On this special episode of the Kinjaz PodKast we are SUPER DUPER STOKED to have the multitalented, Lyle Beniga!
From dancing for artists like Justin Timberlake, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott & the list goes on…
Actually you can find his resume here:
…to teaching literally all around the world, he's created his own BRAND, this guy is really winning at life.
Lyle tells us about his journey from the East Coast Collegiate Community and going to college for Engineering to proposing a business plan to his parents for his need to pursue dance in LA.
**WARNING** We are still figuring out the kinks here and there but periodically you'll hear a little crackle during some of the dialogue. We sincerely thank you for all the feedback we've been getting. We're listening, we hear you, and we're committed to bringing you great stories from really great people. ENJOY!
SHOW NOTES:
Margareta Chughtai (formerly Eysel) - Founder and Executive Director of Culture Shock DC.
Tony Tzar: https://www.instagram.com/tonytzar
Zach Lattimore: #zachlattimorechoreography
“I would much rather struggle in LA…to reach a goal than in DC for sure…”
Even though he had a timeline in which he had to accomplish certain things or to just be able to prove to himself or to his parents that he could do it or not, he still didn't feel like there was so much weight on his shoulders. He felt there was a lot of freedom to grasp onto.
The pressure he felt to finish school wasn't there so he could solely focus on why he wanted to be in LA.
Now obviously that sounds like the mentality most students or hungry dancers want when giving this lifestyle a shot.
Of course he wanted to book jobs and dance but he really goes into depth how important it was for him to be a sponge and absorb the training that was being offered to him.
He went out and experienced the dance scene. Went to parties, clubs, freestyled & "sessioned." He was able to keep a level head by sticking around his mentors, Jayson Wright, Super Dave, Phi Nguyen. He was older when he arrived in LA so he had a level of discipline in why he wanted to be in LA.
These guys are legends. If you don't know them…here you go.
Jayson Wright: https://www.instagram.com/jaysondwright
Super Dave: https://www.instagram.com/theonlysuperdave/
Phi Nguyen: https://www.instagram.com/phi_jbwkz/
He mentioned booking Hillary Duff's The Dignity tour and how it was a catalyst for him turning the tide in his career. You might find someone familiar at 2:32.
After booking that tour he found he wanted to start teaching more. He was already creating and putting choreography on friends and fellow dancers, but it was time for him to start giving what he had to offer.
“..its time, its time, I feel like I have something to offer. I didn’t wanna teach something if I didn’t feel like I had something to offer…if I didn’t have something to say with my movement.”
“I really wanted to make an impact in that way…
…I knew it wasn’t time to teach when I’m still a sponge. If you’re gonna tell a yellow belt to teach, you’re gonna be scared outta you’re sh*ts…”
“…You’re expected to know these things, I cant go and ya know, show you how to ya know, do the wu-tang or anything like that, you know and break down all these other grooves and break it down for 30 mins cuz I have a routine, this is a choreography class…”
I found this quote to be very impactful. If you don't know how to do a step that the choreographer briefly mentions and moves on…those are probably foundational movements that dancers pursuing most choreography styles should know. In this example that would probably be a prerequisite for taking that class.
You probably won't find the syllabus for these classes with the prereq's listed but its just a good rule of thumb to take foundational classes and recognize the variations in those steps to figure out more advanced steps. Break it down.
If you can't find the foundational classes; the Internet is your oyster.
JUVEN-LYLE DELINQUENT. He even bullies his friends in their own videos.
“A lot of things didn’t come naturally for me, even like learning choreography, my pickup was okay but it wasn’t like THEE best. I just worked at it, worked at it, worked at it. Constantly constantly. Even being clean or you know, I saw all these weaknesses, and its just like picking at it, always picking at it. Before I used to be like this super fast dancer but to the point where I was too ahead of the beat. And it took someone to tell me that to really hone into that and try to be patient and try to take my time…you know, the idea of texture and all that and listening to music. It was all a process for me…”
44:25 to listen in on the Kinjaz X BNGA "ambush pack" Collaboration:
BALANCE:
I really feel what Lyle is saying during this part of the conversation. Referencing even back to Ep:3 with Anthony and Mike we talked about "Curiosity vs. Passion" and we have a pretty similar conversation here about that. Are we beginning to see a trend? In short no. Its validation. Be curious my friends.
http://instagram.com/@lylebeniga
Field of Vision. FOV.
Thanks for joining us on this week's episode of the PodKast! We hope you enjoyed hearing Lyle's Story.
We also wanted to express our deepest gratitude for the INCFREDIBLE feedback we've been getting about the PodKast! We are live on ALL the platforms now! iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and right here on the Kinjaz PodKast website!
As always don't forget to rate us on iTunes, leave us comment on what we can do to make your experience better and SUBSCRIBE for all the HEATER episodes we'll be dropping the upcoming weeks! Stay Tuned!