November 24, 2023 • 37 mins
Episode 19. In this compelling episode, we sit down with Luis Gomez. From discovering his passion for dance as a teenager to completing a college program and touring with a semi-professional group, Luis's journey took an unexpected turn when the challenges of Covid led him to pivot towards software development.
Join us as Luis shares his inspiring story of dedication and determination, navigating the shift from the dance floor to the world of coding. Learn how the expressive art of dance became a powerful tool for him to communicate and overcome personal challenges. Luis's journey is a testament to the transformative nature of pursuing one's passions and the resilience that comes from embracing change. Tune in to discover how dance and technology have woven together to create a unique narrative of self-expression and personal growth.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lisa (00:08):
Welcome to the Happy Sweat Life Podcast.
My name is Lisa Rung and todayI'm very excited to be
interviewing Luis Gomez, who hasa background in dance and
actually became a professionaldancer.
So we're just going to explorehis background and what he loves
about dance Yeah, so maybe youcan tell us a little bit about
(00:32):
your history, and actually Iforgot to mention he did tell me
that he lived in Anaheim,California which is near where
Disney is, and so he got intothe performing arts in high
school and then continued on tocollege and then had a
professional career.
So welcome, to the podcast.
(00:52):
I'm very happy to have you here.
Thanks, Lisa.
You're welcome.
So, yes, let's talk a little bitabout your background and how
you got started in dance andother parts of performing
Luis (01:03):
arts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So kind of like you mentioned,right, I was raised in Anaheim,
California.
So Disney in general was a biginfluence on my life.
I didn't actually start dancing,like, like, actually training in
anything up until I was 15.
But you know, I always lovedperforming, whether it was,
like, school songs or something.
(01:23):
I remember that my, like, myfamily kind of looked at, looked
at me as, like, the, theattention seeker, right?
For a minute.
But yeah, it wasn't until...
Well, actually, let me, let mekind of back up a little bit.
So my introduction to theperforming arts before dance,
actually, I used to be involvedwith music and like orchestra.
So I played a saxophone inseventh grade.
(01:46):
And from there I moved intopercussion and I got involved
with our drum line.
And so I kind of got into likereally moving my body in that
area when that was happeningbecause it was all about, you
know, marching and understandinghow to keep time and stuff like
that with the drum.
And yeah, that actually kind ofled into the next thing where
After high school when I startedto go with percussion and intro
(02:07):
drumline and kept going withthat and marching band.
It was my freshman year of highschool when the, my girlfriend
at the time was actuallyauditioning for the dance
program for like our sophomoreyear, right?
And, At the time, I had been toa couple quinceaneras for
friends, and people were like,Hey, you know, you dance pretty
well, like, you should, like,audition, and I was like, nah,
(02:28):
it's fine, I'm not gonna worryabout it, like, thanks, though,
like, you know, like, yeah, themusicality all kinda comes from
you know, the musician in me,but I'm not looking to, to dance
or anything.
But, when my girlfriend at thetime was learning the piece for
the audition, I was like, Hey,you know what, like, I'll learn
it with you so that way you havesomebody to practice with and we
can just like, you know, go overit.
Sure enough, the voices keptcoming and other friends were
(02:51):
like, Hey, you know, you shouldreally just do it, like, you
know, what's the worst that canhappen, you know, you...
You don't even have to take itif you get it.
And I was like, you know what,hey, like, I'm gonna have an
extra, like, elective for thenext year in my sophomore year.
Might as well go ahead.
And sure enough, I auditioned,and yeah, the dance teacher her
name was Meg Elder.
Mrs.
Elder was, like, honestly,amazing.
(03:12):
I remember her just saying,like, hey, you know, I would
have loved to have been a partof the program, so because the
period of which, like ourpercussion and our drumline
would meet, and the specificdance level, dance class that
she wanted me to meet wereconflicted I had to go a level
below in the dance classes, soit was like in our Kind of like
(03:33):
the intermediate level danceclass.
That way I can keep bothdrumline and dance in my life.
But sure enough, actually, thatthat same year when I was doing
both that was actually when myband director had kind of given
me the ultimatum of, Hey, youknow, you can't keep going back
and forth like this.
Like, you know, there's going tobe times when we're going to
(03:54):
have performances, they're goingto conflict, so you need to
decide now whether you're goingto dance, or whether you're
going to continue being, youknow At the time I was, I was on
the snare drum, and I was like,you know, Mrs.
Elder, she's not making medecide, and at the same time, I
feel like, as a dancer, afteralready learning so much from
it, I, I don't know, I feel likethere's more of a voice for me
(04:14):
here, and sure enough, I walkedaway from percussion, I never
looked back, and since then,I've, I've been dancing, I
started off with, you know somejazz technique, and also, like,
kind of musical theater, likemore entertainment based stuff,
right?
A little bit of modern ballet,but at the time, like, it wasn't
any, like, real training.
It was stuff that you wouldlearn in high school.
(04:37):
I had an amazing coach, OscarGonzalez, who actually danced
for he was in the AladdinMusical Spectacular at Disney,
and he took me under his wing.
And honestly, like, since then,I was just grind, grind, grind..
I fell in love with just howmuch I was able to...
Create with my body, and not somuch just create, but also to
(04:57):
just serve as a tool tocommunicate an idea that a
choreographer would have, right?
So after high school, I actuallywasn't planning to go to
college.
I was actually going to try toaudition right into Disney, just
like that, and kind of avoid therest.
And then one day, that's when mycoach Oscar had actually
mentioned, Hey, look, they'reactually going to cancel the
(05:18):
Aladdin Musical Spectacular.
I think it would be a goodchance for you to go to college,
get an education, you know, keepgetting more training before
anything else happens.
And honestly, I think that wasone of the best things I...
ever took from him because, youknow, thankfully because of
that, it pushed me to go out andactually audition for different
colleges.
I auditioned like maybe likeeight schools and I decided with
(05:41):
University of California, SantaBarbara.
So I danced there for fouryears.
And that actually is where I, Istarted to shift my focus and
cared less about like theentertainment side of dance and
like, you know, all the musicaltheater and everything, the
stuff that was all like showythat I fell in love with.
And I pushed that aside becauseof all like the, I would like to
(06:03):
say the artistic and thecreative side of dance, right?
Like we started to get into moreof like the abstraction and The
interpretive part of dance,quote unquote.
So that lasted for four years.
I graduated in 2019, Itechnically stayed a couple more
quarters to finish off someclasses, but that was kind of
the end of dance for me incollege.
(06:24):
I was actually, thankfully, apart of a pre professional
company that we had at theschool that actually gave me a
chance to do a, we went and dida European tour, We went to
Italy, Malta, Spain.
Finland and Lithuania.
We also did outreach withdifferent schools in our
community, which is actually oneof my favorite parts, especially
being, like, you know, one ofthe only male dancers, and
having younger brothers ofmyself they would, like, look to
(06:47):
me and ask me if I could do,like, certain dances from,
Fortnite and stuff, so that wasalways fun.
But, yeah, like that tour was,you know, as professional as it
gets, right?
To go out into Europe and havepeople from other countries come
and watch your show.
Some of them sold out, some ofthem not, but getting standing
ovations some nights for solosand stuff.
It was like, as...
(07:07):
If there was any other way tosay I made it, like, that was
it, right?
Of course, once I graduated oneof my professors had a dance
company that was actually tiedto the university called Santa
Barbara Dance Theater.
And I actually did a piece withhim, and they needed a couple
guys, so I was one of them.
And at the same time you know,this was as, like, COVID was
starting to spread out just alittle bit.
(07:29):
So, as everything started, andwe had finished a, a performance
out in, like, LA or something.
And then another show back inSanta Barbara.
After that, we were kind of on abreak as they finished teaching
another piece to some of theother dancers.
And then that was when theyannounced, like, okay, yeah,
hey, we're gonna have to go onlockdown.
And at the time, unfortunately,my grandmother...
(07:52):
It was like a mom to me.
She was back home in Anaheim.
She had passed that same year atthe beginning of the year, so at
that time, it was it was timefor me to move back, and I was
like, hey, I'm gonna go toCalifornia, or back to Anaheim
sit here and kind of just bewith the family for a little
bit, but also to kind of focusin on, something else, so not
only just finish the coupleclasses I had left online, but
(08:13):
also, Really dive headfirst intothis programming part of my life
because of course, you know,there was also like 30, 000
worth of loans waiting for me onthe other side, right?
But yeah, that, that, that was ashort professional career, but
that was kind of it.
Otherwise you know,unfortunately I didn't really
dance much during that time whenI was on lockdown because at
(08:33):
that time, you know, studioswere closed and really taking an
online dance class or workoutclass, whatever you want to call
it.
It's, it's, it's, you don't getthe same, same energy, right?
Like, the environment's just notthe same.
And so it was, it was hard.
But, yeah, that, that's kind ofall I have on really, like, the,
the career or where it allstarted,
Lisa (08:54):
Well, that's a remarkable story.
And I have so many questions.
I guess one of them was about...
