Dominic Carter rarely drinks and he doesn't smoke, yet he's a fixture at the most exclusive dance clubs in Hollywood. You've probably seen the ripped 24-year-old before, if not freestyling on the dance floor at
Area, then as a model (he's been in
Teen Vogue) or on TV (he was on UPN's "The Talent Agency," has been in a Black Eyed Peas music video and appeared in commercials for the likes of Pepsi and Nissan).
The San Dimas-native got his first taste of Hollywood nightlife a few years ago when he and his friends, tired of their usual small-town haunts, found themselves bypassing the velvet rope at
Boardner's in Hollywood. "I'd never been to a place like that," he says. "It felt like I was in a music video."
Naturally, he packed up and moved to Hollywood. Metromix thought it was time to finally meet
this scenster.
You know it's a good party when people are circled around you on the dance floor. How'd you learn how to dance? I had always been a fan of watching movies about martial arts and gymnastics. I never got any training, so when I was 12 or 13 I went to the library to check out books about women’s gymnastics—those were the books with the diagrams.
Do you enjoy the attention?I get so pumped and hyped to hear the music and dance. For me, that's the release. No matter what you're doing, everything is on hold for that moment.
The first time I saw you, you were break dancing with a friend at Element, but oftentimes you're on the dance floor solo. For me, it's better when I have some piece of energy to feed off of […] but a lot of people don't have the endurance that I have.
Which clubs do you like to go to?Here’s my rotation: Mondays I go to
Shag, Area and
Joseph's; On Tuesdays, I like to go to
Privilege because there's a ridiculous amount of space and StoneRokk plays stuff specifically for us; Wednesdays are relax night. I’ll go to
Les Deux because I live right across the street; Thursday I go to
Area—it's super fun; Fridays and Saturdays, I'll go to
Boulevard3 and
Opera. That’s the new Area right now, but they’re trying to put a bar on dancing. Most clubs want us to come and dance, so I think they'll change their mind. Sunday is practice night and I'll usually go to
LAX, where DJ AM and Steve Aoki spin.
You're a lot more fun to watch than go-go dancers. Do clubs ever book you to dance?Yes. I'm booked to dance at
Shag on Mondays and
Boulevard3 on Fridays or Saturdays. [Ed. note: You can get in touch with Carter on his MySpace page: Myspace.com/dominiccarter]
L.A. DJs —which do you like the most?I like AM, StoneRokk and DJ Spider because they're not afraid to play different stuff, like raw breaks with hip-hop and R&B. They don't just play the Top 40 of the Top 40 of the Top 40 list. I’m actually a DJ too. I DJ at Up Against the Wall in the Beverly Center on Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Do you ever go to a club and just hang out?The social factor is cool, but it only lasts so long.
Alexandra Le Tellier is Bars & Clubs editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
