Dance
The Queen of L.A. Dance: Storm DeBarge
How Storm DeBarge brought Westside flavor to the world stage.
It’s hard to think of a dancer who reps Los Angeles harder than Storm DeBarge. So when dance industry veteran Fatima Robinson needed a choreographer to bring authentic Westside flavor to the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, she knew exactly who could translate L.A. dance culture to the football field.
For DeBarge, a native Angeleno, the opportunity was the moment she had been working toward—as a movement artist, choreographer and director. In a show headlined by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, featuring Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and Eminem, DeBarge danced gleefully atop a white lowrider to “California Love.” Then, to close the show, she set choreography on an ensemble of dancers decked out in khaki Dickies, C-walking across the field to Dre’s hip-hop anthem “Still D.R.E.”
It was a defining moment: a rare chance to celebrate Los Angeles street style on a global stage, with full creative freedom. These were the styles she grew up with—an elastic blend of jerking, C-walking, clowning, the Dougie, the Squabble and that palpable something extra you can feel but can’t quite name.
Growing up, music was always playing in DeBarge’s home. Dancing along was second nature. She fondly remembers bonding with her mother at Narcotics Anonymous dances, doing line steps with elders on Friday and Saturday nights.
“There wasn’t a conversation like, ‘Oh, you like to dance, you could be a professional dancer,’” she says. “We were just doing it because it was fun.”
Storm is part of THECouncil, a powerhouse crew made up of five women.
© María José Govea
People got to understand the real vibe, the real culture, and what we do out here.
As a teenager, that fun grew serious when she joined DropDead Inc., an all-male jerk crew where she was the only girl. On weekends, she and her friends perfected their moves at house parties, posted videos online and built a global network of fellow jerkers—from the U.K. to countries across Africa.
Periods of homelessness during her transition from middle school to high school took her across Los Angeles—from West Adams to Culver City to Santa Monica, where she played as a kicker for the Santa Monica High School football team. Once again, she was the only girl on the squad.
When a sudden, devastating loss pulled her away from dance, football briefly filled the void. But DeBarge eventually found her way back to the cypher—dancing at family functions and house parties, making videos that racked up thousands of views.
Today, she’s part of THECouncil, a powerhouse crew and empowerment collective made up of five women with a combined Instagram following of over 800,000. Together, they’ve performed with some of the biggest names in music.
Storm is part of THECouncil, a powerhouse crew and empowerment collective.
© María José Govea
Storm Style is DeBarge's signature flavor of movement.
© María José Govea
In the past two years alone, DeBarge has danced in Kendrick Lamar’s viral music videos for “Not Like Us” and “Squabble Up” and performed with him live at his 2024 Juneteenth The Pop Out: Ken & Friends show at the Kia Forum in L.A., which was livestreamed around the world. It was a dream come true for a dancer who grew up listening to Lamar’s music.
She’s also stepping into leadership roles, hosting events like the Black on The Block kickoff party for the Red Bull Dance Your Style Open Qualifier in Los Angeles last March. She’s already looking ahead to the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final in L.A. this October, which she’s excited to help promote.
When The Red Bulletin caught up with DeBarge in April, she was still soaking it all in—the full-circle joy of not just making it as a professional dancer but doing it in the city she loves, alongside her heroes.
These days, she’s just as focused on the next generation. Through her casting agency, The Land, she works to find opportunities for up-and-coming dancers, mentoring them through the highs and lows of the industry.
From her versatile signature “Storm style” to her joyful, fearless presence on stage, Storm DeBarge isn’t just ready for what’s next; she’s here to stay.
Here, in her own words, the L.A. icon shares some highlights from her notable dance career.
“People got to understand the real vibe and the real culture."
© María José Govea
On repping her local dance community
“People got to understand the real vibe and the real culture, and they have to respect the culture and respect what we do out here. I want to be able to let people know—and anybody under me know—you don’t have to just know choreography to be a professional dancer. You could just do you and get to where you want to be. So it’s important for me to have those spaces and let people see they’re having fun. They doing this, they doing that. You could two- step your way into the Super Bowl. Yes, you can.”
"Don’t listen to people telling you what you can and cannot do."
© María José Govea
On working with Kendrick Lamar
“He’s a hard worker, just like me. And he’s hella cool. When you run into people that you’ve always wanted to meet, and then you’re like, oh, this person’s mean. Nah, there’s nothing like that. He literally is the nicest. He’s smooth with it. He chill, like you don’t feel like you’re being rushed. You don’t feel like it’s about to be a rough day. When I walked into Tam’s before we started doing that scene in the “Not Like Us” shoot, we didn’t talk the whole time until he looked over at me and was like, ‘Full circle moment, huh?’ And I was just like, hell yeah. He says, ‘Keep doing your stuff.’ And I’m like, ‘Thank you. You, too.’ And then we just did what we did. And that was that.”
On being part of the all-women crew THECouncil
“Going into THECouncil, I wasn’t an affectionate girly. I’m a girl’s girl, but I wasn’t hanging out with girls all day. In the beginning, it was hard for me, because I was there to dance and then go home. And they’re like, ‘No, stay for dinner. Why don’t we talk?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, this is crazy.’ It was different. Honestly, the past four or five years have been amazing with them. They’ve taught me a lot. They helped me with my growth, with being a woman, and teaching me different things that I didn’t know. I’m definitely more comfortable now. I give longer hugs. I let them cuddle with me. We talk about a lot. Now I’m more comfortable just talking to them and letting them know things. It’s pretty dope.”
On giving advice to the next generation
“Don’t listen to people telling you what you can and cannot do. I’ve had my moments where I’ve had mentors, and I’ve had people have their own opinions about what I should do, where I should go. Things like that can make you feel like you’re not on the right path to what you want to do. But I’m just a believer of ‘You can do what you want to do.’ Have good people around you that are also on the same type of time as you, so they can support you just like you can support them. Nobody that’s draining you, only somebody that’s filling your cup. Make sure you’re practicing and you’re consistent. And just make sure that you stay 10 toes down on what you believe in and what you want to do with your life. Loving yourself is number one.”
Keep up with Storm!
Instagram @stormdebarge
