Jayme Bermudez didn't want to dance.
Growing up in Rochester, dancing wasn't encouraged in his home, Bermudez said. But after getting into trouble at Monroe Middle School, staff member and mentor Sandra Martinez insisted he stay after school for a program that would change his life.
Decades later, Bermudez is preparing to take the reins of Borinquen Dance Theatre, succeeding founder Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez, who is retiring in December after 45 years as the organization's artistic director. In that time, she built an award-winning, youth-oriented program aimed at building self-confidence and discipline through dance while celebrating Puerto Rican culture.
For Bermudez, the new role represents a new chapter in a career shaped by dance, mentorship, and a commitment to helping the youth.
Bermudez was born in Puerto Rico but mainly grew up in the city of Rochester.
He described himself as an at-risk youth and was very angry at the family dynamics he experienced at home.
He said dancing wasn't considered masculine in his household. Martinez sent a letter to his parents saying he was staying after school for extra help when in reality he was joining a dance program, which Bermudez ended up loving.
"I got into some trouble and Sandra (Martinez) was the one that said, "You're going to stay after school for a program,’ and I said, ‘No, I'm not.’ She said, ‘Yes, you are.’ It was a dance program. I said, ‘No, I'm not.’” Bermudez said.
Years later, Bermudez became a part of the Movida Dance Company in Rochester, where he taught and performed as a principal dancer for 15 years. It was during his time at Movida where he was exposed to Borinquen Dance Theatre at its performances. The two companies shared a dance studio at the time.
He later branched out into creating his own dance company called True Art, which he said stands for "the real you.” It was a company for at-risk youth, providing them with a safe space to learn dance.
But working in a nonprofit with the at-risk community came with its challenges. Bermudez said he started to feel burnt out.
"I was in a place, as so many people do, when you're working in a non-profit and you're working with the at-risk community, you one start feeling burnout, and then you two start questioning your purpose, like why am I doing this? It's not enough. It's not going to change," Bermudez told WXXI News.
He was considering leaving Rochester until he got an opportunity to work on a production of In the Heights with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Around the same time, Padilla-Rodriguez saw Bermudez substitute teach a dance class for a family friend. She approached him right after the class and asked if he would like to teach a dance class at Borinquen Dance Theatre.
The opportunity eventually grew into something more.
In 2022, Padilla-Rodriguez pitched Bermudez the idea of potentially taking over her role as artistic director for BDT. At the time, BDT didn't have that type of funding, so Padilla-Rodriguez, along with Bermudez, applied for the Artist Employment Program of Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY). It was a three-year, $125 million initiative that provided guaranteed income and employment opportunities to artists across the state.
Through that money, BDT was able to bring on Bermudez as assistant artistic director along with one other staff member.
In preparation for the planned transition, Bermudez sought guidance from community leaders and recently took a nonprofit leadership program at St. John Fisher University.
Padilla-Rodriguez said she felt that it was time for her to step away and hand the reigns over to Bermudez. She said he is committed, knowledgeable, and has the skills to carry on the organizations mission.
"I'm very happy, and I feel content, and I feel blessed, and I have gratitude," Padilla-Rodriguez said. "It's hard to find someone who's committed to the cause, who's committed to the mission of Borinquen because it's hard work, who has the dedication, who has the skills, the knowledge, and the ability to bring all the pieces together without losing the creativity as an artist."
Founded in 1981, Borinquen Dance Theatre started after renowned choreographer Garth Fagan told a crowd at the Rochester Puerto Rican Festival that Padilla-Rodriguez, who was the youngest member of Fagan's dance group, would begin teaching Puerto Rican-style dancing.
"When he made that announcement, I was off guard," Padilla-Rodriguez said. "I never even had that in mind."
People started approaching her after the performance asking how they can sign up and when dance lessons would start. Hector Aganzoni, who was the director of the Puerto Rican Arts and Cultural Center at the time, approached Padilla-Rodriguez offering his help.
They came up with the name "Borinquen," to educate the community about their culture and how African, Indigenous and European Spanish cultures have played a part in influencing it.
Now, Bermudez wants to build on that foundation and be able to bring pieces that are true to Nuyoricans, which refers to people of Puerto Rican birth or descent who live in New York.
"Speaking to the young Puerto Rican that doesn't speak Spanish because they didn't have a part of the island or they’re third or fourth generation," Bermudez said. "What does that music look like and sound like, and how do we still bring those folkloric styles into that music that's here."
As he prepares to become artistic director at Borinquen in December, Bermudez hopes that the company can carry on not just the next 45 years, but for the next 100 years.