You know, were you in anenvironment where it was more
acceptable for men to kind ofchoose dance or did you get
pushback from your family orfrom people around
Luis (09:12):
you?
You know, that is actually abeautiful question.
So yeah, all of high school, I,I had a different girlfriend
from my sophomore year until theend, until when I graduated.
Regardless of that, you know, Istill had the same people making
fun of me for, for being indance.
People thought I was gay for thelongest time.
And, you know, I wouldn't say itwas, like, full on, like, Abuse
(09:36):
were like, you know, people werekind of really judged me for it
But you know, I can hear peoplegiggling in the back or like
name calling and you know, atfirst they really did bother me
but you know, I kind of justrecognized like, you know in At
least, at least within highschool, right, in that time of
my life, and what the differentthings, like, the different part
of the performing arts that Iwas involved with, like musical
(09:57):
theater, choir and stuff, like,I knew that within those group
of people, they knew who I was.
I wasn't, you know, like, Iwasn't the little gay dancer kid
that everybody, like, the restof the school might have
thought.
But, you know, the thing, thething was, like, in college, I
think that's where it reallywas, was a test, because, you
know, everybody was a lot moreopen, and, you know, it was, I
(10:20):
can't tell you that I didn'tuse, you know, the line, oh
yeah, I'm a dance major, to, topick a girl here and there, but
you know, at the same time,like, there, there were times
where, you know, I was also apart of a fraternity, and, it
was hard, To really fit in withsome of the guys because, you
know, there was a lot of like,I'd say guys that kind of came
(10:43):
from traditional families,right?
That kind of looked at it aslike, Oh, you know, like you're
a dancer.
Oh, like you obviously can'thang with us or whatever.
And it really, it really messedwith me in my head for a bit
because it came to the pointalso where I did notice that
there was a part of me almosttrying to hold back when I was
dancing because I was afraid ofOh, like if I, Do this a little
(11:04):
too much if I'm a little tooanimated then people are gonna
start to keep thinking Oh, youknow, he's gay.
He's a girl, whatever And Ithink that was a big hindrance
on me because you know It evengot to the point like my
sophomore year of college whereI was like I kind of looked at
myself in the mirror and I waslike, you know Does this mean
like I have to be gay to be agood dancer?
Like what is that supposed tomean?
And at that point, thankfully Iwas actually taking a couple of
(11:27):
of classes and I got a chance tomeet like a lot of just male
dancers within not only thecommunity, but also just like in
dance history and recognizinglike, you know, it's not
something that's completelyfeminine, right?
Like there, there are a lot oflike amazing straight male
dancers out there and like Sureit might be a predominantly
(11:49):
woman run industry, but like, Imean, the level of athleticism,
I can guarantee you that thereare a lot of people out there
that can't do the stuff that wedo, you know, like, it may look
like I'm on my toes or whatever,but, when I'm making jumps, when
I'm lifting girls out there,like, it, it's, it's work, it
ain't just like, you know, Wetry to make it look easy on
stage, but I can tell you rightnow, there isn't a part of me
(12:11):
that runs off stage where I'mlike, huffing and puffing, like,
alright, I gotta go back outthere and do it again.
So, sorry, to make the longanswer short I was, thankfully I
was in an environment where itwasn't too bad.
You know, as you may see, likein some movies and stuff but I
(12:32):
can't say there wasn't anychallenges there, right?
Lisa (12:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I know we were talking alittle bit before we started the
interview about that sort ofwhole image of, of dance, not
being very athletic and also Ishared that I figure skated in
the same issue was in there andit's just, it's such a shame
because I'm sure there might beother men that would be.
(12:54):
Wanting to join, but feellimited or, dissuaded by other
people's opinion about it.
Luis (13:02):
No, a hundred percent.
And that was actually one thingtoo, I almost made it a mission
of mine when I was in college tostart introducing, what is the
male side of dance because whenI think of like, Like the boys,
right?
I think of like, just kind ofbeing goofy But also really like
epic you know, I think of actionmovies or Kind of like
(13:22):
stereotypical things like thatand I thought to myself, you
know In what ways can Iincorporate this in stuff like
my projects?
So sure enough actually That'swhere I really started to hone
in on what my movement wasanytime my body moved It was
always gonna be really rigidwhere you had this aesthetic of
like hip hop To an extent whereit was like really sharp and
somewhat like these pop anddancers, like big, big
(13:44):
influences to me were like theJabbawockeez and stuff.
But also it was like, okay,well, how do I make this like
fit in, fit in line with likemodern dance?
How can I get to add some levelof technique to this?
So it looks like it's my thing.
And then even too with mychoreography, I did a whole
piece to this I would call itjust like this the kind of music
you would hear like on a movietrailer for like a superhero
movie or an action movie.
(14:06):
And I use like, you know, fogmachines and like a lot of it
was just like my dancers runningback and stage kind of tossing
stuff around.
Just to really like, kind ofkind of bring in the guys like
in the dads out there like inthe boyfriends that were just
like, you know, like, Oh yeah,it's just another dance
performance.
Right.
Yeah.
'cause I just, I don't know howmany times even to meeting the
(14:26):
boyfriends of like some of myfriends out there in, in the
same dance company that I wasin, you know, they're like, oh
yeah, it's nice.
You like, oh, you looked reallygood out there.
Where I'm like, bro, like, no,there's, there's more to this.
Please.
Like, you know, stick around.
Oh, there was another thoughtthat was, that was, that was
with me right there.
I'm totally missing it, but ifit comes back to me, I'll,
mention it.
Okay.
Lisa (14:45):
And I'm, I'm realizing I kind of made a broad swath of
dance, but there is moreacceptable dance for men.
And like you were saying, thehip hop, I see a lot of short
videos of men dancing, but notmodern, not ballet as much,
Luis (14:59):
yeah, and that's, that's the thing, right?
Like even too, I go to 12 stepmeetings and yesterday there was
a man who approached me.
He's like, Hey, no, I know youdo dance.
Like, you know, what would be agood class for me to go out into
just to like learn some beginnerstuff, like improv for like hip
hop and stuff.
And I'm like, you know, Hey,that stuff's great.
Like, don't get me wrong.
you'll get a sweat there andhere and there.
And it's nice.
Cause I mean, of course that'ssomething that's.
(15:20):
That's more acceptable, quoteunquote, for men to do.
But you know, I also mentioned,like, you know, you should pop
into another, modern class oreven a ballet class, like, you
know, some of the, best athletesout there for, football, boxing,
you know, some of these guys,they, they take these ballet
classes because you have to bereally, really good on your feet
and, you know, it, it's noteasy, that girl you think that's
(15:40):
out there on stage, like, doing,I don't know how many turns on
your toes, smiling and, lookslight as a feather, no,
underneath, she's, she's beatingdown hard, there is so much,
That's going on, not only in herbody, but just in her mind to
stay up and like, you know, be,be on top of everything.
But yeah, I'm, I'm always goingto be biased on on these
classical techniques as opposedto like, you know, like hip hop
(16:03):
and, and like jazz and stuff.
Lisa (16:19):
And I was going to ask you what, what modalities did you
study and what were you drawn toany particular one or did you
have any favorites?
Luis (16:28):
Yeah so for me, I always just love, love moving my body
because even to like I gotinvolved with like some martial
arts and stuff like I didkickboxing and MMA.
This is actually after Igraduated from college and I had
to move to Texas for my firsttech job.
But, yeah, in terms of what Istudied so I started off in high
school learning all the showystuff like jazz, tap, musical
(16:49):
theater, anything that reallywas like, Hey, mom, look at me,
right?
Like, jazz hands and everything.
But then once I got to college,that's where I had to really
hone in on the classicaltechniques of ballet and modern.
And that's really where I wouldsay that my passion for dance
came.
I might have liked it andenjoyed it before then, but...
(17:11):
That's where I actually, like,fell in love with it and yeah,
I'd say that, originally, I, Iwas always drawn to I guess I'd
say like hip hop esquemovements, movements that were
going to be a lot morepercussive, a lot more like
(17:33):
staccato, really, really quickand fast and strong.
Because I remember even too, inour like improv classes, I, I
will never forget this girl,Sasha.
She told me I moved like a videogame.
that's so interesting becausethat's exactly how I feel a lot
of the time.
It's like, you know, I, I cansee where that level of rigidity
and just like.
Technicality comes from me.
(17:55):
Now when it comes to myfavorite, now I can't really
tell you I have a favorite.
I think nowadays I would sayit's either like modern or
lyrical.
But each one, like, you know, itkicked my ass in its own way.
And that's why I loved it.
especially like ballet.
You know, any guy you ask isgonna be like, Oh, ballet,
you're such a girl, whatever.
But no, that is tough.
It takes so much discipline, andactually, it's one of the best
(18:16):
things that you can do for yourlegs, in my opinion.
And anybody can say otherwise,but like, It's so repetitive,
but it's a discipline, you know?
With modern, like, that's thewhole definition of modern.
It's like anti ballet, so youcan actually break those, like,
those lines and that technique.
