month after graduating with a B.A. in Criminal Justice
and a minor in Political Science,
the newly recruited commissioned
officer in the Army National Guard
packed his bags and made a oneway trip to New York City, with
a vision. For the aspiring dancer,
making the move was a last-minute
decision. “I remember specifically
speaking to one of my friends on
the phone. I told him I wanted to
pursue dance, and he said, “Why
not move to NYC?”” D-Ran recalls
his heart immediately pounding.
“NEW YORK???
It’s so far away!”
It would be a first because
he’d never been so far from home.
On. His. Own. Even after arriving
in the city, D-Ran’s dreams of dance
would have to be put on hold because he needed to secure a source
of income before investing in the
first step towards his career, taking
professional dance classes. He had
no idea what to expect, but he was
passionate about his purpose.
Although D-Ran has pursued dance for ten years, he’s only
been dancing professionally for
about four years, with some of his
latest projects consisting of modeling for several brands and working with artists such as Madonna,
Cirque Du Soleil, Nike, Puma, and
the queen Bey herself in Formation.
Balancing between his
responsibilities of serving in the
military and building his career
wasn’t easy. There were time constraints that did not permit D-Ran
to go on tour, so he chose to focus
on the dance and modeling oppor-
12
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aspiring dancers is to not compare
yourself to the journey of others,
because everyone has their own.
We have all watched videos
or live performances of phenomenal dancers. D-Ran isn’t even sure
of the number of hours he dedicates
to his craft on a given day, but one
thing is for sure.
Take charge of your modeling career.
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“I breathe, eat,
and sleep dance, so every second of the day
is catered towards my
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tunities he could do. D-Ran now
resides in Los Angeles and is signed
to Clear Talent Group represented
in both New York and Los Angeles,
pursuing his dream full-time. UA
Magazine reached out to the young,
rising star to learn about his journey.
“I solely believe everything
starts with mentality,” D-Ran states,
crediting his mentors who’ve helped
cultivate the right mindset for his
career. “The right mindset involves
having a solid plan, knowing that
this takes time, and consistently
training.” D-Ran points out that it’s
important to research how others
have become successful and what obstacles
they may have had to
overcome versus expecting instant gratification, which happens
to fit right in with UA
Magazine’s priorities
of sharing how nowa-days more ordinary
individuals are becoming extraordinary.
D-Ran’s is
also motivated by the
possibility that he can,
in turn, motivate and
inspire others. For him,
“inspiration is infinite”
and he draws a lot of
it from a pretty great
source. Kids. “A major
source comes from . . .
The fact that they just
don’t care. I feel we lose
touch of our “inner
kid” and become so
serious that we forget
to play!” His pursuit of
dance comes from the
simple joy of expressing himself through a
series of movement,
and his advise to other