{"id":4822,"date":"2013-04-10T14:25:57","date_gmt":"2013-04-10T14:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dancemogul.com\/news\/?p=4822"},"modified":"2020-03-20T12:12:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T16:12:12","slug":"dr-arnel-calvario-commit-to-doing-things-with-meaning-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancemogul.com\/news\/dr-arnel-calvario-commit-to-doing-things-with-meaning-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Arnel Calvario \/ Commits To Doing Things With Meaning and Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"arnel<\/a><\/p>\n

DanceMogulMagazine is honored to present Dr. Arnel Calvario. His commitment to education and the arts speaks for itself. <\/strong><\/span>He has a good grasp on purpose which is something that is missing in our society. We understand some people are visual learners, so it brings us great pleasure to show you purpose better than us just telling you.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Dr. Arnel Calvario grew up in the era of the \u201970s\/80\u2019s when Hip Hop street dance was born. He has since been passionate about constantly educating himself on the history of Hip Hop dance culture through talking to and working with Hip Hop dance pioneers and progressors in our dance community.\u00a0 Believing in using his talents & resources to promote community outreach, positivity, \u201crespect for all people,\u201d artistic expression, and education, Arnel has dedicated himself to the CA dance scene since his college days. In 1992, he founded UC Irvine\u2019s own Kaba Modern (one of the 1st<\/sup> collegiate dance crews in Southern CA).\u00a0 Arnel created Kaba Modern on the principles of cutting edge artistic expression, personal growth, and a family crew mentality.\u00a0 To this day, he continues to be the advisor for <\/em>Kreative Movement, Kaba Modern, and Kaba Modern Legacy and is the manager for the six Kaba Modern dancers from MTV\u2019s hit show America\u2019s Best Dance Crew, Fanny Pak, the Beat Freaks, and Kinjaz. He formerly danced\/choreographed for DVS and Chill Factor and in 1998, also joined Culture Shock\u00ae Los Angeles (a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that utilizes Hip Hop dance and music for community outreach events and dance education programs in schools and community centers throughout Southern California).\u00a0 Arnel also founded an exhibition dance company, Kaba Modern Legacy, in 2002 to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of Kaba Modern.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

In 2003, he became the Executive Company Director for Culture Shock LA and January 2008, Arnel has transitioned to the role of President of the Board of Directors for Culture Shock LA.\u00a0 In January 2010, Arnel was also appointed President of the International Board of Directors for Culture Shock and became one of the founding directors of the Hip Hop Dance Association.\u00a0 Arnel continues to teach Locking and urban choreography dance classes for Culture Shock LA and has taught for other dance communities such as Studio 808 and Hypersquad studios in Oahu, HI, DREAM Dance Studio in Vancouver, Culture Shock Oakland, Culture Shock San Diego, Culture Shock Washington D.C., Formality Company Class, Boogiezone.com Community Class in California and New Jersey, Mayvn\u2019s Spotlight dance workshop, First Select Workshop in Washington D.C., BoogieZone University 1-4, and BoogieZone Exchange.<\/p>\n

He has also judged for various dance events such as Urban Street Jam, Bragging Rights dance competition, Battlefest, World of Dance, Vibe dance competition, Fusion dance competition, Mavyn\u2019s In the Spotlight battle, All Cal dance competition, East Coast Dance Competition, GMA\u2019s Best Dance Crew Competition, Summer Melee Battle in Maui, HI, Hip Hop South Africa \u201cDance to Las Vegas\u201d 2009 Competition, Mexicos National Hip Hop Dance Championships, the Beat Down in Toronto, and Looze Control in Sydney, Australia.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Committed to using Hip Hop dance for outreach as well as the promotion and preservation of Hip Hop dance culture, Arnel is proud and grateful to be Board President of Culture Shock L.A. and Culture Shock International.\u00a0 His dedication to the dance community has been recognized by his One Cypher.com and Jalan Productions community leader award, his Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2008 V.E.N.T. Dance Awards, his Hall of Fame award at Battlefest 2010, his award for \u201cInnovative Leadership\u201d by the National Association of Asian-American Professionals, his induction into the Hall of Fame at the 2011 World of Dance Industry Awards, his televised 2012 Filipino Champion award presented by TFC (the Filipino Channel) and being the recipient of the 2012 Culture Shock International Visionary Leader award.\u00a0 He has also been featured as a guest writer for the L.A. Times as a critic for America\u2019s Best Dance Crew Season 5 and served as Battle Co-coordinator for Hip Hop International\u2019s World Battle and Urban Street Jam for the past 3 years.\u00a0 For more information on Arnel, you can check out www.CultureShockLA.com<\/a>, www.kmlegacy.com<\/a>, www.kabamodern.com<\/a> , www.facebook.com\/arnelcalvario<\/a> or twitter him.<\/p>\n

