Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Hart Lopez

Hi Emily , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My name is Emily Hart Lopez. I was born and raised in Charleston, S.C (and a little bit in Texas too). I went to college in N.C, and have been living in NYC for 8 years now as a freelancer and arts worker. I was raised in a really loving and warm home, and have had to overcome some health struggles and various unknowns (as we all do in different ways). Overall, I feel I have a very blessed life. I have loved the arts since I was a little girl and it has been one of my greatest life sources outside of my loved ones and morals/belief systems. I’m very thankful to work as a professional dancer, actor, and dance teacher for so many years. I feel my life is so much more full as an artist, it constantly challenges me, and I believe I am able to do good in the world through this path. The arts have given me a strong sense of community throughout the course of my life, which I believe is essential to the human condition. I know some pretty incredible humans from all around the world, love traveling, food, and culture. I am still fighting to pave my way for a better quality of life for myself (also, hopefully for my future family one day). My rooting forces in life are having a strong sense of integrity, staying connected to kind and loving individuals, and living by a growth mindset.

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?

I think my answer is both a yes and no for two reasons. For one, life is not very linear or truly without any struggle, suffering, pain, “supposed setbacks”, or even rejection (especially as an artist). The second…I could say yes in a way, only because I have been lucky to have supportive parents, educators, mentors, friends, family, and communities that have lifted me up in my dreams. I would have not gotten to pursue my dreams without the support of the village it has taken, and for that I would say that that part has been smooth. Despite many rejections or lack of accolades I have yet to acquire, I have had my successes and wins that I don’t think would have been possible without my support systems and the people who have believed in me or opened doors for me. I would say the smooth part has been having a clear dream to be a performing artist from a young age and being able to study my craft and pursue it with the support of my loved ones. Now, on the other hand…it has come with many struggles. I still face some of these struggles to this day.

Some of the struggles along the way were battling cancer at an early age, and although I have overcome it, there are some lingering traumas that impact my mental health to this day. I have more health fears or paranoia perhaps than the average person and I struggle with anxiety (like many do). However, sometimes these lingering thoughts or feelings (in addition to real health symptoms) make it a little harder for me to put myself through some of the wear and tear that working artists go through in a big city in modern times. I make it work for sure, and do often have to combat burnout and imbalance, but I have to be more mindful sometimes than others. As I get older I get a tired faster or more run down physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually than some people. Therefore, I have to sometimes make the choice to do less running around for my career than I used to in order to preserve my energy and overall personal needs. Essentially, I used to bend over backwards to make my career come true, often sacrificing other needs. Now, I seek more balance, rest, positivity, and pacing in my life than I did before. This sometimes means I don’t put myself out there for as many opportunities as I used to, because I don’t want to compromise my personal needs as much. I am a fighter though, so I’m still out here in the trenches pursuing my dreams.

I have also been sometimes overlooked in the arts and entertainment industry for certain roles as I am 4’11” and not a lean body type. While I try to maintain a healthy weight and body image, stay fit and strong/active, I do have to work harder as I get older in order to maintain an image of being “in shape” for my line of work. I cannot change my height and I have always had some curves. I will not be fighting against my natural figure in order to get a performing job. Looks do play a component of my industry and I obviously won’t be right for every part. I have found that a lot of entertainment based gig work companies often discriminate on booking dancers of a petite stature unless they also have a specialized skill. For instance, very few will hire a petite woman for “showgirl” type gigs for practical reasons, but also because of an old beauty standard in my opinion. I definitely have not been able to attend certain dance calls due to not meeting the height requirements (common for cruise ship auditions). I have definitely experienced my height or shape being overlooked or considered a “hindrance” for certain jobs in my field. I have been directly told comments that were inconsiderate or un-warranted regarding my height or shape. Even though the dance world is changing to become more inclusive, I find certain spaces still look for extremes and less nuance when it comes to size/shape/height. For certain dance jobs or agencies they actually want you to be either conventionally fit/toned looking or in a plus sized category, whereas sometimes those in the middle or not fitting a certain category are overlooked. Thankfully, I have found my way in the spaces that do accept me for my height and shape, despite dealing with rejection for it as well. It hasn’t been easy to not look like the “traditional professional dancer” of the past, but all I do is focus on being healthy and creating my own opportunities or going for the spaces that do welcome me. It is important for me to work in spaces that embrace diversity in more ways than one, whether it be racial, ethnic, gender related, height, body type, and ability from being able bodied or disabled, and more. I personally want to be part of communities that embrace inclusivity and who want to ditch old ideas of exclusivity.

The last struggle has mostly been financial. Coming out of the pandemic it has been even harder than ever to fight against inflation, rising cost of living in NYC, and job uncertainty as a freelancer and arts worker in these times. Opportunities seem to be a bit more scarce, the competition is excessively high (especially for cis women in the field), and the working rates are not often matching the increased cost of living. Without getting into too much detail, it has been a great challenge over the years to find stable income streams that grant the flexibility needed for being an active arts worker, while also booking work that fairly pays the value of what we as artists pour into our craft. This has historically been a challenge that I believe still continues to this day (we see this as an issue across the media still such as the recent strikes, perpetual arts funding cuts, and pay disparity between pro athletes vs. pro dancers (who are also athletes). Overall, lack of financial security and various protections (healthcare and more) have been a huge issue in my field and for my journey to keep pursuing my dreams.

As you know, we’re big fans of HartHeals Productions. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

I run a side business (in addition to my own name/brand as an independent arts worker) called HartHeals Productions. What you should know about it: it is an extension of what I already do. I already work as primarily a dancer, a dance teacher, and sometimes as an actor or model. I have thankfully been able to book myself and my networks various independent jobs/contracts without the help of an agent or manager (I only freelance with agencies for myself, but book all my work on my own or through companies or websites currently). This originally began as my own heels classes “HartHeels” where I was teaching heels dance classes to my community in 2019. As time went on and my passions kept expanding and becoming more clear, the name “HartHeels” no longer served the bigger vision.