But also, too, it's...
I guess because modern is so...
(18:39):
So vast, and there's so muchmore that can fit into it,
technically.
That's kind of why I like that,because then I could actually,
avoid having to stand upstraight and, kind of move my
body in, like, really, like,obscure ways that you wouldn't
really see and think about.
Like, that was actually myfavorite thing, doing anything
on the floor or, moving my bodyin some kind of shape that,
people would look at it and belike, Oh.
(19:00):
Yeah, I didn't think of that.
But I'd say, yeah, those two, Imean, of course I'm biased
because I trained in them for awhile, but those would be my
favorites.
And actually, as I say thatthat's not quite true.
Lately maybe, earlier this yearI started up taking house dance
classes again.
There's something I took incollege, like maybe once or
(19:20):
twice.
Because I was out here, and thiswas actually, I was recovering
from a I have what's calledFirmacetabular Impingement,
which is like extra bone on myhip, and I had to get hip
injections, and so I was out fora bit, had to stop, like, you
know, dancing seriously, so Igot back into house dancing here
in a couple communities in NewYork, which is really fun.
(19:43):
That's really more, aboutgrooving and, you know, making
sure, your body's light andyou're just, like, really into
it, right, and, like, quicksteps and everything.
That, and just being able togroove, I would say is one of my
favorite things ever.
Lisa (19:55):
That's so fun.
What kind of music do they playon that?
Is it a variety
Luis (19:59):
or?
It's house music, right?
So it's something that you wouldimagine, like some kind of DJ
that's really like moves to thebeat of your heart, where you're
just like really quick, movingeverything you can, it's just so
like, it's really percussive,but at the same time, you have
to be really loose.
Cause it's a groove.
It ain't something that like,you have to like fight to be in
touch with.
I mean, there, there is work toit.
Right.
But a lot of it comes from like.
(20:20):
You know, how, how much can yousit into the beat and move with
the music, right?
Lisa (20:26):
I'm, I'm also kind of struck about how quickly you
advanced in dance.
Did you, were other people thatyou were with, had they started
earlier or what do you thinkmade you successful at that age
to kind of just jump into it?
Luis (20:43):
So I, I always heard, well, let me answer this.
So yes, I, I started way laterthan a lot of people.
I started in high school at thetime.
I was like 15 going on 16, ifnot already 16.
And you know, a lot of thesegirls that I was dancing with
typically has the same answer.
Oh, I was dancing since I wasthree, four, five, like super
young competition kids,whatever.
(21:04):
And.
You know, it was funny becauseone of the biggest things now
that you mention it that Iremember was when I started
dancing The first class that Itook that actually I met my
coach Oscar Gonzalez in Iremember him saying out loud
like oh, he's gonna pick it upeasier because he's a guy and
you know At first I was kind oflike, oh whatever like I get it
like I don't know how much thatreally matters But no, yeah,
(21:26):
guys typically when it comes todance I've noticed especially at
that younger age we we learnpretty quickly and I remember
feeling really the impostersyndrome sitting in for quite
some time, even when I was incollege, because, you know, I
had only been dancing for a fewyears and now I had made it into
a school where these girls weredancing for since like they were
three, four or five, whatever,had all this amazing technique.
(21:49):
I remember thinking what didthey see in me?
do I really belong here?
Later to find out, it was kindof the perfect time for them to
shape me.
And by the end of it, I had thisdream of becoming like the, I
don't want to say the star ofthe program, but like the face
of, of, of like the danceprogram or anything.
But You know, I, I thankfullywas able to, I, I got a chance
(22:09):
to do a solo for a piece that wedid from a choreographer called
Jose Limon.
The piece is called The Unsung,which is about like these Native
American war heroes and it wasnice because I got the closing
solo for that.
And there was a picture of me inthe, in the program for the
following year after I graduatedthat I remember looking at to
this day that I'm like, youknow, I'm so glad that.
someone's gonna join this schoolsome guys and look at this and
(22:31):
be like, you know Like I can dothis like if I see something
like him this gives me a chance
Lisa (22:36):
Do you do you find that thread of wanting to inspire
people running through your liferight now Is that something
you've always had?
Luis (22:46):
I I don't really know if I can say I've always had it but I
have had it since I I'd saysince, since college, actually,
since I was a senior in highschool cause at that point,
like, so it was kind of weirdhow that all happened.
Actually.
My junior year, they werepicking who were the dance
(23:06):
presidents and who's, who aregoing to be the next year, like
as seniors, who are going to bethe new presidents for the year
and stuff like that for all the,the performing arts and things.
And I remember at the time.
My class, my junior class, wewere all kind of like, well,
nobody wants to do it.
We had a friend, Chantel, who Idon't want to call her teacher's
pet or anything, but everybodykind of knew her as oh, the good
girl, right?
(23:26):
Like, you know, oh, you'll be agood president.
And she was like, oh, well, youknow, I need a vice president.
And I told her, hey, honestly,like, if you fill out, like, the
application for me, I'll totallybe your vice president.
I don't mind, right?
To be honest, I never saw thatapplication.
I never saw what she wrote onit.
I had nothing to do with it Itold her this is all you if you
want me to do it.
I'll do it When it comes down tothe actual announcement, they
(23:51):
announced me as president.
Oh my we're hearing that like Weall kind of looked at each
other.
are you sure like I rememberasking Chantel like Did you
switch something around?
She's like, no, I didn't doanything.
And so I got out there, I tookthe position.
I'm like, you know, Hey, this isa chance for me to really just,
you know, step into somethingthat I'm not used to.
And after that, I remember thatyear was just about me being the
(24:14):
dance captain.
Right.
And what that meant to show anexample, because not only that
being a senior and also being aTA for younger dancers, it was,
yeah, don't get me wrong, like,I won't lie, the part of it was,
enjoying the attention a littlebit about it, right?
Being not only a straight maledancer, but being looked at as
oh, like Of course being astraight male dancer, but also
(24:38):
like being like, Oh, there's thecute senior, that's leading the
dance program, Which is nice.
But since then though, I wasalways kind of like, yeah, like
any, anybody that needed helpwith learning some kind of
technique or whatever.
I remember even some of thegirls that were coming in as
freshmen.
I remember teaching them afterschool or sometimes just like at
some park or something likedidn't really think anything of
it.
And as they got into collegesimilarly, at first being a
(25:02):
freshman.
Sophomore, junior, like nothingwas really much there for me,
but then as a senior, I reallyhad to step up again.
I wasn't a leader or anything interms of actually holding a
position.
But, you know, people saw me andthey were like, hey, Luis is
here, when he's here, he's, he'shere to work.
Right?
every time, I, I would lovetalking to people don't get me
wrong.
But when I took it, when Istood, the dance class starts,
(25:24):
like, no, I'm in my zone.
if you don't see me smile, it'sbecause I'm there, I'm trying to
think, alright, Sure, it comesmore naturally to guys, but, you
know, again, I'm also in a placewhere people have been dancing
for 10 plus years, I gotta beable to hold my own, but also,
too, I had this goal of, makingsure that if I'm eventually
gonna end up in Europe, which,at the time, you know, we were
all just, waiting for that dayto come in the company like, I,
(25:45):
I needed to make sure that I wasgonna go out there and give, the
best that I could, because if Ican prove that I was good out
there and on tour, that, thatjust says, I'm ready for the
real deal.
Yeah.
So yeah, and now, now that Idon't dance anymore though, I'm,
I'm still always trying to passon things to people, especially
like, now, the way that I becamea software developer was super
unconventional, right?
I didn't get my degree incomputer science or anything, I
(26:09):
learned how to program with,within a year, I had my first
job, within two years, I wasalready within a Fortune 100
company, and now I'm with thatsame company.
I work for Capital One as asoftware engineer.
And actually, I didn't startlearning I started learning how
to program in 2019, but Ididn't, get serious about it
until 2020.
And I mean, we're only in 2023,right?
(26:30):
So this only happened a fewyears ago.
And to say that, anytime I'vehad people ask, what's your
secret?
how are you learning things?
I'm like, honestly, when, whenyou want something, like you're
going to make it happen.
And especially too, I thinkthat's why, like me being a
dancer was so important in mylife because I mean, nobody has
to be as passionate, As much as,I think, as like a straight male
(26:53):
dancer, because you're alwaysgoing to get feed, just people
lashing at you saying Oh, wellthat's a girl's thing.
why are you even doing this?
Like, even, even though you'restill also going to get people
saying Oh, well that's thedancing.
What are you going to do withyour life?
all you're going to be doing islike being a starving artist,
quote unquote, right?
And for me, I always knew, well,I'm not gonna be a starving
artist, I'm gonna make sure thatI'm a well fed artist, right?
(27:14):
So I think this was, you know,the universe's way of saying,
hey, don't worry, it's coming,but we have to make sure you get
there the right way.
Like, your way.
So, became a software developer,and I totally gave up on my
dream of going to New York.
Sure enough, Capital was hey,actually, we want you to come to
New York.
And now I'm here, being able todance whenever I want to, with
some of the really greatcompanies out here.
