In Conversation with Rob Bynes

Rob Bynes is a New Jersey native who began his professional career in dance in 2014. He grew up praise dancing in church and the Jersey/Baltimore Club culture gave him his first foundation style. In his career he has had the pleasure of dancing with many artists including Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliot, Chris Brown, Normani, H.E.R., Migos, Ciara and Rosalia to name a few. His reputation in the dance community stems mostly from his style of movement and impact as an educator, teaching many classes internationally since 2017. His most recent accomplishment was being a dancer and featured choreographer on Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour. He will make his debut in theaters worldwide for two separate films this December as Beyonce premieres “Renaissance” and producers Steven Spielberg, Oprah and Quincy Jones bring a musical adaptation to “The Color Purple” back to the screen.

I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing his overall career growth and wanted to share this special conversation with other creatives that could be inspired by his journey:

If you could write a letter or an actual song to your hometown or place of birth, what would it say specifically?

“Dear Pway, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being so diverse that I was prepared to be around any group of people that life has to offer. You exposed me to so much that maneuvering around the world doesn’t feel as scary as it probably would. Thank you for surrounding me with so much excellence that the idea of hard work and success is almost innate. Thank you for cultivating generation after generation of my family members on both sides, making us proud to call Piscataway home. I will carry you with me everywhere I go.”

In my travels I have learned that struggle is inevitable but there is always someone out there that would consider my struggle a blessing. There is always someone out there making life work with way less than what I may have access to. It taught me how small I was but in the best way. I am extremely grateful for how it has broadened my perspective and gave me the gift of many reality checks.

How do you separate being alone vs feeling lonely?

When I am physically in a place by myself, I consider myself to be alone in a literal sense. When I am lonely, I could actually be sitting right across from someone and the feeling remains. With credit to my faith, I know that I am never alone. God is with me. With credit to my loved ones, I know I have people that will always be there for me in whatever capacity they can be. In moments of me feeling lonely, it’s most likely because I am battling something and maybe aren’t getting the specific support or companionship that I crave.

Tell us about your growth as a choreographer and how you balance other roles as a dancer?

I actually consider myself to be more of an educator than a choreographer, at least in the way that the industry uses the terms. Yes, I choreograph and even for artists sometimes but mostly I choreograph pieces to be used as a tool for expression & education. With that said, my growth has come largely from being able to retain information in my body that I’ve studied in others. Once my brain has done the work, my body becomes self-sufficient in its exploration to find my next level of creativity and sometimes even degree of difficulty. As a dancer, I am taking direction from others and being used as a canvas for someone else’s vision. I still have a love for that but I actually crave sharing my own ideas more than ever now so my days as a working dancer are a bit numbered. That balance has been tough because I know my heart is more in education and building something of my own, but these major jobs keep coming and I have to make that decision every time.

For aspiring dancers, a huge piece of advice I have is to build your house on solid rock. What I mean by that is to take care of yourself financially first, so that you can support your journey. Even if you don’t love your means of making money in the beginning, stay focused on your WHY. In addition to that, I also mean to train your foundations to become as well rounded as possible, in the direction you would like to go. To be prepared is a huge asset in this industry because things move fast. Just don’t let anyone else’s idea of success determine your own.

Describe your connection with God or other spiritual beliefs, especially when in your creative flow.

I would be nothing without my faith in God. Although I am imperfect as they come, God has saved me countless times and reminded me of my calling. Some of my earliest memories of dance come from the church so the way that that translates to where I am today is that music causes my body to have a spiritual reaction. Whether it be ancestral or eventually cultural, I have so many references to pull from in my body that I may not even always be conscious of. When I’m in a creative flow, the music is most likely taking over and it becomes less cerebral. I believe God gave me the gift of communicating through dance.

If you had to choose between free-styling or successfully nailing your most favorite dance routine, which is a more fulfilling feeling?

Although nailing some choreography provides a very potent dopamine release, it will never compare to what I feel when I am free-styling. There’s something about the unpredictability and surrender to feeling. In those moments, I know that I am truly listening to something greater than myself. If you’ve ever seen the Disney movie “Soul” then you can understand what I mean when I say I love to be in my zone. In my bag, if you will lol. That doesn’t mean I am always in that state, as there are sometimes blockages, but it’s definitely the most home for me.

How do you deal with disappointment as a creative artist?

At my worst, my reaction to disappointment could be an emotional decline to be honest. I’ve had some very tough no’s when I felt like I needed a yes so badly. I’ve also disappointed myself to the point of depression because of the pressure I put on myself. At my best, I recognize that God is just steering me towards what is for me and that my downfalls are necessary for my life story to progress. You hear all of these cliche phrases of advice often but man… they are there for a reason. I credit a lot of my discoveries and breakthroughs to a prior disappointment.

For me to feel successful everyday I just need to be proud of myself. Simple as that. In my journey of building up my self esteem, I realized that if I can find a reason to be proud of myself at the end of the day, that sums up all of the success I need. Did I put God first today? Did I exist in love today? Did I complete a goal of mine? Do I feel closer to where I want to be? These are some things that would make me feel successful and it’s not necessarily easy.

Which family member are you most inspired by and why? How do they greatly impact your life?

I think it’s fair to say that this answer has changed over time depending on the phase of my life I’ve been in. In this moment I really want to say I am most inspired by my sister Kiki. To watch her go through the stages of her life and continue to redefine herself has been a major inspiration for me. At one point you would only correlate her to what she could do on a basketball court. Now she has made it known that her mind and her accolades as a scholar could be viewed as her greatest achievements. She has kept her love for basketball active and I’m inspired to see her in the juggling act of both worlds. It reminds me that I never have to be shackled to a certain identity or expectation.

What is one thing you said you were going to do and have already accomplished? How long did it take you?

I have to combine a few answers for this to feel complete. At one point I knew I wanted to do a super bowl performance, a movie and a world tour. God provided me with all three one after another so it was like “Oh…well there goes that, thank you Lord” lol. Considering that I began my professional journey in 2014 but didn’t really have those things as a concrete goal until years later, maybe I can consider it to have happened pretty fast. To be honest, I think He may have blessed me with those accomplishments so that I would have the freedom to go after some of my more purpose driven goals. I’m still learning to listen to that call…

Not to sound morbid, but how would your perfect life story end?

A perfect ending to my life story would be having a family of my own with the chains of generational curses having been broken. I want a legacy that doesn’t read like a fairy tale, but is a tale of how God was still able to use me whether I was in a valley or on a mountaintop. Artistically I want to be remembered for my contributions as a worldwide educator, how I made people feel while giving them tools to explore in addition to having my works be talked about and studied. I just want to be proud of myself. I think if I know I made the people around me feel loved then I could rest peacefully.

Follow:

Instagram @rob_bynes

Subscribe:

YouTube @robbynes4181