\"arnel<\/a><\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: Who were some of your early\u00a0inspirations?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nDr. Arnel Calvario:<\/strong> Rock Steady Crew, Air Force Crew, The Lockers and Medea Sirkas opened my eyes to the rawness and brilliance of Breakin\u2019, Lockin\u2019 and Poppin\u2019 while crews such as Funki Junction (a local crew in Cerritos, CA) and bay area crew Jedi Clan (later known as Mind tricks, a few of their members would later be some of the founding members of the Jabbawockeez) really amazed me with their crew choreography sets. The combination of those artistic influences with the positive messages of artists like KRS-1 inspired me to help start my high school crew PDP and ultimately, Kaba Modern.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: What was it like watching Hip Hop grow in its early stages from your perspective?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nDr. Arnel Calvario:\u00a0<\/strong>I grew up in the \u201970s and \u201980s, so I was blessed with the opportunity to see some of the funk and street styles emerge and evolve.\u00a0\u00a0I was initially so shy and lacked self-confidence, so I watched from the outside of cipher circles looking in with admiration and excitement over the rawness, hype energy, and power of each style.\u00a0\u00a0People would roll out the linoleum or cardboard and get down on the playground, the park, and even the malls for whatever brief periods they could and we would just gather around those circles to the beat of the ghetto blaster. Each of those dance styles had an essence and a unique expression tied to the social movement that inspired its creation. It was an exciting time for dance and I was in complete awe.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until the \u201980s and 90\u2019s in junior and senior high school that I ventured out on the dance floor and got together with friends to dance publicly.\u00a0\u00a0The fusion of my early exposure to funk\/street dance with the current party dance styles of that time molded my artistry. Early 1992 shortly after I started as a freshman at UC Irvine, I decided to create a college experience of having a dance family and Kaba Modern was born.\u00a0\u00a0There weren\u2019t any other collegiate dance crews we knew of in Southern California, so what we were doing felt fresh, new and exciting for us. Culture Shock San Diego was founded by Angie Bunch as an inspiring professional, non-profit dance company that same year and years later, other groups like Team Millennia, PacModern, CADC, and Formality came onto the Southern CA dance scene as well. The pride and excitement grew and an initial idea internal to UCI evolved into our amazing dance community that has now grown tremendously. I\u2019m truly grateful to have been there to witness countless leaders and visionaries create their own dance families to grow and flourish throughout the west coast.\u00a0\u00a0When online resources such as Boogiezone.com, YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook launched, there was now this global connection between dance communities that has really really taken the dance moves to another level.<\/p>\n

\"arnel<\/a><\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: Were your parents supportive of your passion for dance?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nDr. Arnel Calvario:<\/strong> When I was in Elementary School, my parents actually involved my younger brother and I in a Filipino cultural dance company with my cousins to ensure we learned about our culture.\u00a0\u00a0When my initial interest in urban dance art forms evolved from admiration to actual training and choreographing in high school, they were ok with it as long as I kept my grades up. In college, they had initial concerns that I was spreading myself too thin with founding\/directing Kaba Modern and also dancing\/choreographing cultural dances for UC Irvine Kababayan, but once they watched my first dance show at Kababayan\u2019s 1992 Pilipino Culture Night (Kaba Modern\u2019s debut performance), they witnessed and understood my passion for dance and what it has done for my self-esteem. They have supported ever since and\u00a0continue to attend and support my shows & dance projects.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: When did you know that you could become a professional?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nDr. Arnel Calvario:<\/strong> It wasn\u2019t actually until after I left the collegiate competition scene and joined Culture Shock Los Angeles in 1998 that I realized I had gained enough leadership experience and dance experience to start choreographing for other groups\/artists. Back in the day, BBA (Bobby Ball Agency) was one of the most renowned agencies and I was fortunate to be represented by them.\u00a0\u00a0While the dance industry was fun & exciting at the time, my true love and passion for dance were developed and refined within my work with Culture Shock LA. It was during my years with CSLA especially from 2003-2008, that I discovered that when in collaboration with the right people, dance can be more than just profitable or fun, it can be positively impactful to the greater good, inspiring, meaningful, and truly life-changing.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: Tell us how you were able to mobilize the youth and create such opportunities\u00a0like\u00a0Kaba <\/span>Mordern<\/span><\/em><\/strong>?
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/em>Dr. Arnel Calvario:<\/strong> Like I mentioned earlier, I was a really shy kid with low self-esteem.\u00a0\u00a0Even when I started dancing and choreographing in high school, I always preferred to be in the back.\u00a0\u00a0I am the oldest of 4 siblings, so growing up, I didn\u2019t have an older sibling to mentor me, but when I started at UC Irvine, I found many mentors in the Filipino-American student organization, Kababayan.\u00a0\u00a0It only took 1 person to say they believed in me to give me the courage to step out and create Kaba Modern.\u00a0\u00a0My years at UC Irvine molded me into not only a better dancer but a more effective leader.\u00a0\u00a0Inside, however, I always remember what it is like to have felt awkward and insecure, so I have empathy for anyone who is just starting out.<\/p>\n