(27:35):
Granted, I mean, I'm, I'm...
Not dancing at that levelanymore, but you know, just to
be surrounded by the art andstill be able to take classes
and you know, that's not to sayI'm not trying to get back into
it.
I think it's just been I've hadsome health issues along the
way.
Like I especially to once thepandemic hit and everything,
right?
don't get me wrong.
I went from this, this, theprime of my life of being like
(27:57):
190 pounds fit young maledancer.
To like 227 pounds, I'm asoftware developer in Texas now,
having to pick up and change myway of life again and again and
again.
So yeah, it's been tough, butAll that to kind of come back
and say, yeah, to this day, Istill try to inspire where I can
(28:19):
in different areas because Iknow sometimes it's important.
That's actually why I actuallystarted the podcast that I did
because, sometimes you reallyneed to be the first person to
do something so there could beanother person.
Or sometimes somebody reallyjust needs to hear the right
thing coming from the oneperson.
I don't know how many times Imight have heard somebody say
(28:39):
something time and time again,but it wasn't until I heard one.
A specific person say it andthen where it finally clicked
and I was okay, I got to do thisthis way or I had to experience
it this way to make sure thatall of this would happen the
right way.
That's so
Lisa (28:52):
true.
Yeah, definitely.
I think one thing I'm struck bytoo is just and you can tell me
if this isn't true, it's likeonce you decide to do something,
you seem to be fully committedto it.
you're just gonna do it full outas best you can.
Is that what you feel like?
Yeah.
Yeah.
A hundred percent.
I think that's unusual, but goodfor you.
Luis (29:11):
No.
Yeah.
I think cause that's, that's thething, right?
One thing that I learned was.
You know, the best investmentyou can make is on yourself,
that's the best bet because theonly one that's, that's going to
ruin that for you is you, Imean, sure, you're gonna have
some outside factors, right?
But like, for me, I think thebig thing was coming from a
family that was already broken,you know, my dad got deported
when I was two.
And unfortunately, yeah,unfortunately, when I was
(29:33):
supposed to meet him the firstyear when I was 16, you know,
like, This is just fulltransparency.
He actually, he committedsuicide, so I never had a chance
to meet him.
And my mom, I know, it's okayyou know, like, God bless his
soul but my mom, she actuallyemotionally abandoned me.
She actually walked out on mefor a while.
She left me and my littlebrother with my grandmother, who
(29:55):
was like my mom to me, right?
Eventually she came back, but Iwas very neglected.
And one thing I learned was...
You know if I don't go all outthen I mean no one's gonna be
there to catch me right, and sothat's why when I do things I I
learned the way you do anythingis the way you do everything and
(30:17):
Yeah, if I was gonna learn todance I was gonna learn to make
sure I was one of the bestdancers out there So nobody can
tell me I wasn't good enough.
Nobody can tell me that you knowthat I was some pansy out there,
whatever you want to call it.
Same thing for programming.
I knew if I was going to pay offthese bills, if I was going to
really try to live the life thatI wanted to live, that I was
going to have to be up there andbe good enough.
(30:40):
Same thing now, even with thispodcast.
This started off as just anidea, and now that I'm able to
just go out there and get allthese interviews and everything,
it's just been...
You know, some part of it, Iwould say, the universe, God,
whatever's out there, has beenby my side, but I know part of
it is just, I don't have anotheroption.
I don't have anybody that'sgonna catch me when I fall, so I
need to make sure that I'mliterally giving everything that
(31:02):
I have.
Lisa (31:04):
Yeah, you can be given opportunities, but unless you
take them, it's not going tohappen.
Right, right, right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I would love to have youjust tell us about your podcast
so we can look for it when it'sready to be launched and if you
want to share some about that.
Luis (31:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So the podcast is called TheBottom Left Pane It's, the
concept is, there's acommunication theory model
called the Johari window.
Pretty much what that window is,it's four panes and if you're
familiar with like CharlesDarwin, like Punnett squares,
like the dominant and recessivegenes, how they're distributed
(31:42):
within the squares it's similarto that where it's split up in,
horizontally it's split up bywhat the world knows about me
and what the world doesn't know.
And vertically, it's split bythings I know about myself and
things I don't know aboutmyself.
So, the bottom left paneconsists of the area of which
what I know about myself, butwhat the world doesn't.
(32:04):
Right?
And really, the podcast exploresjust the intricacies of the
human experience.
You know, because this area istypically, you know, it's called
either the facade or I like tocall it just the hidden area.
Because really, this is wherepeople...
Really...
Kind of keep to themselves,right?
Like, not because necessarilythey have something to hide, but
(32:29):
because, like, you know,sometimes people can't say
things about themselves becausethey're too scared of, like, you
know, what society is going tothink because of, like,
everything that's out there.
Like, am I going to getcancelled?
Am I going to get judged?
Whatever.
But also, too, sometimes even...
You know, like, I can tell youright now, sometimes for me,
it's like, well, sometimes Ijust don't have people to tell,
right?
Like, this story about medancing, not many people know it
(32:51):
unless you're really close tome, but that's also because,
like, you know, I'm not outthere advertising saying, Hey,
yeah, by the way, not only am Ia software developer, I'm a
dancer who's done X, Y, and Z,whatever.
And, you know, and really, thiswas, like I kind of mentioned
earlier, it was because I knowfor me, it was so important to
hear.
Are there like motivationalspeakers and stuff like I
actually just came back from Aconference in Dallas for Tony
(33:15):
Robbins, and it's just anytime Ihear people like that speak It
just reminds me like yeah realpeople can have these
experiences and come fromnothing and and come out on top
and that's really what I'mtrying to do share these stories
because I know that if Somebodycan share the story first that
would open up the door forsomebody to be second You know
whether that be somebody that'srecovering from an addiction
(33:35):
someone that needs a secondchance Someone that just wants
to have somebody to share justwhat they're accomplished With
you know, this is kind of aplatform for that to happen So
yeah, like I said, it's calledthe bottom left pane.
I'm not launching until the Likethe second or first week of
January But yeah once I releaselike I'm just excited to see how
(33:55):
many people just Enjoy thestories that are out there from
all these other people thatliterally are just like the rest
of us, you know
Lisa (34:02):
That's great.
That's great.
I will share the name and yousaid you have sort of a website
kind of up, but not, not totallyready or.
Yeah,
Luis (34:11):
the website's live.
It's just I, I look at it nowand I'm kind of like, yeah, this
definitely needs some work, butotherwise like I'm on social
media too.
On Instagram, you can find me atbottom left pane and So far,
that's kind of all I have.
As we get closer to launch, I'llbe putting up on on YouTube and
TikTok and stuff, but for now,that's, that's kind of just all
(34:34):
I have ready to go.
Okay,
Lisa (34:36):
well, I'll put that in the show notes, and then once you
have more stuff, just let meknow, and I'll add it into your
show, your interview, so.
I appreciate that, Lisa.
Be updated, yeah.
The only last thing I wanted toask you was just if...
You know, since this is apodcast about getting people to
maybe try out dance basedexercise, but do you have any
(34:59):
words for maybe a young manthat's coming up?
And maybe wants to try dance or,you know, anything, just
encourage them or tell them.
Luis (35:10):
Well, if I was just speaking to the young man
himself, I'd be like, Hey, justso you know, like girls actually
love it when a guy can dance.
But the reality is no, just,just don't be scared.
You know, there's always goingto be a place, a time and place
where we're going to beuncomfortable, especially when
moving our bodies.
But, you know, the minute youcan just.
Close your eyes and feel themusic.
Like that's, that's, what'sgoing to be the driving force
(35:31):
behind it.
And that, that comes with anystyle of dance, really like, and
for any, that, that's reallyjust for anybody that's, you
know, considering wanting to trysomething that's, you know what
would you call it?
Unconventional method of, ofworking out because.
Yeah, don't get me wrong, I'mpretty sure everybody can turn
on their favorite song and justfeel the groove, or get into the
emotion behind it, and you know,once you start to move, just
(35:53):
imagine it at another level, andyou can just live and breathe in
it, and, you know, if you'relooking for specifics, like,
there are dance classeseverywhere, whether it's at a
community center, whether it'slike at an actual studio, and
I'll tell you this much thedance community is always,
always gonna be there forpeople.
Like, yeah, there's Competitivespaces, especially like out in
(36:15):
places like New York and stuff,but like you shouldn't let that
scare you because nobody likeNobody has the right to tell you
you can't move your body,especially to the song you love,
right?
Lisa (36:28):
So true.
Yes Well, thank you so much, Ireally appreciate you sharing
your story and taking the timeto do an interview with me
Luis (36:39):
Yeah, of course.
Lisa, honestly, it was, it was apleasure and you know, I'm, I'm
looking forward to, to justlistening to the rest of your
episodes and seeing where thepodcast goes.
Lisa (36:47):
Well, thank you.
Have a good night.
Yeah.
Thanks Lisa.
Thank you so much for listeningto the Happy Sweat Life podcast.
