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= Desiree Robbins =

Desiree Dawn Robbins (February 10, 1971- April 4, 2021) also known as “Dez”, was an American dancer, choreographer and master teacher of Jazz Dance. She was known for her progressions -n- turns classes and was a master of technique. Her energy in class created a popularity for her style that was widely known in the dance convention circuit. Desiree taught thousands of dancers across the United States and internationally. She was a strong advocate for dancers to learn technique and her class reenforced that message.

Early Life
Desiree was the middle child to parents Judith and Robert Robbins. They lived in a one level ranch home in the city of Costa Mesa, California. She lived there with her older sister Heidi and younger brother Shane. Life in the new town started out like many others. It was a family centered suburb that was safe and had many other kids to play with. Her dad was a school teacher and lifeguard at the local beach during summer breaks. Mom stayed at home taking care of her kids.

By age 7 Desiree’s family was being disrupted by her parent’s marital issues, which finally led to divorce. As in all divorces the family unit would never be the same and would mark Desiree for life.

By age 8 she started dancing at a little known studio called Lynn Vogen School for dance. There, with her sister Heidi and cousin Tiffany, she saw how dance could replace the pain of her parent’s divorce. She was happiest when she was there and had a profound impact in her life.

As she got older Lynn would let her assist in class and saw Desiree’s potential and encourage it.

Desiree loved dance so mush she saw a career in it. Moving into her teens, as her sister and cousin found new interests, Desiree stayed the course. She would commute to Los Angeles to take classes with as many influential teachers in dance that she would be allowed. One of those master teachers, Joe Tremaine, would soon be her mentor.

Like Lynn, Joe saw Desiree’s potential and would nurture it. Joe would let Desiree take class but only if she put in the hours of work it would take. Meanwhile doing odds and ends around the studio. She was a hard worker, on and off the dance floor. She learned discipline and what it means to pay your dues. She would follow others that took the path of Tremaine’s special mentoring program and would eventually start assisting Joe personally in class.

Desiree so impressed Joe that he took her on tour with his dance convention bearing his name. She traveled yearly to 25 cities throughout the United States assisting her mentor while developing her craft every day. By age 16 she was now a fixture at these major events.

1990 In the Beginning
By the time Desiree was in her late teens she had amassed dance credits in Hollywood that would propel her performance career. Her biggest break came while being a contestant on the hit TV show Star Search with Ed McMahon. There she would compete in the dance competition portion of the program, winning a number of times with her dance company called, Peace Posse. After years of going to audition to audition, she became disinterested in what show business could offer her, and would spend more and more time in class teaching and assisting. By the middle 90’s she knew her calling was to teach.

2000 Ten Years In
By this time Desiree had been on the dance convention circuit almost a decade. She became a staple on tour with Joe Tremaine. Not only would she assist Joe in his class, she was given her own classes to teach. She took what she learn from Tremaine's classic jazz and created her own emphasis on high tempo songs and used it as a way to teach technique. As the convention tour grew, so did her following. She had many students mimicking her look and fashion to where she took notice and started her own dance-wear line called Dez Wear (tm). It was sold online and on the convention floor. It was obvious that she was creating her own brand.

2003 Head Injury
While on tour in 2003, Desiree had a hotel accident at the Hyatt hotel in St Louis. That accident happened due to a faulty TV tray causing the cabinet to fall on her head while in use. She was taken to a near by hospital where it was discovered she had a brain concussion. That concussion stopped her from teaching and performing for much of the year. It took her many years to learn of the long term effects that would follow her thru the rest of her life.

In 2005 Hyatt settled a lawsuit with Ms. Robbins for an undisclosed amount.

2010 End of Tremaine
20 years into her career as a leading figure in women's Jazz dance, Desiree would begin the decade with controversy. Her popularity was obvious to most observers and was also a leading candidate to take Tremaine Dance Convention over when Joe Tremaine stepped down. Tremaine made this public with a speech he gave at the Michael Awards held in NYC to benefit childrens leukemia foundation. Joe was being honored as Man Of The Year.

By the middle of 2010, Desiree was formally asked to leave the convention. Joe Tremaine never gave her a reason other than to say "we are going in different directions". She was not expecting this and was surprised by the treatment of her co-workers. She felt betrayed and left her a rising star that had no venue.

The following years she spent teaching as a guest faculty member on various conventions, but none that gave her the platform she became a custom to.

2011 Infinite Dance Cast
In March of 2011 Nick Drago and Desiree Robbins recorded the first in a series of Podcasts designed for dancers. They called in Nick and Desiree's Infinite Dance Cast. Desiree's husband Michael Binikos produced over 100 episodes for the duo. The topic and guests ranged from week to week. There audience was building as they found their stride. Nick would joke that "only their moms were actually listening". Some of their guests included, Kenny Wormald, Mandy Moore, Jerry Evans and Marguerite Derrickas.

2014-2020 Dance League
After a few years of jumping from convention to convention, she along with her husband, started her own convention business. She called it Dance League. A boutiques dance convention that focused on the dancer. Dance training had been diluted according to Robbins and she wanted to bring back the basics. Technique. This company grew well for the first half of its lifespan. She was proud and had finally found her venue. She would pour her energy into this business and saw the real world consiquences of being an owner. In its first few years the business took on debt that would push them to the brink of bankruptcy. But the following years would allow this struggling business to survive. By 2020 Dance League succumbed to the lockdowns of Covid-19 and shuttered for good. By the end of 2020 Dance League attempted to revive it's business with government intervention but was ultimately unsuccessful.v

2021 Death
During March of 2021, headaches started to plaige Ms. Robbins. Since her 2003 accident left her with migraines in the years to follow, treatments were prescribed as before. She convalesced at her fathers home in San Clemente. Her step-mother, a nurse by profession, looked over her declining health. By March 29th they admitted her to Providence St Joseph in Mission Viejo to discover she had 5 brain tumors. Desiree spent the week in ICU with her family and husband fully aware of her condition. By the 5th day in care she had a series of seizures that put her on life support. On Easter Sunday April 4th she passed away with her husband at her side. She was 50 years old.

Personal life
Desiree had a series of boyfriends until her marriage to music producer Michael Binikos in 2001. Michael and Desiree had a friendship that started when Robbins was 12 but was casual over the years. After a 6 year disconnection they found each other again on Easter 1998 when Robbins reach out and invited him to dinner. She was ready to settle down and saw the recently divorced friend as her husband. 3 years later they wed in Kauai, Hawaii on August 25th 2001. As a married couple they were prolific with projects they would partner on. As a dancer and musician the things they did in business complimented each other. They had business ventures, dance conventions, creative endeavors and designed and built their first home in Hollywood Hills, California. While kids were always the plan, it didn't happen due to the inability for the couple to conceive. They were married until the dancer's death in 2021.