Believing in using his talents & resources to promote community outreach, “respect for all people,” artistic expression, and education, Dr. Arnel Calvario has dedicated himself to the CA dance scene since his college days. In 1992, he founded UC Irvine’s own Kaba Modern. In 1998, he joined Culture Shock® Los Angeles. In 2002, Arnel also founded KM Legacy as part of celebrating Kaba Modern’s 10 year anniversary. He managed Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak, the Beat Freaks, & Kinjaz and provided consultation services to Quest Crew and Poreotics during their runs on MTV’s hit show America’s Best Dance Crew. Arnel also helped manage Kinjaz during their 2017 run on NBC’s World of Dance. He currently serves as an advisor for Kaba Modern, as the Board President of Culture Shock International Foundation, and as an active member of the Kinjaz. Arnel has also been featured as a guest writer for the L.A. Times as a critic for America’s Best Dance Crew Season 5, served as co-coordinator for the annual Hip Hop International World Battles for the past 10 years, is the US elite judge for the annual Hip Hop International World Championships, and is a contributing author for the book, EMPIRE of FUNK which was released January 2014. Arnel also launched his “Dance Therapy Program for Children with Special Needs” in April 2014 in collaboration with Culture Shock LA & the DEA. This is a grant-funded, after-school program that serves 1 st , 2 nd , & 3 rd graders enrolled in special day class programs in the Long Beach Unified school district. His hope is to continue to combine occupational therapy techniques with dance art to serve more children with special needs in collaboration with Culture Shock LA and one day extend this program into a summer dance therapy camp. Arnel is also one of the leaders working to expand outreach program development for Kinjaz through their clothing line Kin Aesthetik and also their newly opened space, Kinjaz Komplex. Within the past year, he has been a guest lecturer at UC Irvine, USC, Grossmont College, Cal State Fullerton, and UCLA. He also continues to teach his ROOTS B4 BRANCHES dance workshop and LEADERSHIP TOOLS for the DANCE LEADER workshops, judge dance competitions, and participate in program development internationally today. He does all this while continuing to work full-time as a Doctor of Occupational Therapy for Long Beach Unified School District Related Services. For more information on Arnel, you can check out www.cultureshockdance.org , www.Kinjaz.com , www.kabamodern.com , www.facebook.com/arnelcalvario or his InstaGram account: @ArnelCalvario
#OfLikeMindsPodcast #Occupationaltherapy #Doctor
Childhood and what it was like growing up?: 0:19
First influence to dance.: 2:18
Did anything help ease you into hip hop culture?: 4:34
How often did you dance? What did your family think of dance?: 7:07
What it was like to be known as a dancer at school?: 9:16
At what point did you decide to pursue higher education?: 13:47
How did you navigate through your courses when you experienced your fallout?: 16:40
Inspiration & motivation behind creating Kaba Modern?: 23:53
What were the rehearsals like?: 27:49
Did competitions change the rehearsal environment?: 31:08
When was the first Vibe and its evolution?: 34:59
The years in between undergrad and doctorate.: 37:17
How does one self assess and figure out what they want to do?: 45:42
What was it like initially navigating postgrad life?: 49:17
When did performance stop for you?: 54:13
What is so fulfilling for you as an educator?: 58:17
Your thoughts on the term "urban" being removed from the dance community?: 1:01:25
Your day to day activity.: 1:11:21
What would you say to your thirteen-year-old self?: 1:17:11
Closing remarks.: 1:18:53