I hope you enjoyed thatinterview with Luis Gomez.
(37:07):
If you know somebody that mightenjoy the podcast, please feel
free to share it with them.
And if you have an opportunityto rate and review this podcast,
I'd greatly appreciate it.
And please look out for Luis'spodcast, The Lower Left Pane,
coming out in January of 2024.
I'll leave his information inthe show notes below.
Welcome to the Happy Sweat Life Podcast.
My name is Lisa Rung and todayI'm very excited to be
interviewing Luis Gomez, who hasa background in dance and
actually became a professionaldancer.
So we're just going to explorehis background and what he loves
about dance Yeah, so maybe youcan tell us a little bit about
(00:32):
your history, and actually Iforgot to mention he did tell me
that he lived in Anaheim,California which is near where
Disney is, and so he got intothe performing arts in high
school and then continued on tocollege and then had a
professional career.
So welcome, to the podcast.
(00:52):
I'm very happy to have you here.
Thanks, Lisa.
You're welcome.
So, yes, let's talk a little bitabout your background and how
you got started in dance andother parts of performing
Luis (01:03):
arts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So kind of like you mentioned,right, I was raised in Anaheim,
California.
So Disney in general was a biginfluence on my life.
I didn't actually start dancing,like, like, actually training in
anything up until I was 15.
But you know, I always lovedperforming, whether it was,
like, school songs or something.
(01:23):
I remember that my, like, myfamily kind of looked at, looked
at me as, like, the, theattention seeker, right?
For a minute.
But yeah, it wasn't until...
Well, actually, let me, let mekind of back up a little bit.
So my introduction to theperforming arts before dance,
actually, I used to be involvedwith music and like orchestra.
So I played a saxophone inseventh grade.
(01:46):
And from there I moved intopercussion and I got involved
with our drum line.
And so I kind of got into likereally moving my body in that
area when that was happeningbecause it was all about, you
know, marching and understandinghow to keep time and stuff like
that with the drum.
And yeah, that actually kind ofled into the next thing where
After high school when I startedto go with percussion and intro
(02:07):
drumline and kept going withthat and marching band.
It was my freshman year of highschool when the, my girlfriend
at the time was actuallyauditioning for the dance
program for like our sophomoreyear, right?
And, At the time, I had been toa couple quinceaneras for
friends, and people were like,Hey, you know, you dance pretty
well, like, you should, like,audition, and I was like, nah,
(02:28):
it's fine, I'm not gonna worryabout it, like, thanks, though,
like, you know, like, yeah, themusicality all kinda comes from
you know, the musician in me,but I'm not looking to, to dance
or anything.
But, when my girlfriend at thetime was learning the piece for
the audition, I was like, Hey,you know what, like, I'll learn
it with you so that way you havesomebody to practice with and we
can just like, you know, go overit.
Sure enough, the voices keptcoming and other friends were
(02:51):
like, Hey, you know, you shouldreally just do it, like, you
know, what's the worst that canhappen, you know, you...
You don't even have to take itif you get it.
And I was like, you know what,hey, like, I'm gonna have an
extra, like, elective for thenext year in my sophomore year.
Might as well go ahead.
And sure enough, I auditioned,and yeah, the dance teacher her
name was Meg Elder.
Mrs.
Elder was, like, honestly,amazing.
(03:12):
I remember her just saying,like, hey, you know, I would
have loved to have been a partof the program, so because the
period of which, like ourpercussion and our drumline
would meet, and the specificdance level, dance class that
she wanted me to meet wereconflicted I had to go a level
below in the dance classes, soit was like in our Kind of like
(03:33):
the intermediate level danceclass.
That way I can keep bothdrumline and dance in my life.
But sure enough, actually, thatthat same year when I was doing
both that was actually when myband director had kind of given
me the ultimatum of, Hey, youknow, you can't keep going back
and forth like this.
Like, you know, there's going tobe times when we're going to
(03:54):
have performances, they're goingto conflict, so you need to
decide now whether you're goingto dance, or whether you're
going to continue being, youknow At the time I was, I was on
the snare drum, and I was like,you know, Mrs.
Elder, she's not making medecide, and at the same time, I
feel like, as a dancer, afteralready learning so much from
it, I, I don't know, I feel likethere's more of a voice for me
(04:14):
here, and sure enough, I walkedaway from percussion, I never
looked back, and since then,I've, I've been dancing, I
started off with, you know somejazz technique, and also, like,
kind of musical theater, likemore entertainment based stuff,
right?
A little bit of modern ballet,but at the time, like, it wasn't
any, like, real training.
It was stuff that you wouldlearn in high school.
(04:37):
I had an amazing coach, OscarGonzalez, who actually danced
for he was in the AladdinMusical Spectacular at Disney,
and he took me under his wing.
And honestly, like, since then,I was just grind, grind, grind..
I fell in love with just howmuch I was able to...
Create with my body, and not somuch just create, but also to
(04:57):
just serve as a tool tocommunicate an idea that a
choreographer would have, right?
So after high school, I actuallywasn't planning to go to
college.
I was actually going to try toaudition right into Disney, just
like that, and kind of avoid therest.
And then one day, that's when mycoach Oscar had actually
mentioned, Hey, look, they'reactually going to cancel the
(05:18):
Aladdin Musical Spectacular.
I think it would be a goodchance for you to go to college,
get an education, you know, keepgetting more training before
anything else happens.
And honestly, I think that wasone of the best things I...
ever took from him because, youknow, thankfully because of
that, it pushed me to go out andactually audition for different
colleges.
I auditioned like maybe likeeight schools and I decided with
(05:41):
University of California, SantaBarbara.
So I danced there for fouryears.
And that actually is where I, Istarted to shift my focus and
cared less about like theentertainment side of dance and
like, you know, all the musicaltheater and everything, the
stuff that was all like showythat I fell in love with.
And I pushed that aside becauseof all like the, I would like to
(06:03):
say the artistic and thecreative side of dance, right?
Like we started to get into moreof like the abstraction and The
interpretive part of dance,quote unquote.
So that lasted for four years.
I graduated in 2019, Itechnically stayed a couple more
quarters to finish off someclasses, but that was kind of
the end of dance for me incollege.
(06:24):
I was actually, thankfully, apart of a pre professional
company that we had at theschool that actually gave me a
chance to do a, we went and dida European tour, We went to
Italy, Malta, Spain.
Finland and Lithuania.
We also did outreach withdifferent schools in our
community, which is actually oneof my favorite parts, especially
being, like, you know, one ofthe only male dancers, and
having younger brothers ofmyself they would, like, look to
(06:47):
me and ask me if I could do,like, certain dances from,
Fortnite and stuff, so that wasalways fun.
But, yeah, like that tour was,you know, as professional as it
gets, right?
To go out into Europe and havepeople from other countries come
and watch your show.
Some of them sold out, some ofthem not, but getting standing
ovations some nights for solosand stuff.
It was like, as...
(07:07):
If there was any other way tosay I made it, like, that was
it, right?
Of course, once I graduated oneof my professors had a dance
company that was actually tiedto the university called Santa
Barbara Dance Theater.
And I actually did a piece withhim, and they needed a couple
guys, so I was one of them.
And at the same time you know,this was as, like, COVID was
starting to spread out just alittle bit.
(07:29):
So, as everything started, andwe had finished a, a performance
out in, like, LA or something.
And then another show back inSanta Barbara.
After that, we were kind of on abreak as they finished teaching
another piece to some of theother dancers.
And then that was when theyannounced, like, okay, yeah,
hey, we're gonna have to go onlockdown.
And at the time, unfortunately,my grandmother...
(07:52):
It was like a mom to me.
She was back home in Anaheim.
She had passed that same year atthe beginning of the year, so at
that time, it was it was timefor me to move back, and I was
like, hey, I'm gonna go toCalifornia, or back to Anaheim
sit here and kind of just bewith the family for a little
bit, but also to kind of focusin on, something else, so not
only just finish the coupleclasses I had left online, but
(08:13):
also, Really dive headfirst intothis programming part of my life
because of course, you know,there was also like 30, 000
worth of loans waiting for me onthe other side, right?
But yeah, that, that, that was ashort professional career, but
that was kind of it.
Otherwise you know,unfortunately I didn't really
dance much during that time whenI was on lockdown because at
(08:33):
that time, you know, studioswere closed and really taking an
online dance class or workoutclass, whatever you want to call
it.
It's, it's, it's, you don't getthe same, same energy, right?
Like, the environment's just notthe same.
And so it was, it was hard.
But, yeah, that, that's kind ofall I have on really, like, the,
the career or where it allstarted,
Lisa (08:54):
Well, that's a remarkable story.
And I have so many questions.
I guess one of them was about...
You know, were you in anenvironment where it was more
acceptable for men to kind ofchoose dance or did you get
pushback from your family orfrom people around
Luis (09:12):
you?
You know, that is actually abeautiful question.
So yeah, all of high school, I,I had a different girlfriend
from my sophomore year until theend, until when I graduated.
Regardless of that, you know, Istill had the same people making
fun of me for, for being indance.
