Tapas Das in Blogs

Comp Kid Turned Teacher and Choreographer Gabe De Guzman Comes Full Circle

Gabe De Guzman grew up taking convention classes across the country and starring in one viral class video after another, gaining tens of millions of views and hundreds of thousands of fans in the process. Now 24 years old, De Guzman is back on the convention circuit—at the front of the ballroom, leading the next generation of dancers through classes.

De Guzman’s high-energy choreography, characterized by unexpected yet seamless transitions, has appeared everywhere from Season 17 of “So You Think You Can Dance” to Skechers commercials. And while his professional bucket list includes choreographing for an international tour, De Guzman believes whatever path he’s on will be the right one: “I just go where the wind takes me—I have a lot of trust in the universe to place me where I’m meant to be.”

Feeling the Beat

“My choreographic inspiration always strikes from a song, whether it’s a beat that I love or a lyric that resonates. Certain songs hit my soul in a different way and pull something out of me.”

Trusting His Instinct

“I don’t really tweak my choreography. I always follow my first instinct because it’s ultimately the most natural movement. I emphasize this a lot in my classes—don’t create a dance as a thought, but as a feeling.”

Photo by Joe Toreno.

From Student to Teacher

“I grew up in the convention circuit, so teaching at conventions has been one of the most fulfilling tasks. What’s most important to me in the classroom is that students leave with more than just movement—I want them to have a better understanding of themselves as a dancer and unlock deeper ideas.”

The post Comp Kid Turned Teacher and Choreographer Gabe De Guzman Comes Full Circle appeared first on Dance Spirit.

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Tapas Das: Tapas Das, a young entrepreneur of our times started TWIST N TURNS in 2005. A person who is kind, generous, creative and down to earth wanted to start his own one of a kind dance academy. According to him, Dance is a language of movements that involves space, time and the human body. He was born and grew up in Kolkata, the cultural hub of India. Being appreciated in the field of dance all his life, he is extremely talented. He has been dancing since the age of four. Once he finished his high school, he learned jazz/modern and contemporary dance. His horizons were broadened even more when he started dancing Bollywood with Beat Busters for 4 years, which then was the most upcoming dance crew in Kolkata. After that exposure, he studied how to be a dance teacher, which later started helping him impart his knowledge about dance. Thus, in 2005, with the help of family and friends, he started TWIST N TURNS. Starting with a mere number of 40 students, today TWIST N TURNS currently has over 500 students. Over the time Tapas has taught and performed all over the country. He has performed in cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Jhansi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur etc. He has been an active participant in the Salsa India Congress in the cities of Bangalore and Bombay, and he has also visited various International Salsa Congresses in Europe, namely in Berlin ,Singapore, Hong Kong,Dubai. He is been also trained recently at Broadway Dance Center (New York), Alvin Alley (New York) and Steps on Broadway (New York). He is not only a dancer or teacher. He is a successful choreographer and has coordinated various shows without difficulty in our country. His leadership skills are exceptional, thus he is where he stands today. His aim in life would be to become a dance educator. He wants to share his tremendous knowledge in the right way to the right people. He is also, simultaneously running other brands like Zumba Kolkata, Bollywood Studio ArtistWala.com and India International Dance Institute.