Meet David Etumnu | Professional Dancer, Choreographer & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Etumnu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Being an artist and a creative was always within me and was another form of language I could communicate to anyone without saying a word. One dance move could someone smile or want to dance with me. One whole art piece such as a dance visual, could inspire someone to explore their own canvas.

Bringing light into any room came natural to me and I just want to share my joy and energy with the world. It could use a little bit more light.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I got to where I’m at professionally by living out the vision that God placed within my mind. I understood in my early years that the only way to truly succeed is by going for it 120%. If you truly want something you have to work for it, daily and consistently. I was always training and working on my craft, posting videos, watching videos, being inspired, transforming my mind and having fun with it all.

Through posting my content, I grew my supporters and business which is myself. I went from recording dance videos with friends mainly to dancing during lunch in high school, which really kicked off my dancing in public journey. From then, I was in all the school dance concerts, fashion shows and events. I competed at dance battle events, travelled for influencer events and kept posting content. Within all that everything was about getting uncomfortable and networking. Knowing people would be what puts your name in the right rooms.

It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t hard. It all just required deep patience, persistence and a growth mindset. I’m not going to act like I knew everything to do, because I didn’t. Being a student and seeking to learn in every space was key. I forced myself to get uncomfortable because I knew that most wouldn’t and that’s how you miss out on most opportunities, holding back. Take the leap and just see where you land. Jump now, fear later.

More lessons I’ve learned were to just keep going. As simple as that may sound, it gets harder the more you go. As you grow, so do the problems and you got to continue developing mentally and spiritually to attack anything coming at you. Once you lose mentally and you lose period.

Grind to fail. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s really not that bad. When you fail, you discover more ways not to fail, which only lead to you winning so much more. You have to lose to win and win to fail. You can’t have the good without the bad and the bad without the good. They both are crucial to the journey.

Keeping God first will and should always be main priority. I’m not forcing my belief on anyone, but that’s what I stand on and has been the number one factor in my journey. There’s a lot of fake and evil in the entertainment industry and it’s easy to get lost in all the glamorous parts of it, but it’s important to remember who you are, your values, and your morals. Stay pure and authentic.

Keep the right company around you. Always check your circle snd make sure your circle is checking you. Who you hang around represents a part of you.

I want the world to know that I’m not perfect and I’m still figuring it all out as I go. The best thing you could do though is just go. Live in the moment, make the next best move and just go. It’s get ugly at times but embrace it all the way, and it’ll be worth it soon. I’m young and still have so much to learn and my gratitude just keeps increasing whether I have more or less because at the end of the day, I still have something and that’s enough to smile about.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting the area I would start with my favorite breakfast spot. I can’t say the place here because I am a professional gatekeeper as well lol. The world not ready for that yet.

Throughout the week, I would take them to an escape room, Universal, the beach, find sceneries for photoshoots, and go Downtown Orlando and just explore with the flow.

For food spots, I still need to try out many restaurants on my list, but I would take them to Kobe’s for Hibachi, Sodough Pizza, and all you can eat steakhouse and try out new spots as we go.

I like simple but efficient ways to hangout so even if it’s like getting some fast food like Chick-Fil-A and find a random to walk and explore and catch views, that would be on the itinerary.

I would also take them on a content day with me because those be some of the most interesting days. They go very unexpected and just filled with new people, great energy, fun experiences.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to God, my Mom – Blessing Anele, my older brother – Roberts Etumnu, and little brother Daniel Etumnu.

First off, I’m so grateful to God to be blessed with this talent. He get’s all the glory. Robert was the reason I started to dance honestly. He used play around and krump and watch jerking footwork krump videos. I would be just watching videos with him until I watched them on my own and just discovered more of the dance world and tried to copy famous dancers like Michael Jackson, Nonstop, Adam G Sevani; also known as Moose from Step Up, Fikshun, Les Twins and much more.

My mom always made me feel comfortable when I would practice and dance in the living room and make my videos. That alone meant alot to me.

Daniel, my little brother recorded most if not all of my first videos when I first started posting dance videos outside. Having a little brother means having someone that looks up to you and it always meant a lot to me to make sure that he sees and feels that it’s possible to do whatever it is you put your mind to.

I don’t want to make this long but there are quality people that have had a really strong impact on my style of dance so I’ll be brief. Kevin Paradox and Rubix are top dancers in the scene, especially the Hip-Hop freestyle community overseas and the world. They’ve inspired me to listen to music in unique ways and Kevin Paradox’s 30 Days of Dance was the closest thing I had to a mentor and foundation. Damage; early known as flyguy, Prince Daboo, Klutch, Zone have been people that has helped me train and develop more into the world of dance I knew very little about.

Major shoutout to dawgs, my brothas from otha mothas, Dawk, Phil, Harris, Diondre, Shotgun, Dre and Dan. In my shift from high school into college, they’ve been people that has and still deeply support me and been there for me. Real friends are a dying breed and I’ve never had to doubt their authenticity. Other name shoutouts: Tylott, Shamarie, Cotto0verdidit, Mont, Holup Media, and Cnljayy. I’m not going to go into detail but Cnljayy inspired to go crazy with the public content which is what I mainly put out today. There are so much more I want to name but I will be here for way too long.

Last but not least, my dance team Rukus Entertainment. I started my choreography journey and they embraced with me love and set me up for a wider towards greatness. Kaidi, Nadiya and Tyrah from that team are three other amazing dancers that have helped me grow as a people and embraced for who I am.

To a long time coming, I finally dedicate this to myself. I’ve come a long way with much more to go and I’m grateful and proud of what I’ve accomplished. The journey has been rewarding and I’m just living in the moment of it all.

Website: https://toomnu.my.canva.site/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/toomnuu?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.toom.37

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCJsNerExn2LSHR6Y6vDTvXg

Other: TikTok: @kuttuptoom – https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMRhyG2jV/

Image Credits
IG: Holup Media IG: Collinscollectives