People thought I was gay for thelongest time.
And, you know, I wouldn't say itwas, like, full on, like, Abuse
(09:36):
were like, you know, people werekind of really judged me for it
But you know, I can hear peoplegiggling in the back or like
name calling and you know, atfirst they really did bother me
but you know, I kind of justrecognized like, you know in At
least, at least within highschool, right, in that time of
my life, and what the differentthings, like, the different part
of the performing arts that Iwas involved with, like musical
(09:57):
theater, choir and stuff, like,I knew that within those group
of people, they knew who I was.
I wasn't, you know, like, Iwasn't the little gay dancer kid
that everybody, like, the restof the school might have
thought.
But, you know, the thing, thething was, like, in college, I
think that's where it reallywas, was a test, because, you
know, everybody was a lot moreopen, and, you know, it was, I
(10:20):
can't tell you that I didn'tuse, you know, the line, oh
yeah, I'm a dance major, to, topick a girl here and there, but
you know, at the same time,like, there, there were times
where, you know, I was also apart of a fraternity, and, it
was hard, To really fit in withsome of the guys because, you
know, there was a lot of like,I'd say guys that kind of came
(10:43):
from traditional families,right?
That kind of looked at it aslike, Oh, you know, like you're
a dancer.
Oh, like you obviously can'thang with us or whatever.
And it really, it really messedwith me in my head for a bit
because it came to the pointalso where I did notice that
there was a part of me almosttrying to hold back when I was
dancing because I was afraid ofOh, like if I, Do this a little
(11:04):
too much if I'm a little tooanimated then people are gonna
start to keep thinking Oh, youknow, he's gay.
He's a girl, whatever And Ithink that was a big hindrance
on me because you know It evengot to the point like my
sophomore year of college whereI was like I kind of looked at
myself in the mirror and I waslike, you know Does this mean
like I have to be gay to be agood dancer?
Like what is that supposed tomean?
And at that point, thankfully Iwas actually taking a couple of
(11:27):
of classes and I got a chance tomeet like a lot of just male
dancers within not only thecommunity, but also just like in
dance history and recognizinglike, you know, it's not
something that's completelyfeminine, right?
Like there, there are a lot oflike amazing straight male
dancers out there and like Sureit might be a predominantly
(11:49):
woman run industry, but like, Imean, the level of athleticism,
I can guarantee you that thereare a lot of people out there
that can't do the stuff that wedo, you know, like, it may look
like I'm on my toes or whatever,but, when I'm making jumps, when
I'm lifting girls out there,like, it, it's, it's work, it
ain't just like, you know, Wetry to make it look easy on
stage, but I can tell you rightnow, there isn't a part of me
(12:11):
that runs off stage where I'mlike, huffing and puffing, like,
alright, I gotta go back outthere and do it again.
So, sorry, to make the longanswer short I was, thankfully I
was in an environment where itwasn't too bad.
You know, as you may see, likein some movies and stuff but I
(12:32):
can't say there wasn't anychallenges there, right?
Lisa (12:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I know we were talking alittle bit before we started the
interview about that sort ofwhole image of, of dance, not
being very athletic and also Ishared that I figure skated in
the same issue was in there andit's just, it's such a shame
because I'm sure there might beother men that would be.
(12:54):
Wanting to join, but feellimited or, dissuaded by other
people's opinion about it.
Luis (13:02):
No, a hundred percent.
And that was actually one thingtoo, I almost made it a mission
of mine when I was in college tostart introducing, what is the
male side of dance because whenI think of like, Like the boys,
right?
I think of like, just kind ofbeing goofy But also really like
epic you know, I think of actionmovies or Kind of like
(13:22):
stereotypical things like thatand I thought to myself, you
know In what ways can Iincorporate this in stuff like
my projects?
So sure enough actually That'swhere I really started to hone
in on what my movement wasanytime my body moved It was
always gonna be really rigidwhere you had this aesthetic of
like hip hop To an extent whereit was like really sharp and
somewhat like these pop anddancers, like big, big
(13:44):
influences to me were like theJabbawockeez and stuff.
But also it was like, okay,well, how do I make this like
fit in, fit in line with likemodern dance?
How can I get to add some levelof technique to this?
So it looks like it's my thing.
And then even too with mychoreography, I did a whole
piece to this I would call itjust like this the kind of music
you would hear like on a movietrailer for like a superhero
movie or an action movie.
(14:06):
And I use like, you know, fogmachines and like a lot of it
was just like my dancers runningback and stage kind of tossing
stuff around.
Just to really like, kind ofkind of bring in the guys like
in the dads out there like inthe boyfriends that were just
like, you know, like, Oh yeah,it's just another dance
performance.
Right.
Yeah.
'cause I just, I don't know howmany times even to meeting the
(14:26):
boyfriends of like some of myfriends out there in, in the
same dance company that I wasin, you know, they're like, oh
yeah, it's nice.
You like, oh, you looked reallygood out there.
Where I'm like, bro, like, no,there's, there's more to this.
Please.
Like, you know, stick around.
Oh, there was another thoughtthat was, that was, that was
with me right there.
I'm totally missing it, but ifit comes back to me, I'll,
mention it.
Okay.
Lisa (14:45):
And I'm, I'm realizing I kind of made a broad swath of
dance, but there is moreacceptable dance for men.
And like you were saying, thehip hop, I see a lot of short
videos of men dancing, but notmodern, not ballet as much,
Luis (14:59):
yeah, and that's, that's the thing, right?
Like even too, I go to 12 stepmeetings and yesterday there was
a man who approached me.
He's like, Hey, no, I know youdo dance.
Like, you know, what would be agood class for me to go out into
just to like learn some beginnerstuff, like improv for like hip
hop and stuff.
And I'm like, you know, Hey,that stuff's great.
Like, don't get me wrong.
you'll get a sweat there andhere and there.
And it's nice.
Cause I mean, of course that'ssomething that's.
(15:20):
That's more acceptable, quoteunquote, for men to do.
But you know, I also mentioned,like, you know, you should pop
into another, modern class oreven a ballet class, like, you
know, some of the, best athletesout there for, football, boxing,
you know, some of these guys,they, they take these ballet
classes because you have to bereally, really good on your feet
and, you know, it, it's noteasy, that girl you think that's
(15:40):
out there on stage, like, doing,I don't know how many turns on
your toes, smiling and, lookslight as a feather, no,
underneath, she's, she's beatingdown hard, there is so much,
That's going on, not only in herbody, but just in her mind to
stay up and like, you know, be,be on top of everything.
But yeah, I'm, I'm always goingto be biased on on these
classical techniques as opposedto like, you know, like hip hop
(16:03):
and, and like jazz and stuff.
Lisa (16:19):
And I was going to ask you what, what modalities did you
study and what were you drawn toany particular one or did you
have any favorites?
Luis (16:28):
Yeah so for me, I always just love, love moving my body
because even to like I gotinvolved with like some martial
arts and stuff like I didkickboxing and MMA.
This is actually after Igraduated from college and I had
to move to Texas for my firsttech job.
But, yeah, in terms of what Istudied so I started off in high
school learning all the showystuff like jazz, tap, musical
(16:49):
theater, anything that reallywas like, Hey, mom, look at me,
right?
Like, jazz hands and everything.
But then once I got to college,that's where I had to really
hone in on the classicaltechniques of ballet and modern.
And that's really where I wouldsay that my passion for dance
came.
I might have liked it andenjoyed it before then, but...
(17:11):
That's where I actually, like,fell in love with it and yeah,
I'd say that, originally, I, Iwas always drawn to I guess I'd
say like hip hop esquemovements, movements that were
going to be a lot morepercussive, a lot more like
(17:33):
staccato, really, really quickand fast and strong.
Because I remember even too, inour like improv classes, I, I
will never forget this girl,Sasha.
She told me I moved like a videogame.
that's so interesting becausethat's exactly how I feel a lot
of the time.
It's like, you know, I, I cansee where that level of rigidity
and just like.
Technicality comes from me.
(17:55):
Now when it comes to myfavorite, now I can't really
tell you I have a favorite.
I think nowadays I would sayit's either like modern or
lyrical.
But each one, like, you know, itkicked my ass in its own way.
And that's why I loved it.
especially like ballet.
You know, any guy you ask isgonna be like, Oh, ballet,
you're such a girl, whatever.
But no, that is tough.
It takes so much discipline, andactually, it's one of the best
(18:16):
things that you can do for yourlegs, in my opinion.
And anybody can say otherwise,but like, It's so repetitive,
but it's a discipline, you know?
With modern, like, that's thewhole definition of modern.
It's like anti ballet, so youcan actually break those, like,
those lines and that technique.
But also, too, it's...
I guess because modern is so...
(18:39):
So vast, and there's so muchmore that can fit into it,
technically.
That's kind of why I like that,because then I could actually,
avoid having to stand upstraight and, kind of move my
body in, like, really, like,obscure ways that you wouldn't
really see and think about.
