Gavin Larsen shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Gavin, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
I think there’s a common misconception or misunderstanding that ballet training is a trivial pastime for little girls. While the concept of “being a ballerina” does undeniably capture the imaginations of many young girls, if we look beyond the stereotypical pastel tutu fantasies that parents think their child are drawn to, we find deeper reasons why dance, particularly ballet, is so compelling to so many. The special space of a dance studio is one where music, rhythm and movement are given importance, which matches our instincts as humans, but is sidelined in the adult world. As kids move through formal ballet training and learn how their instincts can be channeled into even more satisfying expressive tools through the structure of technique, they find a sort of personal gratification, assurance, identity, confidence, and connection that’s impossible to find in any other setting. Even sports or academics differ in the ways they develop a person’s sense of self, lacking the unique combination of physical, emotional, intellectual, interpersonal and independent growth that only ballet can give.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a former professional ballet dancer, turned writer and teacher. I danced professionally for several different ballet companies over the 18 years of my career, and when I retired from performing, I immediately moved more fully into the role of teacher (which I’d started developing during my last few years on stage.) I also started writing about dance, almost reflexively, as a way of capturing the many memories– both physical and emotional– that I was afraid would evaporate if I didn’t save them somewhere other than my own head.
I began writing short essays about my dance experiences– I called them ‘snapshots’– and eventually, I’d amassed enough short pieces that, when taken together, made up a cohesive whole that I thought would illustrate the totality of the dance life. I wanted to express the reality of what it means to live one’s life in a dancer’s body and brain– but not just mine. That’s why one of the working titles of my book was “The Everyday Ballerina.” I thought I was writing about and for every dancer, expressing the universality of our souls, but through the prism of my own experiences. The result became “Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life,” which was published in 2021 by the University Press of Florida.
I also began writing for various dance journals, like Pointe, Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher, and Dance Magazine, which I’ve continued doing over the past 15 years or so. The best news in my writing life is that I have a new book coming out this spring, titled “Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet.” It is a collaboration with the photographer Gene Schiavone. The book contains Gene’s photographs and my biographical, narrative essays about thirty-three of the dancers he worked with during his long career as a ballet photographer. I am very excited for the world to see into these dancers’ lives, learn about their hopes, dreams, successes, failures, doubts, and the many, many ways you can define a life in ballet.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful was doing soaring grand jetés back and forth, over and over, all by myself in a huge, empty dance studio early one Saturday morning when I was about eleven years old. I’ll never forget the exhilaration and feeling of defying gravity that I generated from my own strength and the absolute thrill of soaring through the air, tearing up space, and creating those huge shapes with my body.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I would say that I’ve felt the deepest wounds of my life when someone else– usually a person in a position of power– turned me down, rejected me, or denied me opportunity. As a dancer, that hurts a lot because you have poured everything into the work– your body, your intellect, your vulnerability– and then it is coldly assessed as if you are not even a person. Those times of rejection, however, only strengthened my resolve and my determination– and also my belief in myself. Instead of feeling squashed, I felt defiant.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Unfortunately, the ballet industry is unfair. Ballet itself is not unfair– anyone really CAN dance and be a dancer– but to be a professional, the requirements are not equally attainable by everyone. There are certain things you need to have that you cannot acquire through education or hard work.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I am absolutely doing what I was born to do– no question about that. I have never wanted to do anything else as strongly and deeply as I have wanted to dance, explore dance, teach dance and write about dance– and to think about the reasons and ways it matters and is eternally relevant to our lives as humans. From the time I was a child, nothing else interested me more than ballet– I AM interested in many, many things and I have great curiosity about the world around me, about other people and their professions, but I have devoted my own life and mind to the unparalleled beauty, power and depth of dance and will never tire of that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gavinlarsen.com
- Instagram: @gavinalarsen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinlarsen1/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gavin.larsen.58; https://www.facebook.com/GavinLarsenAuthor/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gavinlarsen4027
- Other: https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066899
Image Credits
Author photo by Scott Treadway
