The World of Dance Mission.To illuminate the universal human spirit through dance and music, and to serve as a creative beacon of inspiration, belief and hope. Who We Are.We are the most recognized and trusted platform for creative expression, connecting the dots between artistry, music and community while mainstreaming dance into the core fabric of global society.We are, and will always be, a Home for Dance. All inspirational creative talent welcomed. Our Story-It Started with Us.Before the stage, the tour, the television show, there was Us.That “us” started with Dave Gonzalez, a party-promoter-turned-events-extraordinaire who saw the silos within the dance and entertainment industry – and discovered opportunities in the spaces between. In 2008, Dave teamed up with Myron Marten to found an experience platform that would unite a fragmented industry and showcase it on the world stage. World of Dance was born.And while we have since grown into an iconic brand recognized for our colorful world of diverse artist expression, it is the talented and passionate creators of that world who are the real heroes of this success story.A Community was Born.“World of Dance was built by the community it serves.” – Rod JonasThe footsteps of World of Dance began in the nightclub industry in the early 2000’s, when Dave started as a DJ and Promoter and quickly evolved his career to business development ventures, which included launching a sound & lighting business, booking celebrity talent, and managing promotions for the iconic landmark event center – The Palace in Hollywood. His business reputation grew quickly along the entire West Coast. While managing concerts and special events within all the biggest clubs in Los Angeles, he eventually led the marketing team at Vision Entertainment, growing the ‘Hot Import Nights’ import auto show into a global brand and media powerhouse.Meanwhile, several small but influential dance communities were growing. Within choreography, showcases such as Carnival and competitions such as Body Rock, Vibe, and Prelude, helped set a tone along the West Coast. Within freestyle and bboy culture, events such as Bboy Summit, Freestyle Session, and Radiotron were leaders within their packs. Additionally, emerging formats of dance were being created, one format lasting the test of time is today known as Krump. Each showcase, competition, cypher, battle, or otherwise “dance” event, were all successful to their targeted communities; however, these separate communities set the stage for World of Dance to launch in 2008 with a goal in uniting dance under one banner.

From Single Event to Tour and Network.What began as a single dance event became a continent-spanning, tour de force of human spirit and sick dance moves, with the World of Dance global tour established in 2011.An early board of advisors contributed immensely in understanding each dance culture's positioning. Some key advisors included Stacey Kuramoto, Robert Garcia, Robbie Powers, and design firm SGX media. With traction under our belts, the team was broadened with the addition of Michael McGinn -- head of creative -- and Herman Flores -- strategic partnerships -- both bringing the sizzle to catapult World of Dance into mainstream awareness.

Collectively, this unique team of individuals was able to solidify a lifestyle brand and create a consistent event presence, while simultaneously building a media channel within an emerging social network called YouTube. Rod Jonas is credited as our first in-house production resource, capturing content both on stage and off stage, eventually growing our channel from 4 million views a month to 30 million views a month in 2015. The explosive growth of our YouTube channel led to strategic conversations with Fullscreen Media, to develop the first dance multi-channel network in 2015. At this point in time, Gonzalez recognized the opportunity and brought on strategist Duane Than, whose focus became channel onboarding, content optimization, and monetization.

Dance Hits Mainstream Media.Then perfect timing hit. The rapid growth of World of Dance ran parallel to the fast-rising trend of YouTube and the emergence of popular dance media reality shows, including ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ and MTV’s ‘America’s Best Dance Crew.’ Television producers were trying to create authentic programming leveraging broadcast media. Gonzalez accepted NBC’s challenge to turn an already burgeoning dance community into a competitive TV series where he serves as an executive producer alongside other EP’s and contributors including world-renowned Jennifer Lopez.[caption id="attachment_7959" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

WORLD OF DANCE -- "World Finals" -- Pictured: Jlo, Derek Hough, Neyo -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)[/caption]World of Dance 2.0.Dave continues to expand and evolve WOD into a premier entertainment company harnessing the synergy between dance and music industries. We recently launched World of Dance Records, LLC overseen by music executive, Jr Regisford and are working on cross-cultural brand partnerships, multiple television formats, music publishing, and marketing & distribution deals that empower creatives—both on the stage and behind it—with more personal branding and monetization opportunities. So, stay tuned for an even bigger, more amplified world stage.Join Us.Our world exists because of you. We are a global community of like-minded creators, dancers, artists, enthusiasts, and spectators. We are the heroes in our individual narratives – and also in our collective story shared by all.