2013 alumnus, Justin Bennett, released his first iTunes single “Pour U (Thirsty)” July 19. Since the release, Bennett’s success as both a singer and choreographer has skyrocketed.

“Pour U” reached 500 views in less than 24 hours, to Bennett’s surprise. This is his first major milestone in his career. Four years ago, he began furthering his interest in dancing despite the fact that he spent most of his years dancing for fun.

“I started dancing when I was probably five… I thought I was just dancing,” he said. Annexing singing to his career was decided his freshman year of high school. “It’s so fun being able to do both,” he said.

Growing up in a home with a mother who loves to sing and a father who loves to dance, Bennett has been surrounded by musical influences for all of his. Back then, he thought he was “just dancing,” however, people would always tell him to get into anything that has to do with dancing. Bennett commented that he simply enjoyed dancing at a young age and didn’t fully realize what it would mean later to him.

Flash forward 13 years later, Bennett (who goes by the stage name of Broderick Black) is gracing stages all across Omaha with his gift of dancing. “I plan to go on a city tour hopefully end of year of beginning of next year. I want to take two other artists,” he said. One of Bennett’s good friends who is an Omaha rapper, “Shishi Sakari” helped him to make the single take off, since the “Pour U” song has become a hit.

One of Central’s current students, Christina Remijio, is also a dancer and she performs with Bennett frequently. “Justin is extremely spontaneous… We always have fun,” she said. Both Remijio and Bennett practice at the same dance studio. “I’ve performed with him in several shows… The Allstar Game and at Heartland Pride too,” Remijio said. “He puts a lot of time and dedication into his work.”

Remijio isn’t the only Eagle who teamed up with Bennett. 2014 alumnae, Desiree Sanders, is one of his favorites. “It’s funny because I’ve always seen her around school until we had acapella together she was like, “We should do Roadshow.”

“So we met up and started practicing,” he said. The two did perform in 2013 on stage as a duet. Bennett admitted to being slightly intimidated at the sound of it, but agrees now that it was a good thing.

Both Remijio and Sanders dance behind Justin Bennett during various performances. “I can call us a group even though we’re not really,” he said. The three spend an ample amount of time together. Remijio said, “Sometimes we’re up til two or three in the morning coming up with ideas and routines.” The three have performed together several times with the addition of a few other dancers here and there. The bond they have though is not just through working together.

Bennett plans on releasing more music. He is working on an album expected to be released Oct. 22. The album is title “Audio Coverage.” The next song Bennett will be releasing is “For Your Love.” The song is one of thousands Bennett has written. “I’ve written a lot of songs, some of which I’ll never dare play again,” he said.

Within the next months, Bennett will be planning his tour and performing his newer songs. Bennett also has plans on returning t school and majoring in Performing Arts. “I told myself I was going to take a year off, but I’m still deciding where I want to go to college,” he said.

“I definitely have seen him progress as an overall performer but especially as a dancer. I think the amount of exposure he’s been getting has motivated him a lot and has given him the confidence to pursue his dreams,” Remijio said.