Today we’d like to introduce you to Zarria Llopis.
Hi Zarria, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started for me as a young girl in New Orleans, Louisiana. Similar to a lot of children, at a young ago my parents put me in dance lessons. I remember being so inspired by black films such as Bamboozled, The Wiz, & even the dancers in the Mardi Gras parades. I was into it for a couple of years but then I suddenly told my parents that I wanted to quit because I was getting picked on by my dance teachers which eventually started to bruise my confidence. I went on a dance hiatus for years! Shortly after, my dad purchased me a “Barbie karaoke machine” which introduced me to singing and performing. He taught me all kinds of classic & R&B songs.
As I got older, I got into Chorus, Musical Theater, & Instruments; I participated in those art forms in grade school for seven years. Interestingly, around my junior of high school, I was watching “The Wiz” with Diana Ross & MJ (my favorite film since a tiny girl)… dancing in front of the tv; just being so amazed by the beautiful music and choreography as if I hadn’t seen it a thousand times. I started to ponder & in my mind I got this thought of “wow I remember when I used to dance like that and I remember when it made me so happy! I wanna do that! Wait, I use dance! why did I stop?” Then I thought about it, I remember why I stopped. Those feelings of shot confidence started to feel so familiar in my mind again. BUT I felt the sudden urge to dance again! I promised myself one thing though, to never let the words or actions of anybody discourage me ever again. That dance teacher created a fierce, fearless beast in me! Immediately after that, I went and auditioned for the dance team at my high school and from there, I never stopped dancing. I was choreographing shows in high school.
Furthermore, I attended FAMU, joined a dance organization, was Vice President, artistic director, & was choreographing as well. When I turned 22, I realized that dancing could be a career & from there, I started to take it serious. Once I did that, God began to open the door & grant me beautiful opportunities. I’ve had the opportunity to dance on big stages, tv networks, & with music legends. I’m even an actress now; working on projects associated with networks such as HBO, Vh1, TP Studios. I have my own business called Leaux Creative Ent. where I teach classes & specialize in artist development for artists. We provide creative direction for artists looking to elevate their careers by improving dance skills & performance quality. Some of my clients being from major labels such as Epic Records, Capitol Records & Mo Town Records. My goal is to be a successful triple threat: Dancer, Singer, & Actress. Using all of the gifts that God gave me equally.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! People often tell me that I make it look easy though. Even in my earlier life as a young girl, I shared that hardship with you guys, which kept me down for years! Even now, I’m often overlooked, the “last pick”, or the forgotten ones. I still get no’s. Furthermore, I struggle with social anxiety & that alone is a huge challenge. Especially being in the entertainment industry. It’s so much better now. I’ve worked hard to have new confidence about myself & it’s all because what I’ve desired for so long. I now feel & know that I’m capable & deserving of that. In all honesty, my faith keeps me going through all of the bumps in the road. I don’t allow things to keep down for long. I always have a “what’s for me is for me” attitude. I look at “missed opportunities” as room for bigger ones to flow to me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a professional dancer, choreographer, singer, and actress. I specialize in dance and choreography. And I’m most known for my dance classes where I teach people how to dance in heels, find new confidence, and learn more about themselves. I’m most proud of how many lives I’ve impacted knowing and unknowingly. Dance has much more depth to it than what we see on the Internet. It’s a way to connect with people from all walks of life and to say the least…minister to them in a way that they can relate. I think what sets me apart from others is my style and the fact that I’m relatable. I tell people all the time I don’t think that it takes a special type of person to do a specific thing I just think that you have to believe in yourself, be willing to work hard, and know that it can happen for you if you never give up!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Absolutely, I think that an essential part of being in this business is risk taking. It’s also the most beautiful part too. I’m adventurous & I do a lot of things sporadically. I think that every opportunity that I’ve gotten I took a risk to get. I’ve gotten fired from my corporate job because any time opportunity presented itself, I wouldn’t even hesitate to be out! Now…that’s not something that I advise but it’s something that worked for me. I’m really in tune with my intuition & God gave me the great gift of discernment. Another scope of risk taking is simply believing in yourself & not caring what outsiders have to say! That there is a huge risk because sometimes you lose family, friends and have to learn how to be ok with being alone all because you’re chasing your dreams. There’s this quote that says, “sometimes you have to risk it all for a dream only you can see”. I think that a dream will only be a thought unless you put action behind it. It always comes with taking risks & sacrifice.
Contact Info:
- Email: Leauxcreativent@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zarrialeaux/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/ZarriaLeaux
