Robbie wears a vintage top by Comme des Garçons

It’s Robbie’s World

At its most simple, dance can make us feel warm inside, join a social media fad for laughs or hold a stranger's hand for a moment. At its most buoyant, dance connects communities, becomes a speechless language and unites us in euphoric ecstasy until the sun rises.

Dance is at it’s core uncomplicated yet has had a way of impacting us all on a deeply raw and emotional level since our very beginning. 

Entranced by movement from a tender age, dancer and choreographer Robbie Blue peels back the layers of his own distinctive journey with dance and joy in our piece below

PHOTOGRAPHY REID CALVERT @reid.calvert
STYLING LAUREN ARDIS @laurenardis
TALENT ROBBIE BLUE @itsrobbiesworld

“I feel like my art speaks mainly to people (specifically queer people) who are looking to escape the real world and transport themselves to a world that’s a bit more uncensored with a focus on the weird and obscure. A world more extravagant and dramatic with an undertone of grunge and grit.”

I introduce myself as an artist who provides an escape and outlet for the queer community. Most of what I do focuses on movement direction and  choreography. Fantasy and worldbuilding have always come naturally to me. 

My journey with movement direction and choreography started young - I found a love for performing, creating and conceptualizing dance and theater projects very early on. I’ll never forget rehearsing my best Liza Minnelli in Cabaret on a chair in my basement when I was about 8 or 9. 

I've been very fortunate to have such supportive parents, they put me into Dance when I was around 11 years old. I fell in love with it and continued training throughout high school. I grew up kind of in the middle of nowhere. Luckily for me, in between a state penitentiary and the largest statue of Jesus in the country, I found a dance studio that catered to exactly what I was interested in. It is run by two incredible women Zandra and Aly Thomas. They taught me how to be an incredible dancer, artist, and person. They were also the first gay people I had ever met in real life, and it was around that time that I started to connect the dots of my sexuality with my artistic expression. After high school, I immediately moved to Los Angeles and my career began. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but overall, I’ve had a really great experience and I plan to continue this journey for as long as it’ll go.

  • Robbie wears a dress by L.V.D.F. and his own tights

  • Robbie wears a wood beaded vest by Erika Maish

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“Luckily for me, in between a state penitentiary and the largest statue of Jesus in the country, I found a dance studio that catered to exactly what I was interested in.”

Dancing compared to choreography are two different beasts. When I’m a dancer, I wear a completely different hat. As a dancer, you are a piece of a machine and you need to work efficiently and quickly for it to run properly. I enjoy wearing this hat, but not all the time. While there is plenty of space for self expression being a dancer, I find that it is a much more submissive role compared to being a choreographer. The choreographer is the person who is inventing the machine, finding its uses, testing its functionality. There’s more creative freedom and it just scratches a different itch for me. I have always enjoyed being a leader and problem solving and I feel like those are the most important qualities to have as a choreographer.

The most magical thing about dance is the storytelling. Even without coming at it from a super emotional place, you can tell a story through slight gestures, shapes, and lines. you can evoke feelings and physical responses from a viewer just by placing your body in certain positions. Adding texture and movement quality can change a period from an exclamation point to a question mark. It’s ever changing. I find it all very fascinating. Bob Fosse has always been my biggest inspiration as a choreographer. Some of my more modern inspirations are Brian Friedman, Nina Mcneely and Miguel Zarate. But truthfully, I’m inspired by so many things and so many people. Club culture, the underbelly of america, sensuality, fame, New York City, Hollywood, historic architecture, horror films, liminal spaces. I can find the inspiration anywhere.

  • Robbie wears a dress by Dries van Noten, customized by stylist, a sash by L.E.J. and his own tights

“I have a higher power that I keep a relationship with. I’m getting better at listening to it and accepting that I don’t know everything. My higher power will usually always put the answer right in front of me. It's up to me if I wanna make it complicated for myself or not.”

Touring with Charli XCX was the most profound professional experience I’ve ever had. I was a dancer on this job and truthfully it changed the way that I viewed Dance. Prior to working with her I have always been such a huge fan so getting to dance to her music every night on stage was really so affirming for me. Her whole team is incredible and I never thought Dance could feel that good. 

As for the future, I'm looking forward to creating more films. I learn new ways to be better every go around and I make so many new connections along the way. When I’m making a film, I’m the happiest, so I plan to keep doing that. 

Staying grounded has always been a battle for me. I go back home a lot. I’ve always treated LA as a temporary residence. I'm lucky that I have the parents that I do and my childhood bedroom is always there waiting for me. I can recharge and reground myself there. It's my favorite place in the world.

  • Robbie wears a dress by Dries van Noten, customized by stylist, and a shirt by Maison Margiela

  • Robbie wears a wood beaded vest by Erika Maish

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“Beauty to me is uniqueness. Whether it’s a person, place or thing, the more unique the more beautiful.”

@ITSROBBIESWORLD