We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deborah Marie Rodriguez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Deborah Marie , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when I was 15 years old. I was a dancer and choreographer and I had just founded my own dance team at my high school. Around that time I was in a program called Upward Bound. This was a college preparatory program that prepared high school students for college. In this program, we would have guest speakers come to speak and they would ask what did I want to do when I graduated, and I said I wanted to be a psychologist. Deep down inside I knew I wanted to be a professional dancer and that dancing was a passion of mine. Even though today I am a licensed pastoral counselor dancing and being a musician seems to be one of my deepest passions. I realized that I could both help others and pursue my passions and this is what makes me happy.

Deborah Marie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started in the performing arts a lot later than most dancers. I was enrolled in a class in middle school and from there I began to compete in competitive dance. I was referred to by one of my instructors to audition for a high school that was based in the performing arts but I turned down the offer because I didnt realize that I actually wanted to dance yet. I ended up taking dance with me to high school and founding my own dance team. Me and my sister got together to perform during lunch and choreograph for various programs. Shortly after that, I was accepted into a predominately white college at the age of 17. I turned it down and decided to stay in Houston where I danced as a soloist and even opened up a comedy show as the leading act. I then landed a position as a BET Soul Train Dancer in 2012 that pushed me into my dance career working with one of the top dance choreographers and celebrity studio owners that trained Beyonce and many of the top dancers on Television you see today. I transitioned out of the job because of the pull I felt from God to take a break from the entertainment industry. I continued to choreography and even direct musicals and plays for other music companies and studios. Today I own a performing arts school by the name of Turning Pointe Ministries School for the performing and creative arts along with my studio Deborah Marie Rodriguez Studios which I plan to franchise around the country and nation.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My story isnt like others. I know many have had bad things happen but my resilience comes from losing my mom early on as a kid. My mom passed away at the age of 9 and was murdered in human trafficking. I felt as if I lost my mom early on though. I found myself alone and trying to make it out of a very cold world. I was born in Houston but as a 2 year old I had to live under a bridge with my mom and siblings until we came back to Houston. I found myself running and hiding from the danger around me. I started dancing as an escape and a way to release my problems. I started drowning myself in the arts in order to create and tell my story. I needed an escape. The arts was something that allowed me to forget my issues and look at my pain from a different lens.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Well as for now, someone hacked my social media out of jealousy. This happens to me all the time. The advice I would give is that don’t focus so much on the followers and likes. Focus on the mission at hand. Social Media is temporary. It is really about the impact you make on someone’s life in person. Focus on being the best you can be and pouring into others authentically. Make the world your stage and be true to yourself and others will be drawn to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://deborah-rodriguez-franchises.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral#posts
• Instagram: @deborahrodriguezfranchises
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-deborah-marie-rodriguez-45b08147/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZPOBe0_TnyyL-dwsI60WPg

Image Credits
Mission Bound Publications and Productions