Talking with the Groovaloo's Founder Bradley Rapier

The Groovaloos have been together about 10 years. Winners of MTV's first Superstars of Dance, they're as much as family as they are a dance crew. They performed early one spring morning at the Biola Media Conference on the CBS Studio lot, and had the early-morning crowd on their feet with their amazing dance moves. Later that day, I caught their founder and leader Bradley Rapier on the street and we talked about dance, faith, and the amazing group of people known as the Groovaloos.

How did the group start?

Bradley:    I came down from Canada and when I saw the dance I liked the things that were in it and I was very strongly attracted to it. So when I got to LA and established myself as an entertainer and by going to auditions. I noticed that even though you met a lot of people, the community wasn't what I thought. People would go to auditions, say, "Hi, how are you doing?" and then take off in their own directions.

I wondered where the community is to support each other. I wanted to be surrounded by dance as well, so I started a weekly dance jam called "Groove Night." We started in a tiny studio with 5 of us, and now there are 50 of us. I'd connect with people and say, "Hey, I saw you audition. Want to come hang out with us tonight? It's a dance studio and I'll play some music and we'll all just dance." I wanted to provide an alternative to the smoky dance clubs. So we practice and hang out. Certain people became regulars, and we became the Groovaloos.

I was also getting more established as a choreographer and I started using certain people over and over again in the jobs. I loved the way they work, not just their talent but their personality and character. Then I launched a show in 1999. Debbie Allen was hosting a thing called National Dance Day and they asked me to choreograph the finale. I said, "Let me get this idea together that my wife had," (she thought of the name "The Groovaloos") and that's how the group officially got started.

Has the group changed a lot, and do your members change frequently?

Bradley:    That's what's been amazing. In 1999, we had 11 people perform, and out of those 11 people, some people moved away, but seven of the 11 have stayed. And over time we've added more people. One thing I've always prided our group on is that character is so important, but they're also at the top of their game. Thank you, Lord, the best are great people. So we've grown to 26 official Groovaloos right now, and there are another 20 that are not official. They're understudies in our show, so there are close to 50 Groovaloos in our family.

What do you do to keep the family feeling going and that kept that original seven around?

Bradley:    It hit me later. I formed the group in 1999, and I knew my story. A couple of years later, I knew the gang pretty well, but four years later I did a series of "How to Hip-Hop" tapes, so as part of the bonus footage, I asked them why they danced, why they were part of our group.

That's when I really knew they were seeing this group night as something stronger than I was. I was just happy they were showing up, and happy to have this little bit of a thing going on with these incredibly talented people.

But they were saying things like, "Without the Groovaloos I'd go home," or "It's helped me get through my problem with my father." "It's helped me face my fears." I stepped up after hearing that, because I realized it's not just a social club, but it is something important. I realized that none of us were from L.A., so this was our support team. So I put that word out that we needed to be there for each other.

If you're having a hard time and call me at two in the morning, I need to pick up the phone. I need to respond, and go by "Hey, how are you," to helping you be accountable, and help each other where we're at. They knew that already, but it became a deeper thing.

We went through some really tough things. One of our members was shot. He didn't pass away, but he was supposed to never walk again. As tragic as that was, it made us all stop and think, "Wow, what are we here for?" Now it's actually part of our show. His recovery changed the whole dynamic. We were there to support him, but he was inspiring us. It's become a real legit thing, and the journey has been amazing.

You are a man of faith. How do you keep that vital and part of the dance?

Bradley:    I am a Christian, and the guy that taught me how to dance was a Christian. He's a guy named Wayne Headley, and he brought me to the Lord years ago. For me now, what's amazing is that I'm married and my wife and I have two boys: a three year old and a seven year old. Faith just fits automatically with family.

On a separate issue, I want to make sure I'm not making anybody stumble. My friends bug me because my wife and I have been married 13 years, and that's 50 years in Hollywood years. I'm going to make sure that we are an example of what a good marriage and good relationship with kids can be. It radiates out from there, and that's because of my faith and marriage. Just knowing the riches God has given me with my kids and wife, when temptations come up, I hold onto the long term of what I know. There is this group of 20 or more people looking at me, and it's made me step up as a person. It's become my rock.

Everything that's happened doesn't make sense [in the natural]. I'm from a small town in Canada, and I'm here today? I realize the blessings of the Lord, of the group, and what they're doing. I say, "God, they're still sticking around. What are they listening to me for?"

They're in every music awards show, in most of the music videos you see. Ten of them flew off to New York to be part of Step Up 2. But when they're in town, they're still coming to do the Groovaloos thing.

It's just been an amazing back and forth thing.

What has been the most profound change for you since winning the dance competition?

Bradley:    Honestly, it's something I wasn't initially that proud of. When we were asked to be on that show, our group as I mentioned had many members. There was a girls' group called The Beat Freaks that were all part of the Groovaloos. They weren't allowed to do the Superstars of Dance because MTV wouldn't allow the crossover. The leaders of Jabberwockies and Super Crew are both Groovaloos. We've had this thing that is quite unique. So when we were asked to do that show, I got together the Groovaloos that could do it. There were a lot of the group that couldn't do it because they were obligated to MTV already. One of our members, Steven Stanton, is in our stage show and is a huge part of our history.

When we looked at going on this TV show, the challenges are so hard and you have such a short time to learn the routines. You have to move fast, and I was thinking, "I don't know if I should use Steven." So I told him I didn't think I was going to use him on the Superstars of Dance. I brought in somebody else, and then some of the other Groovaloos called me, and said, "I think we've got to be the Groovaloos. I think we have to be the group, regardless of how mobile Steven is."

I was really convicted that I'd made a horrible mistake, so I called Steven and I apologized. I grew so much in that, and realized I'd been holding resentment against him for getting hurt. Some of the things we wanted to do we couldn't do physically any more. I'd get an idea to choreograph something, and then I'd realize I had to simplify it because Steven wasn't able to move that way any more. I realized I couldn't explain it, and that was a horrible thing, but I was resentful.

Through that, we became closer than ever. I apologized to him for my resentfulness about his injury. Now we can laugh about it, and I can challenge him more physically. We had a great time doing the show after that. The blessing of him being on the show changed everything. We created a special performance about him. The first number we did was about him going from a wheelchair up to a chain, and it gave a depth to our performance that resonated with the audience. I don't think it would have been like that without him.

Then instead of me wondering how we'd do it with Steve in the way, I'd think, "How can we do that with Steve?" I'd ask him, "Steve, could you do this with your cane?" It became organic to our dance, and those kinds of things happened more than I realized. We've been given a lot of grace.

Now, it's important to me that we stay up on top of the latest and greatest moves, but more important to me now is that we don't lose our realness and authenticity. Whatever happens, come what may, God's got that under control. That was a huge revelation for me.

©2009 ChristianCinema.com

Photos from Groovaloos website www.groovaloos.com