Daily Inspiration: Meet Olivia Anderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Anderson.

Hi Olivia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Anytime you ask a dancer when they started dancing, they usually answer “Oh, I’ve been dancing since I was three!”. I, however, am different. I started dancing when I was four.

Ok, enough sarcasm. Hi! I’m Olivia and I started my dance journey in my hometown of Tullahoma, TN. Despite being a relatively small town, Tullahoma had two dance studios, both of which I trained at. Growing up, I did a lot of Ballet and Tap, performing in our local Nutcracker production and bringing some vintage flair to various Big Band themed fundraising Galas. I loved every minute of my time at my home studios, however, I had no idea how big the dance world beyond Tullahoma was.

I’ve always been incredibly blessed with supportive family and mentors who saw my future in dance and guided me towards it, even when I was reluctant. My mom and my teachers encouraged me to audition for the Nashville Ballet Summer Intensive the summer before my senior year of high school. I thought there was no way I would get in. I mean, I didn’t even know what Marley floors were at the time. But I got in! Prior to attending the Nashville Ballet, I was planning on going to college for Engineering or Physical Therapy or something “normal” and “stable”. After 5 weeks of intense, pre-professional training, though, I realized that dance was no longer just something I liked or my childhood extracurricular, it was something I couldn’t live without.

A year later, I was gearing up to start my Freshman year as a Dance Major at Brenau University. Brenau Dance showed me a totally new side of the dance world. All of a sudden, I wasn’t doing Ballet and Tap, I was doing Modern and Concert Dance (a.k.a the “weird” stuff). All of a sudden, I wasn’t just learning moves, I learning dance history and what dance means across the world. Brenau Dance offered me incredible opportunity, guidance, and freedom to discern my artistic voice and who I wanted to be within the wider dance world. I was able to work with renowned choreographers, intern with highly regarded organizations, and perform in cities across America. It was never easy. But it was so rewarding. I wouldn’t have my college experience any other way.

I graduated from Brenau University with a BA in Dance with a Modern Technique concentration and a minor in English. Post-grad, I moved here, to Atlanta, to begin my dance career. Currently, I am an Instructor and am the Dance Program Administrator at Callanwolde School of Dance, and I also teach fitness classes at Pure Barre Decatur. I have had the opportunity to work as a freelance performer with amazing artists such as Corian Ellisor, Meaghan Novoa, and Versaille Jones, and also recently presented my first choreographic work in collaboration with the dance organization Fly On A Wall.

My ultimate goal is to obtain my Masters Degree in Dance and become a Dance Professor. In the interim, I am simply trying to gain as much diverse experience as possible.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think my biggest challenge is one that I’ll probably be working through my whole life. I’m the type of person who loves consistency and wants to stick with the familiar. As a kid, I would have a mental breakdown every year the night before my birthday because I didn’t want my entire life to change the next day. I had gotten so used to being eight, why did I have to be nine? Silly as that is looking back, I still have the same intense aversion to change. I often have a hard time letting myself float in the vast sea of life. I want a plan, I want things to be black and white, I want to know exactly what I’m doing at all times.

I would not say this mindset is conducive to a successful artistic practice, or a successful life in general. I began figuring this out around my Sophomore year of college. During that year, I realized a lot of the characteristics I felt made me, me (the things I never thought would change) were actually projections of the person I thought everyone around me wanted me to be. Cue the college identity crisis. Lots of events unfolded from there, some good, some not so good. It took me a long time to even accept that I was allowed to change. That I was allowed to cut my hair short and get tattoos. That I was allowed to feel my emotions and have my own opinions. It took me even longer to recognize that all this change was the best thing that could’ve happened to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I still hate change. But now, I look at change as the fuel of growth. I always say I never want to stop growing, but I can’t grow and never change. I’m learning to float in the sea of life, and even starting to be okay with the crests and the dips of the waves. Maybe one day, I’ll even be able to swim.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a dancer, which can mean a lot of things. I perform, I choreograph, I market events, and I work in administration. I’d say, though, that my biggest passion lies in teaching. I fully believe that the only reason I am here, doing work I love and still dancing, is because of my teachers. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, pushed me forward when I was stuck, and gave me space to find my voice. The impact my teachers have had on my life is undeniable and something I’m grateful for everyday. To know that I can now be that person for my own students gives me such respect and love for the work that I do.

At Callanwolde School of Dance, I’ve had the opportunity to teach students age 3 to age 80. Something I pride myself in as a teacher is aiming to connect with each of my students on a personal level, regardless of age. In the grand scheme of things, dance is meant to foster community and provide a safe space for authenticity. Not every student is going to be a professional dancer, but every student is going to enter the world with the tools they received from their various experiences. My hope is to give my students tools that aren’t static but tools that can grow with them. Passion, diligence, security, creativity, problem solving. All of the tools my teachers gave me.

What matters most to you? Why?
My support system matters most to me. As I write out these answers, I feel the running theme is appreciation for my community. Through every major milestone and accomplishment, my community has been there to hype me up. Through every struggle and let down, my community has been there to support me. I often reflect on my time at Brenau University and how even though all the success I had in auditions and all the awards I received were undeniably amazing, the most impactful part of my college experience was the friends I made. The friends that I run to in the ups and the downs. The friends that I say I miss after not seeing them for a day. My friends have helped me become a version of myself that feels correct, a version that I’m proud of. To know I have people in corner, cheering me on no matter what, is perhaps the best feeling in the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: olivianderson_