The bigger vision morphed into collaborative events (online during the pandemic), dance concept videos with other dance artists, and dance classes in other dance genres. As such an independent go-getter type, by 2022 I started to discover that I was able to serve as a bit of a manager, producer, talent booker, casting director for many independent creative projects. I started working with clients in anything from PR events to modeling events to parties and more. I started negotiating rates for the talent, building a talent roster, solidifying contracts, sometimes supplying costuming, and coordinating all logistics between my talent network, myself, and clients (both individual and corporate).

I would say that from 2022-now I am most known in HartHeals Productions for delivering excellent professional talent and work to clients while also fairly and appropriately compensating talent. My greatest passion and desire in the arts is to advocate for the well-being and rights of arts workers.

As someone who has worked for hire as an artist for 9 years (8 in NYC), I still see many performing artists/entertainers not getting paid the rates they deserve for the time they put into their craft. After dealing with so many situations in the industry where my time wealth was sucked out or often having been underpaid for my value, I have veered away from this model in my own career as much as I can. I now seek to inspire other talent to do the same. I believe we are only stronger together, so if I am able to set a precedent for equitable working rates for my community and myself, then hopefully together we can agree to these terms and start working with clients who value our efforts and skills.

I think what sets me apart is that I take the time to negotiate and go above and beyond in the details of a job to make sure that my talent is taken care of, that I am also protected, and that the client gets what they asked for and more. I seek to work with transparency and aim to avoid work that would compromise the above standards and values I am working to withhold and practice.

I think to wrap it all up, I am most proud that my brand does not fit into a box. I am essentially putting a name to the hustle and grind that we as artists do day to day. We have to advocate for ourselves and our careers, many of us do more than one thing, and we are capable of working in multiple realms. For me that has meant working in performance art to flashmob choreography and producing to event performance, modeling through HartHeals Productions. In my own artistic career, it has expanded far beyond those mediums. I do not limit my experience or what I am capable of (or the talent I bring on board) because I know we are resourceful and capable people who will do a job with professionalism, integrity, and excellence.

Through HartHeals Productions, I engage in work with trustworthy talent and clients. I only take on projects I believe I can do. I do not believe so many things in life must fit in a box or be categorized perfectly (even though society conditions us to categorize to make sense of the world). We are capable of experiencing our careers without so many narrow limitations. I focus on the work, the opportunity, and I follow through with an earnest and thoughtful nature in how I do business. I find that is what I am most proud of.

Who else deserves credit in your story?

I have several people to thank for my success and artistic path. The first I believe goes out to my parents. Without their loving support and encouragement from my childhood to now, I’m not sure how I would be doing half of what I have done. While we were not wealthy and had moments of setbacks, we were thankfully comfortable enough most of my life to be able to have exposure to some extracurricular activities. Often my parents were creative in how they got lessons for me, like my dad built a dance studio above one of my dance teacher’s garages in exchange for me getting private ballet classes. My parents always ensured that my brother and I were exposed to the arts and creativity from a young age even though they weren’t artists themselves. They saw that I loved the arts (particularly the performing arts) and they never doubted me. I know many people can’t say that about those who raised them. They instilled the value of creativity be it through dance, music, or visual art, writing, or theater. They made endless sacrifices to help support our ambitions as their children, and they instilled spirituall, mental, and emotional toughness and resilience into us.

While I have been blessed to have countless teachers over the years and people who inspire me (many I would like mentorship from), my parents supersede it all (in my perspective). Why? Because they have loved me, supported me, and stood by me unconditionally my whole life without expecting anything in return. In fact, my mother pushed me to apply for a university I thought was way above my league because she knew I was capable, and I got in/graduated from there with my BFA in Dance. While my parents were never “stage parents” or the model of “dance mom” or “dance dad” about what you see in the media, they did stood by and showed interest in my dreams from a young age to now. I am eternally grateful for that. They had nothing to gain from it other than the satisfaction of loving their children and believing in their children’s dreams, even when it’s been super challenging.

Some others along the way I must thank for various reasons are my teachers in the arts from growing up to now (ex. CCSDSOA, Dance Lab, Charleston Youth Company, RevLatina, and also the directors of Gotham Dance Theater and Alterra Productions). These folks have known me in the most formative times in my art from when I had an immense passion for dance as a child to taking dance really seriously in high school to my early career days and to now. I don’t want to name names so no one’s privacy is shared without their consent, but the list is huge. I really hope they know who they are! These individuals and communities gave me chances when others doubted me and have given me endless opportunities to keep developing myself and my confidence through the years.

I feel I wouldn’t be anything without my village and the countless friends, families, teachers, mentors, peers, bosses, and communities who have opened doors for me and helped me to pave the way. Even to those who have challenged me or caused me pain for stress over the years, they have all shaped me and taught me the lessons I needed to learn to move towards a brighter future. I am grateful for each person and experience along this kooky journey.

Pricing:

• Contact me via my website or social media for my rates. Thank you!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilyhartlopez.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyhartlopez/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilyhartlopez/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxuexubVk58PCol6scPhLSg
• Other: https://linktr.ee/emilyhartlopez

Image Credits

Mable Pang- @mable_pang (black dress photo)

Mike Esperanza-@esp_bymike (purple backdrop & blue outfit images)

Darryl Justin Padilla-@darryljpadilla (black & white dance class image)

@fernyc_photographer (flashmob image)

Stephen Kalogridris -@stephen_kalogridis (hair models group photo)

LK Supreme Studios- @lksuprememedia (solo on stairs photo)