Our Weekly Spotlight on the Arts is shining brightly on Dimitri Reeves!
Just who was this fellow with the booming sidewalk speaker, attired in head to toe glitter and sequins? Dancing in the streets and moonwalking on the sidewalks? We knew we just had to learn more!!!
Despite a busy schedule Dimitri was able to stop by and visit us. Having recently returned to St. Mary’s County from the Baltimore area for family reasons, Reeves considers this a temporary stop on a greater journey. Fueled by a fire to spread positivity, love, and tributes of past and present musical greats, Dimitri has been tirelessly entertaining our community and the surrounding area in a bit of a non-traditional way – as a street performer.
As a graduate of Great Mills High School, our featured artist revealed that being a singer/ songwriter/ dancer wasn’t an original career goal for him but rather something that he just started doing and grew to love. During his teen years he had a deep interest in wrestling, and had even considered going in a professional direction, but as time went on it wasn’t the stage that he felt ultimately destined for.
Soon after discarding his WWE wrestling goals Dimitri discovered a love for music and a passion for dance, theatrics, and performing. Although he doesn’t like to consider himself to be representative of just one single music act, he has been paying a dedicated tribute to Michael Jackson for the past ten years which he thoroughly enjoys. Both Prince and James Brown inspired themes have also been favorite performances of the past few years along with other musicians featured as well. Part of his love for these tributes is “keeping alive the memories of these music greats, and introducing their art to the younger generation who may not otherwise known of them”.
Each of Dimitri’s street shows may run anywhere up to four hours of almost non-stop high energy dancing and singing, with a special “Star Spangled Banner” leading into an electric guitar riff by Jimi Hendrix at the start of every venture. Any shows shorter than that are usually those pre-empted due to changes in weather conditions.
As an entertainer Dimitri states that he customizes his performances to whatever the audience wants – be it a family friendly community event, a sponsorship related appearance, a private celebration such as a birthday/ graduation, or “just because”. “Pop-up” performances are still his favorite as he has been known to set up on a whim in various locations in Lexington Park, at the boardwalk at Solomons Island, and other local and not-so-local areas.
As a “One-Man Plus” show (we attribute the “Plus” to Miss Lee, his dedicated assistant and best friend), Dimitri’s on-the-go essentials include an extra-large speaker, hands-free microphone, and a portable generator, all which fit most conveniently in the Glitter Mobile. Oh and about that glitter…
Dimitri said that his love of the sparkle comes from how pieces and fragments reflect the light in so many different unusual ways, adding an intensity to his image and an additional layer of interest. He considers his shiny hairdo and meticulous facial décor as part of him, part of his performance, and mostly just an additional layer of something to make other people happy as that is what it is all about for him -“sharing positivity and love”…shine on Dimitri!
Photos by Jenn Dorsey.
Links of interest:
You Tube: Dimitri Reeves in Miami paying tribute to the late King of Pop Michael Jackson
(https://youtu.be/n2zwCWxpS0w)
Facebook: Dimitri Reeves @dimitrireevesartist
Instagram: @dimitri_reeves
“I perform for a love of unity. All ages, all races, all people can gather together for music and to dance, we are all just part of the human race”. ~Dimitri Reeves