We were lucky to catch up with Julie Colotroc recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Julie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
As dancers, I think taking risks is part of our journey. At least, it has always been part of mine.
After two and a half years at Rudra Béjart School in Switzerland and a global pandemic, I booked my first professional contract in a Broadway production. To be honest, I was terrified. Some of my mentors were worried that I would lose part of what I had spent the previous fourteen years building because the world of musical theater is very different from the world I came from.
At that moment, I was full of doubts. When I auditioned, I didn’t even really know what a Broadway show was. Yet somehow, I got the job and started rehearsals without being sure of anything.
The Lion King was reopening in Paris after fifteen years, and we became the original cast of this new era.
To this day, it remains one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I discovered another level of discipline, and I also discovered who I was becoming as a young woman. The people I met there became so much more than colleagues. They became family.
Even though my life in Paris was wonderful, I still felt that something was missing. I couldn’t let go of a dream that had been living inside me for years.
So I made the decision to move to New York.
I chose to humble myself and leave behind the comfort and success I had found in Paris in order to begin a completely new chapter at The Ailey School.
From professional dancer back to student.
It wasn’t easy.
The transition was rough. It was a risk. At times, I felt too old to be back in school, too vulnerable, and very far away from the life I had built in Paris.
But a new version of Julie Colotroc started to bloom.
I had to be patient. I had to work even harder than I already had. I had to learn to stay calm and trust the process. Every uncomfortable situation became an opportunity to pause, reflect, and understand why things were happening the way they were.
I went from being a 17-year-old girl learning excerpts from one of my favorite Alvin Ailey works, Night Creature, during a summer intensive with The Ailey School in Paris, to performing the piece years later as a lead dancer with the Ailey Student Performance Group. I even got to perform an excerpt of the iconic Revelations (“I’ve Been ‘Buked”) at the Barclays Center in front of 16,000 people for Juneteenth, among so many other incredible experiences. Looking back, it all helped me slowly understand why my journey unfolded the way it did.
I joined The Ailey School as a scholarship student, and during my final year, I was honored to receive the Joan Weill Scholarship, an award given to only one student each year.
And to finish that year, I received an apprenticeship with the junior company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Even when I questioned my decisions, life somehow kept showing me that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Today, I deeply believe in humility, patience, and having the courage to take risks in order to build the life you dream of. I am still working toward that dream every single day.
Julie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Dance has always been at the center of my life.
I discovered dance at the age of six, and I have never left it since. At first, it was just a hobby, but year after year, it became something I simply couldn’t live without.
I still remember when my grandfather bought me a VHS copy of Barbie and Swan Lake. After that, I started dancing around the house all the time until my mom finally asked me if I wanted to take my first ballet class. Of course, my answer was a big yes.
After that very first class, my teacher went to my parents and told them that I was gifted. She is a « prodigy » she said, I didn’t even know what it was but i was happy to hear it. She wanted to give me private lessons and encouraged me to begin competing, which marked the beginning of a journey that would shape so much of who I am today.
For the next twelve years, dance became my entire world. I would finish school, rush to catch a train for an hour-long ride to ballet and modern jazz classes, and often return home around 10 p.m. This was my routine almost every weekday, along with 7am morning classes on weekends.
I owe so much of that journey to my parents. No matter how tired they were, they always found a way to support me. More importantly, they taught me humility. No matter where dance takes me, I will never forget where I come from.
Throughout those years, I was fortunate to receive awards for artistry, technique, and musicality, but looking back, the trophies are not what stayed with me. What stayed with me is the discipline, the commitment, and the understanding that passion is something you choose every day.
One of the things that has always guided me is the feeling that dance is bigger than performance. For me, it has always been about connection.
That idea became even clearer throughout my training and professional experiences. After high school, I was accepted into Rudra Béjart School, where I trained from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., six days a week. Alongside dance, we studied Maurice Béjart’s repertoire, singing, percussion, kendo, and theater. It was an intense and transformative experience that expanded my understanding of what it means to be a complete artist.
