while getting ready to graduate, and my mom being eight months pregnant. She actually brought my baby sister back into the studio, and it wasn’t for another four months before we would move out.
Since moving out to LA blessings have been at every corner. From not having money to pay rent, to not having true friends. I’ve been through a loss of a pet, to barely having enough money to actually eat. I have learned though that life is going to be full of obstacles, it is up to us to either let them defeat us and coward away, or to fight against the storm, and develop into who we are supposed to be. Significance or Prominence.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
For my company DGEMPIRE, I am hired out to either dance, choreographer, or teach dance. I dance behind artists on stage, in music videos, and on tour. I also travel and set choreography on different dance teams, as well as teach workshops and masterclasses all across the US.
My other business, The Bridge Training Program, provides industry dance training for studios. The Bridge’s mission is: To help train the minds of the youth to think more positively and believe in themselves, uplift and encourage their spirit to lead with love, and give the knowledge to help bridge the gap between students and the dance industry.
As a Business Owner, I pride myself on being transparent. I value honesty, compassion, and service. I am not in business to just get ahead and make money. I am in it to truly offer a helping hand and to help the next generation lead with love. It starts with one person to cause a rippling effect in time, that can change the course of the future.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I could pinpoint something that I could’ve done differently, it would be to trust my voice. We all have a powerful voice according to our purpose. But because of society, and now social media, people start to dim their light because of the false lifestyles that they are being exposed too. But I have learned that my voice is just as important. That you have to trust yourself, and to let who you are, speak for itself. It stops becoming about if it will happen and becomes when it will happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: donovangibbs.com
- Phone: 9158734661
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gibbsdonovan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donovangibbs1
- Other: thebridgetrainingprogram.com
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