Like, that was actually myfavorite thing, doing anything
on the floor or, moving my bodyin some kind of shape that,
people would look at it and belike, Oh.
(19:00):
Yeah, I didn't think of that.
But I'd say, yeah, those two, Imean, of course I'm biased
because I trained in them for awhile, but those would be my
favorites.
And actually, as I say thatthat's not quite true.
Lately maybe, earlier this yearI started up taking house dance
classes again.
There's something I took incollege, like maybe once or
(19:20):
twice.
Because I was out here, and thiswas actually, I was recovering
from a I have what's calledFirmacetabular Impingement,
which is like extra bone on myhip, and I had to get hip
injections, and so I was out fora bit, had to stop, like, you
know, dancing seriously, so Igot back into house dancing here
in a couple communities in NewYork, which is really fun.
(19:43):
That's really more, aboutgrooving and, you know, making
sure, your body's light andyou're just, like, really into
it, right, and, like, quicksteps and everything.
That, and just being able togroove, I would say is one of my
favorite things ever.
Lisa (19:55):
That's so fun.
What kind of music do they playon that?
Is it a variety
Luis (19:59):
or?
It's house music, right?
So it's something that you wouldimagine, like some kind of DJ
that's really like moves to thebeat of your heart, where you're
just like really quick, movingeverything you can, it's just so
like, it's really percussive,but at the same time, you have
to be really loose.
Cause it's a groove.
It ain't something that like,you have to like fight to be in
touch with.
I mean, there, there is work toit.
Right.
But a lot of it comes from like.
(20:20):
You know, how, how much can yousit into the beat and move with
the music, right?
Lisa (20:26):
I'm, I'm also kind of struck about how quickly you
advanced in dance.
Did you, were other people thatyou were with, had they started
earlier or what do you thinkmade you successful at that age
to kind of just jump into it?
Luis (20:43):
So I, I always heard, well, let me answer this.
So yes, I, I started way laterthan a lot of people.
I started in high school at thetime.
I was like 15 going on 16, ifnot already 16.
And you know, a lot of thesegirls that I was dancing with
typically has the same answer.
Oh, I was dancing since I wasthree, four, five, like super
young competition kids,whatever.
(21:04):
And.
You know, it was funny becauseone of the biggest things now
that you mention it that Iremember was when I started
dancing The first class that Itook that actually I met my
coach Oscar Gonzalez in Iremember him saying out loud
like oh, he's gonna pick it upeasier because he's a guy and
you know At first I was kind oflike, oh whatever like I get it
like I don't know how much thatreally matters But no, yeah,
(21:26):
guys typically when it comes todance I've noticed especially at
that younger age we we learnpretty quickly and I remember
feeling really the impostersyndrome sitting in for quite
some time, even when I was incollege, because, you know, I
had only been dancing for a fewyears and now I had made it into
a school where these girls weredancing for since like they were
three, four or five, whatever,had all this amazing technique.
(21:49):
I remember thinking what didthey see in me?
do I really belong here?
Later to find out, it was kindof the perfect time for them to
shape me.
And by the end of it, I had thisdream of becoming like the, I
don't want to say the star ofthe program, but like the face
of, of, of like the danceprogram or anything.
But You know, I, I thankfullywas able to, I, I got a chance
(22:09):
to do a solo for a piece that wedid from a choreographer called
Jose Limon.
The piece is called The Unsung,which is about like these Native
American war heroes and it wasnice because I got the closing
solo for that.
And there was a picture of me inthe, in the program for the
following year after I graduatedthat I remember looking at to
this day that I'm like, youknow, I'm so glad that.
someone's gonna join this schoolsome guys and look at this and
(22:31):
be like, you know Like I can dothis like if I see something
like him this gives me a chance
Lisa (22:36):
Do you do you find that thread of wanting to inspire
people running through your liferight now Is that something
you've always had?
Luis (22:46):
I I don't really know if I can say I've always had it but I
have had it since I I'd saysince, since college, actually,
since I was a senior in highschool cause at that point,
like, so it was kind of weirdhow that all happened.
Actually.
My junior year, they werepicking who were the dance
(23:06):
presidents and who's, who aregoing to be the next year, like
as seniors, who are going to bethe new presidents for the year
and stuff like that for all the,the performing arts and things.
And I remember at the time.
My class, my junior class, wewere all kind of like, well,
nobody wants to do it.
We had a friend, Chantel, who Idon't want to call her teacher's
pet or anything, but everybodykind of knew her as oh, the good
girl, right?
(23:26):
Like, you know, oh, you'll be agood president.
And she was like, oh, well, youknow, I need a vice president.
And I told her, hey, honestly,like, if you fill out, like, the
application for me, I'll totallybe your vice president.
I don't mind, right?
To be honest, I never saw thatapplication.
I never saw what she wrote onit.
I had nothing to do with it Itold her this is all you if you
want me to do it.
I'll do it When it comes down tothe actual announcement, they
(23:51):
announced me as president.
Oh my we're hearing that like Weall kind of looked at each
other.
are you sure like I rememberasking Chantel like Did you
switch something around?
She's like, no, I didn't doanything.
And so I got out there, I tookthe position.
I'm like, you know, Hey, this isa chance for me to really just,
you know, step into somethingthat I'm not used to.
And after that, I remember thatyear was just about me being the
(24:14):
dance captain.
Right.
And what that meant to show anexample, because not only that
being a senior and also being aTA for younger dancers, it was,
yeah, don't get me wrong, like,I won't lie, the part of it was,
enjoying the attention a littlebit about it, right?
Being not only a straight maledancer, but being looked at as
oh, like Of course being astraight male dancer, but also
(24:38):
like being like, Oh, there's thecute senior, that's leading the
dance program, Which is nice.
But since then though, I wasalways kind of like, yeah, like
any, anybody that needed helpwith learning some kind of
technique or whatever.
I remember even some of thegirls that were coming in as
freshmen.
I remember teaching them afterschool or sometimes just like at
some park or something likedidn't really think anything of
it.
And as they got into collegesimilarly, at first being a
(25:02):
freshman.
Sophomore, junior, like nothingwas really much there for me,
but then as a senior, I reallyhad to step up again.
I wasn't a leader or anything interms of actually holding a
position.
But, you know, people saw me andthey were like, hey, Luis is
here, when he's here, he's, he'shere to work.
Right?
every time, I, I would lovetalking to people don't get me
wrong.
But when I took it, when Istood, the dance class starts,
(25:24):
like, no, I'm in my zone.
if you don't see me smile, it'sbecause I'm there, I'm trying to
think, alright, Sure, it comesmore naturally to guys, but, you
know, again, I'm also in a placewhere people have been dancing
for 10 plus years, I gotta beable to hold my own, but also,
too, I had this goal of, makingsure that if I'm eventually
gonna end up in Europe, which,at the time, you know, we were
all just, waiting for that dayto come in the company like, I,
(25:45):
I needed to make sure that I wasgonna go out there and give, the
best that I could, because if Ican prove that I was good out
there and on tour, that, thatjust says, I'm ready for the
real deal.
Yeah.
So yeah, and now, now that Idon't dance anymore though, I'm,
I'm still always trying to passon things to people, especially
like, now, the way that I becamea software developer was super
unconventional, right?
I didn't get my degree incomputer science or anything, I
(26:09):
learned how to program with,within a year, I had my first
job, within two years, I wasalready within a Fortune 100
company, and now I'm with thatsame company.
I work for Capital One as asoftware engineer.
And actually, I didn't startlearning I started learning how
to program in 2019, but Ididn't, get serious about it
until 2020.
And I mean, we're only in 2023,right?
(26:30):
So this only happened a fewyears ago.
And to say that, anytime I'vehad people ask, what's your
secret?
how are you learning things?
I'm like, honestly, when, whenyou want something, like you're
going to make it happen.
And especially too, I thinkthat's why, like me being a
dancer was so important in mylife because I mean, nobody has
to be as passionate, As much as,I think, as like a straight male
(26:53):
dancer, because you're alwaysgoing to get feed, just people
lashing at you saying Oh, wellthat's a girl's thing.
why are you even doing this?
Like, even, even though you'restill also going to get people
saying Oh, well that's thedancing.
What are you going to do withyour life?
all you're going to be doing islike being a starving artist,
quote unquote, right?
And for me, I always knew, well,I'm not gonna be a starving
artist, I'm gonna make sure thatI'm a well fed artist, right?
(27:14):
So I think this was, you know,the universe's way of saying,
hey, don't worry, it's coming,but we have to make sure you get
there the right way.
Like, your way.
So, became a software developer,and I totally gave up on my
dream of going to New York.
Sure enough, Capital was hey,actually, we want you to come to
New York.
And now I'm here, being able todance whenever I want to, with
some of the really greatcompanies out here.
(27:35):
Granted, I mean, I'm, I'm...
Not dancing at that levelanymore, but you know, just to
be surrounded by the art andstill be able to take classes
and you know, that's not to sayI'm not trying to get back into
it.
I think it's just been I've hadsome health issues along the
way.
Like I especially to once thepandemic hit and everything,
right?
don't get me wrong.
