Alexandra Eady: The Adapting Art of Dance

After an enriching dance education, alumna Alexandra Eady (BA ‘16, dance) is giving back by teaching students of all ages the joys and healing aspects of dance. She encourages other dance artists to embrace collaboration, change, and challenges in order to reach their full potential.

Where do you currently work and/or volunteer? What’s your favorite thing about what you do?

I currently hold responsibility at a few different places:

I am a teacher in a variety of settings for people ages 13 to 90 years old. One of my roles is teaching dance at a performing arts high school in St. Paul. I love working with high school students, specifically in this performing arts setting, because they challenge my investigations of sustainable intensity when it comes to dance and movement. They are always up for a class that is both physically and emotionally challenging. They are dedicated to dance as something more than just movement and are committed to telling stories with their bodies in relationship with others.

Another one of my responsibilities is working with and training individuals to help them feel better physically. In addition to my dance training at the University of Minnesota, I have trained in a variety of fitness formats, such as pilates and weight training. I love combining the awareness that dance training has given me with the additional knowledge in these other fitness formats to help individuals move in a way that increases their own personal well-being.

Additionally, I perform with Ananya Dance Theatre, a social justice dance company based in St. Paul. We use the contemporary dance technique of Yorchha to perform stories and connect with community. 

Finally, I have also circled back to the University in a teaching capacity in the dance department and the kinesiology department. I teach Posture and Individual Exercise, Articulate Body, and Modern/Contemporary Dance Technique I. I love working with students in these courses.

Which of the CLA core career competencies has helped you the most in your career?

All of them! Seriously. Sorry, I cannot pick one. All of these core competencies are useful and important. 

How has the dance industry changed since you began your career? How should current students take advantage of these changes?

The dance industry is continuously going to be a challenge. I love that things are constantly changing and shifting because it shows that this art form can adapt to and continue with the environment and respond to our changing world. I have noticed more dance artists forming collectives and working more collaboratively. Maybe there is not one artistic director or choreographer but multiple taking on this responsibility and equally having a creative voice. I encourage dancing artists to have the openness to be in collaboration, and to have a strong individual practice that is both rigorous and sustainable that connects them to their lineage and also grounds them in maintaining long-term relationships with mentors, teachers, collaborators, and members of their communities. 

If you could go back to your time in college, what advice would you give to yourself at that age?

Thinking back to when I was in college... I often hear other dancing artists talk about the importance of being versatile and staying open to different styles and techniques. I agree with this statement but I also would have appreciated the opposite advice. It is okay to find something and jump in and immerse yourself in that methodology and training technique. Sometimes going deep can allow for a deeper understanding of the self. I wish I would have embraced this earlier and not felt the need to resist the fall in order to see all the possibilities. It is okay to fall into something great, be in the depths of that for a while, and then maybe when you look up you see what you need a little differently. 

What future endeavors are you looking forward to?

I am looking forward to continuing my own personal artistic practice and coming to know what this is. I'm looking forward to building and understanding my own daily practices that support not just my artistry but help to strengthen my relationships with friends and family, mentors, collaborators, and people I have yet to meet.