That is why I am truly committed to paying it forward whenever and however I can to inspire and encourage others to believe in their unique purpose just like someone else did for me. Everyone is truly extraordinary in their own way \u2013 we all just need someone sometimes to remind us and encourage us we are worthy of our greatest dreams.\u00a0\u00a0That is one of the blessings of dance\u2026it can strengthen and transform us.\u00a0\u00a0When it comes to mobilizing youth, I always strive to see our dancers as people first in order to tap into how dance can move them forward in life.\u00a0\u00a0Each style of dance has its own unique history and essence, so carefully picking artistry that speaks to the lives and intrinsic motivation of your dancers keeps the art meaningful and authentic.\u00a0\u00a0I also believe in cultivating a family aspect with all the artists I work with, so they not only develop as dancers, but they grow as people together.\u00a0\u00a0Thus, the bond is stronger and much more long-lasting. Lastly, clearly and consistently articulating and living the mission & vision of the collective is really important to keep your group focused and motivated. Shared purpose, good communication, a strong social bond, and a sense of shared artistic pride are all important for cultivating a strong dance group.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"arnel<\/a><\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: You have had\u00a0numerous\u00a0opportunities and accomplishments, what have been some of your most memorable?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>
\nDr. Arnel Calvario:<\/strong> There are so many memorable experiences to be grateful for, but these 3 are probably my most proud moments:
\n1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0My most significant of all memories was when my Culture Shock LA family produced our benefit show The COLOR of WE in 2005 which took stories of real people living with HIV or affected by the loss of a loved one to AIDS shared on a discussion panel and expressed those stories through music & dance. Seeing the tears in the audience\u2019s eyes and the standing ovation of the 2000+ audience members, we knew we not only entertained, but we touched the hearts of the audience.\u00a0\u00a0Since then, Culture Shock LA scripts and produces one benefit show each year focused on a social cause to raise money for a related charity. Our unified mission is to always create art with a meaningful purpose & message.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Last year, my Kaba Modern family celebrated our 20 year anniversary and we produced a 3-day event consisting of a showcase, an alumni gala, and a Sunday picnic.\u00a0\u00a0To commemorate 20 years of artistry and family and see hundreds of alumni come together to share how Kaba Modern has influenced their lives was such an unforgettable, proud moment.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In 2007, Kaba Modern and our friends the Jabbaowockeez auditioned for a new show, MTV\u2019s America\u2019s Best Dance Crew.\u00a0\u00a0Both crews made it on to the show and I felt we helped expand the face of Hip Hop and urban dance to be inclusive of Asian Americans as well.\u00a0\u00a0Since then, I have had the opportunity to work with many of the crews on the show, but specifically, it has been an honor and blessing to work with and travel the globe with Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak, and the Beat Freaks because of the mission each crew represents and the love I have for each of the dancers as people.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul: What has dance taught you as far as\u00a0discipline, determination, and dedication?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nDr. Arnel Calvario:<\/strong> Dance initially taught me that there is something inside me that deserves to be cultivated, shared, and expressed. Over time, I realized that the only way to reach my full potential was to embrace the fact that:<\/p>\n