With the Rogue Festival winding down in Fresno, it doesn’t leave for many more opportunities to catch some off-the-wall performances by local artists and performers.

One of the new performers who has caught the eye of several people is Selma’s Vincent Gonzalez.

The 26-year-old wrote and directed his own show for the first time and has gotten a lot of positive feedback.

Gonzalez’s show “Breaking Through the Breakdown” is based on his life and his struggles as he tries to pursue a career as a dancer. The show features dancing, narration and a rap performance.

“This is the first time I ever wrote and directed a dance like this,” Gonzalez said. “It is based on my life. I’m at a crossroads. This is a bit about my life, dreams and struggles in everyday life.”

So far, things have been going good for Gonzalez.

He said Rogue one of the Rogue directors was fascinated by his show and was confident it would do well because it was something different the festival had not seen before.

That director was right.

Gonzalez said his first two shows were sold out and they had to turn away over 10 people ”” some of them came back for a later performance.

Anybody hoping to watch Gonzalez’s show, time is running out.

His last show will be at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Diana’s, which is located at 826 N. Fulton in Fresno, and Gonzalez recommends people show up early to ensure they get a seat.

“This is it for Rogue,” Gonzalez said about any possible future performances. “I plan to work on the show more and hope to maybe put one on in Selma at the Cultural Arts Center, but I don’t know.”

Kathy Mahan, who wrote a review for the Fresno Bee, said she was a bit disappointed in the show because she expected to see a lot more break dancing.

“The 40-minute show is good,” Mahan wrote. “The story is compelling, and I did enjoy many moments of the performance. It just wasn’t what I was expecting, and because of that I walked away with some misgivings.”

What Mahan perhaps failed to realize was that Gonzalez’s show was about more than just him showing off his break dancing abilities.
Gonzalez hoped to deliver a much deeper message.

“The show is for anyone to relate too for following their dreams and things in life that might hold them back,” he said. “By believing in themselves, they can break through and achieve anything.”

Anybody that is interested in the break dancing aspect part of Gonzalez’s show rather than the message he is trying to deliver, can look for him at the clubs in the Tower District where he likes to perform with other dancers. They can also stop by the S.D.M.X dance academy in Selma where he teaches.

Gonzalez also said he has no problem with people contacting him on Facebook at [email protected].

“I like to put on shows and perform with other dancers,” Gonzalez said. “We try to build some local competitions and random things like that.”

Dancing has always been a part of Gonzalez’s life. He said he really had no choice in the matter.

“I’ve been dancing my whole life,” he said. “Growing up in a Mexican household, there was always music playing.”

Gonzalez said he became very intrigued with the hip-hop culture when he was 12-years-old and really immersed himself in the dancing aspect of it by the time he was 14.

Putting on a show like the one at Rogue is something he’s considered doing for a long time now, but couldn’t find the inspiration to get it done.

Until now.

“I had so much help from the school in Selma,” Gonzalez said. “Putting it together has been challenging ”” the whole learning process and being a performer in general.