A Dancer Recognized - Emeroy Bernardo

By CJ Capili

Emeroy Bernardo, a man that leads, inspires, motivates, and shares his wisdom among his peers in the dance community. One of the original founders of Family Bizness, he has progressed throughout his career as a dancer, but also has learned to balance his life in his profession as a graphic designer and animator. Through trial and error, he was able to mold the very foundations to how Family Bizness is today along with the help of a fellow founder, Marc Miranda. Both of them were able to create and transform the very likeness of how Family Bizness is today.


Emeroy Bernardo is a Glendale native has been dancing for about 12 years, but it wasn’t until his junior year that he joined his first dance team with Glendale High School’s Co-ed Dance & All-Male Dance Team. The styles he has trained under has been Commercial Hip Hop, BBoy, Locking, Krumping, House, Waacking, and Popping, in which he continues to perfect theses styles to this very day.

He became a part of the Jayvee Dance family back in September 2009, originally being a substitute instructor for Poreotix’s Jet Li while he was away training in other countries; he was then approached to take on the mantle of being Teen Groov’s director. Since then, he has become a permanent instructor and has shared his knowledge of dance to those who share the same passion in as he did when he was young. Along with Marc Miranda, and fellow Family Bizness members, Stephanie Hagberg, Roxine Ami, Kimmay Evans, and Anthony Macaraeg, they all have become part of the Jayvee Dance family. They contributed to the dance community by teaching, inspiring and motivating those who seek to become a dancer. And when it comes to the growth of who he has become, I came to ask a few key points to what dance is all about to Emeroy Bernardo,

CJ: Who or what inspired you to dance?
EB: “Michael Jackson's "Bad" music video is what started me to dance. I had no idea what it was doing at the time, I just knew I had to move.”


CJ: To this very day, what motivates you to dance?
EB: “The feeling of being on stage and sharing your heart and soul to the audience. It’s liberating and intoxicating. The fact that there’s always some sort of challenge to overcome, something that will make my craft THAT much better. I don’t want to get comfortable with what I just have, when you stop learning, you stop growing, and when you stop growing, you sort of die metaphorically.”

CJ: What is your philosophy towards dance and hard work?
EB: “There a lot of talented people out there, but a lot of times that’s all they rely on. There are people out there that would kill to have a natural talent others have. But they don’t, so they work their asses off to get to where they want to be. They bleed, they sweat, and they cry until eventually they get to where they want to be. Whatever anyone is going to do, just make sure you give it your fullest, otherwise, what are you doing?”

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

-John Wooden

 “It’s not the hours you put in, it’s what you put in the hours.”

-John Wooden

As being a founder of Family Bizness, I got into depth of the vision and idea behind the team he, along with Marc Miranda has created.
CJ: When did you create Family Bizness?
EB: “I, along with Marc and a few others, created this team back in July 2004.”

CJ: How has the experience been?
EB: “This whole experience has been one hell of a roller coaster ride. I’ve seen this team go through a lot throughout the years. There are a lot of challenges to overcome. Some of them being were improving my leadership and organization, and others were finding gigs and consistent members. There were times where we wouldn’t perform for three months.
Things have really been going up since the beginning. The growth of this team has been exponential and it’s exciting to see where this team goes in the future. I've learned a lot and I'm glad to see that we're still here and how far we've come.”

CJ: If you can define Family Business, what would it be?
EB: “A family of dancers dedicated to sharing our passion for dance through humility, creative expression, integrity, and hard work.”

CJ: What was your vision behind Family Bizness.
EB: “It’s great to be successful as an individual, but it’s even better to be successful with the people you love. You share a journey with one another and forge a lasting bond that can’t be imitated by anything else. I believe success carries more meaning when you have loved ones share with.”

Emeroy Bernardo has had the privilege of dancing with many other teams such as Culture Shock Los Angeles, The “2auce” Project, Sangles, The Next Chapter, and Chosen Few Bboy Crew.

Culture Shock Los Anegles Locking Crew

Sangeles

The Next Chapter

Being involved in these teams exposed him to many talented danced and has helped further his skills. His drive to excel and become better as a dancer will further captivate the other dancers that are around him. Along the way, his ability to become a leader and lead teams like Family Bizness and Teen Groov show his passion of leading a group of individuals and also inspiring them with the wisdom he has gained throughout his years not just as a dancer but as well as a person.
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However, not all dancers have had their proudest moments, and even Emeroy himself has struggled as well.

CJ: What has been your biggest disappointment as a dancer?

EB: “Having to disband the team back in 2007 due to commitment issues. I have to admit that I was depressed for quite awhile after that. It took me about three months until I finally decided to talk to Marc in bringing the team back together and revamping the system. It was a scary decision, but I’m glad I took the leap of faith.”

And even though he faced a disappointing moment in his life, Emeroy gathered himself and rose back into occasion. Reforming and reshaping the team to how it is today. Emeroy, like all dancers in our team is a determined individual, who shares the passion of dance, the eagerness to inspire, motivate and create something to bring awe not just to the dance community, but to the people who share an interest in dance. Each and every day he grows not just as a dancer but as a person as well. In the near future, all the knowledge he has gained and the skills he has attained will be passed down to future generations, and as the new generations of dancers come into the scene, we will all come to thank him for the wisdom he has bestowed.

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