I went from this, this, theprime of my life of being like
(27:57):
190 pounds fit young maledancer.
To like 227 pounds, I'm asoftware developer in Texas now,
having to pick up and change myway of life again and again and
again.
So yeah, it's been tough, butAll that to kind of come back
and say, yeah, to this day, Istill try to inspire where I can
(28:19):
in different areas because Iknow sometimes it's important.
That's actually why I actuallystarted the podcast that I did
because, sometimes you reallyneed to be the first person to
do something so there could beanother person.
Or sometimes somebody reallyjust needs to hear the right
thing coming from the oneperson.
I don't know how many times Imight have heard somebody say
(28:39):
something time and time again,but it wasn't until I heard one.
A specific person say it andthen where it finally clicked
and I was okay, I got to do thisthis way or I had to experience
it this way to make sure thatall of this would happen the
right way.
That's so
Lisa (28:52):
true.
Yeah, definitely.
I think one thing I'm struck bytoo is just and you can tell me
if this isn't true, it's likeonce you decide to do something,
you seem to be fully committedto it.
you're just gonna do it full outas best you can.
Is that what you feel like?
Yeah.
Yeah.
A hundred percent.
I think that's unusual, but goodfor you.
Luis (29:11):
No.
Yeah.
I think cause that's, that's thething, right?
One thing that I learned was.
You know, the best investmentyou can make is on yourself,
that's the best bet because theonly one that's, that's going to
ruin that for you is you, Imean, sure, you're gonna have
some outside factors, right?
But like, for me, I think thebig thing was coming from a
family that was already broken,you know, my dad got deported
when I was two.
And unfortunately, yeah,unfortunately, when I was
(29:33):
supposed to meet him the firstyear when I was 16, you know,
like, This is just fulltransparency.
He actually, he committedsuicide, so I never had a chance
to meet him.
And my mom, I know, it's okayyou know, like, God bless his
soul but my mom, she actuallyemotionally abandoned me.
She actually walked out on mefor a while.
She left me and my littlebrother with my grandmother, who
(29:55):
was like my mom to me, right?
Eventually she came back, but Iwas very neglected.
And one thing I learned was...
You know if I don't go all outthen I mean no one's gonna be
there to catch me right, and sothat's why when I do things I I
learned the way you do anythingis the way you do everything and
(30:17):
Yeah, if I was gonna learn todance I was gonna learn to make
sure I was one of the bestdancers out there So nobody can
tell me I wasn't good enough.
Nobody can tell me that you knowthat I was some pansy out there,
whatever you want to call it.
Same thing for programming.
I knew if I was going to pay offthese bills, if I was going to
really try to live the life thatI wanted to live, that I was
going to have to be up there andbe good enough.
(30:40):
Same thing now, even with thispodcast.
This started off as just anidea, and now that I'm able to
just go out there and get allthese interviews and everything,
it's just been...
You know, some part of it, Iwould say, the universe, God,
whatever's out there, has beenby my side, but I know part of
it is just, I don't have anotheroption.
I don't have anybody that'sgonna catch me when I fall, so I
need to make sure that I'mliterally giving everything that
(31:02):
I have.
Lisa (31:04):
Yeah, you can be given opportunities, but unless you
take them, it's not going tohappen.
Right, right, right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I would love to have youjust tell us about your podcast
so we can look for it when it'sready to be launched and if you
want to share some about that.
Luis (31:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So the podcast is called TheBottom Left Pane It's, the
concept is, there's acommunication theory model
called the Johari window.
Pretty much what that window is,it's four panes and if you're
familiar with like CharlesDarwin, like Punnett squares,
like the dominant and recessivegenes, how they're distributed
(31:42):
within the squares it's similarto that where it's split up in,
horizontally it's split up bywhat the world knows about me
and what the world doesn't know.
And vertically, it's split bythings I know about myself and
things I don't know aboutmyself.
So, the bottom left paneconsists of the area of which
what I know about myself, butwhat the world doesn't.
(32:04):
Right?
And really, the podcast exploresjust the intricacies of the
human experience.
You know, because this area istypically, you know, it's called
either the facade or I like tocall it just the hidden area.
Because really, this is wherepeople...
Really...
Kind of keep to themselves,right?
Like, not because necessarilythey have something to hide, but
(32:29):
because, like, you know,sometimes people can't say
things about themselves becausethey're too scared of, like, you
know, what society is going tothink because of, like,
everything that's out there.
Like, am I going to getcancelled?
Am I going to get judged?
Whatever.
But also, too, sometimes even...
You know, like, I can tell youright now, sometimes for me,
it's like, well, sometimes Ijust don't have people to tell,
right?
Like, this story about medancing, not many people know it
(32:51):
unless you're really close tome, but that's also because,
like, you know, I'm not outthere advertising saying, Hey,
yeah, by the way, not only am Ia software developer, I'm a
dancer who's done X, Y, and Z,whatever.
And, you know, and really, thiswas, like I kind of mentioned
earlier, it was because I knowfor me, it was so important to
hear.
Are there like motivationalspeakers and stuff like I
actually just came back from Aconference in Dallas for Tony
(33:15):
Robbins, and it's just anytime Ihear people like that speak It
just reminds me like yeah realpeople can have these
experiences and come fromnothing and and come out on top
and that's really what I'mtrying to do share these stories
because I know that if Somebodycan share the story first that
would open up the door forsomebody to be second You know
whether that be somebody that'srecovering from an addiction
(33:35):
someone that needs a secondchance Someone that just wants
to have somebody to share justwhat they're accomplished With
you know, this is kind of aplatform for that to happen So
yeah, like I said, it's calledthe bottom left pane.
I'm not launching until the Likethe second or first week of
January But yeah once I releaselike I'm just excited to see how
(33:55):
many people just Enjoy thestories that are out there from
all these other people thatliterally are just like the rest
of us, you know
Lisa (34:02):
That's great.
That's great.
I will share the name and yousaid you have sort of a website
kind of up, but not, not totallyready or.
Yeah,
Luis (34:11):
the website's live.
It's just I, I look at it nowand I'm kind of like, yeah, this
definitely needs some work, butotherwise like I'm on social
media too.
On Instagram, you can find me atbottom left pane and So far,
that's kind of all I have.
As we get closer to launch, I'llbe putting up on on YouTube and
TikTok and stuff, but for now,that's, that's kind of just all
(34:34):
I have ready to go.
Okay,
Lisa (34:36):
well, I'll put that in the show notes, and then once you
have more stuff, just let meknow, and I'll add it into your
show, your interview, so.
I appreciate that, Lisa.
Be updated, yeah.
The only last thing I wanted toask you was just if...
You know, since this is apodcast about getting people to
maybe try out dance basedexercise, but do you have any
(34:59):
words for maybe a young manthat's coming up?
And maybe wants to try dance or,you know, anything, just
encourage them or tell them.
Luis (35:10):
Well, if I was just speaking to the young man
himself, I'd be like, Hey, justso you know, like girls actually
love it when a guy can dance.
But the reality is no, just,just don't be scared.
You know, there's always goingto be a place, a time and place
where we're going to beuncomfortable, especially when
moving our bodies.
But, you know, the minute youcan just.
Close your eyes and feel themusic.
Like that's, that's, what'sgoing to be the driving force
(35:31):
behind it.
And that, that comes with anystyle of dance, really like, and
for any, that, that's reallyjust for anybody that's, you
know, considering wanting to trysomething that's, you know what
would you call it?
Unconventional method of, ofworking out because.
Yeah, don't get me wrong, I'mpretty sure everybody can turn
on their favorite song and justfeel the groove, or get into the
emotion behind it, and you know,once you start to move, just
(35:53):
imagine it at another level, andyou can just live and breathe in
it, and, you know, if you'relooking for specifics, like,
there are dance classeseverywhere, whether it's at a
community center, whether it'slike at an actual studio, and
I'll tell you this much thedance community is always,
always gonna be there forpeople.
Like, yeah, there's Competitivespaces, especially like out in
(36:15):
places like New York and stuff,but like you shouldn't let that
scare you because nobody likeNobody has the right to tell you
you can't move your body,especially to the song you love,
right?
Lisa (36:28):
So true.
Yes Well, thank you so much, Ireally appreciate you sharing
your story and taking the timeto do an interview with me
Luis (36:39):
Yeah, of course.
Lisa, honestly, it was, it was apleasure and you know, I'm, I'm
looking forward to, to justlistening to the rest of your
episodes and seeing where thepodcast goes.
Lisa (36:47):
Well, thank you.
Have a good night.
Yeah.
Thanks Lisa.
Thank you so much for listeningto the Happy Sweat Life podcast.
I hope you enjoyed thatinterview with Luis Gomez.
(37:07):
If you know somebody that mightenjoy the podcast, please feel
free to share it with them.
And if you have an opportunityto rate and review this podcast,
I'd greatly appreciate it.
And please look out for Luis'spodcast, The Lower Left Pane,
coming out in January of 2024.
I'll leave his information inthe show notes below.
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