During my time there, I had the opportunity to perform in incredible experiences. I danced in Switzerland for Piaget’s annual gala dinner, attended by guests such as Michael B. Jordan. I was also selected as one of only ten dancers out of more than forty students to perform for the coronation celebrations of Thailand’s new king in Bangkok. Later, I was chosen as one of only two students from the entire school to join a tour in Hong Kong with Béjart Ballet Lausanne before the pandemic brought everything to a stop.
Each experience taught me something different, but they all reinforced the same lesson: dance has the power to bring people together regardless of language, culture, or background.
Later, I joined the reopening cast of The Lion King in Paris. That experience introduced me to a completely different world of storytelling. Performing the same show night after night taught me how to keep a performance alive, truthful, and fresh. It also taught me the importance of community. The people I met there became family.
One of my greatest inspirations has always been Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I still remember seeing the company perform in Paris in 2017 and feeling deeply moved by the emotional honesty and humanity of the work.
Years later, I had the privilege of studying at The Ailey School, where I continued to grow not only as a dancer but also as a person.
That experience meant more to me than words can express because it represented the realization of a dream I had carried for many years.
Today, my artistic focus is rooted in authenticity, versatility, and human connection. I am drawn to work that tells stories, creates emotion, and allows people to see themselves reflected on stage.
Whether I am performing contemporary dance, ballet, or musical theater, my goal remains the same: to connect with people. One of the greatest compliments I can receive is being told that my dancing made someone feel something deep within themselves. That means so much to me because every time I step on stage, I feel deeply connected to what I am expressing. Being able to pass that feeling on to an audience is one of the greatest gifts and privileges of being a performer.
More than anything, dance has taught me gratitude. Gratitude for my family, my teachers, my mentors, my friends, and all the people who believed in me long before I believed in myself.
They have been part of this journey since day one, and everything I accomplish carries a piece of them with it.
Dance has given me purpose, community, and a voice. It continues to shape who I am every day, and I hope to keep sharing that passion with audiences for many years to come. At the same time, I never want to lose sight of the dream I’ve always carried within me. I want my journey to reflect that anything is possible when you believe, and that we should never give up, as long as we continue to nurture and stay true to the love we have for our art.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Today, thanks to social media and more open conversations, I think we are becoming more aware of the importance of a dancer’s mental health and how much it needs to be taken care of.
Having grown up between two generations of dancers, one very disciplined and demanding, where you are often pushed and you ignore your body, and another more focused on listening to yourself but sometimes struggling with structure and commitment.
I’ve come to realize how important balance really is.
Looking back, I wish I had known earlier about resources that support both sides of this balance: not only physical training, but also mental health tools, body awareness, and safe spaces where dancers can express themselves without feeling weak.
This is something I’ve also learned through experience. When i was younger, there were moments where I pushed through injuries or emotional exhaustion simply because I didn’t know there were other ways to approach training. Over time, I understood that taking care of myself is not a limitation, but a necessity.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is the importance of speaking up. In the dance world, it can sometimes feel difficult to express your needs, but I’ve realized that honesty, when done with respect, always leads to growth, both personally and artistically.
Ultimately, I’ve learned that discomfort is part of the process. The question is not whether it exists, but how you choose to respond to it and grow from it.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Absolutely. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of positive affirmations and reading about the Law of Attraction, positive self-talk, and the impact our mindset can have on the life we create for ourselves.
These resources have significantly influenced the way I approach both my career and my personal life. I strongly believe that our thoughts shape our actions, and ultimately our reality. Looking back, I wish I had discovered these concepts earlier, because I can clearly see how much my life has changed since I became more aware of the conversations I have with myself.
As dancers, it is very easy to fall into negative self-talk. We spend hours in front of mirrors, constantly evaluating ourselves and striving to improve. Over time, I realized that success is not only about technique, discipline, or hard work, it is also about the mindset we choose to cultivate every day.
Learning to replace self-criticism with constructive and positive thinking has helped me become more confident, resilient, and proactive in my career. It has taught me to focus on opportunities rather than limitations, and to trust my own path. I truly believe that the way we think matters, especially when we use our bodies to express emotions and tell stories. The body remembers everything, and the energy we carry within ourselves inevitably shows up in our art.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Juliecolotroc
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTQ275dDcRz/
Image Credits
Nir Arieli, Markus Thomas, Richart Pelchat, Myriam Celeste Art, Aya Yasuda