We were lucky to catch up with Tudor Alexander recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tudor, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I have taught dance for over 15 years and it has been an incredibly meaningful career. I love working with beginners and sculpting them into superstars, because the memories are priceless and it is so much more satisfying to create excellence for someone who has had no previous experience or never even thought that was possible for their lives. Especially in my case, I have worked with mostly women who have gone through divorce, career transitions or life changes and ultimately they desired to have their confidence back and sense of meaning. Dance helped to provide that and in a very powerful way, so I am grateful I get to do what I love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started dancing as a way to get an easy “A” in school and meet some girls, and it quickly turned into an addiction :). I got into performing and competing, and within a few years after graduating college I was a professional competing across the country with students and training for big events. I have taught for over 15 years today and my specialty is in working with women who want their confidence back. I believe dance can be a powerful modality of healing, and the truth is that ballroom Latin dances are both mentally and physically challenging so they keep you in shape as well as give you structured ways to meet very big goals. I have trained people who had no experience in dancing to compete on huge stages and it is always fun to see people’s eyes open to things they never thought possible before.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing for me is being a teacher. I really enjoy working with beginners especially, because I enjoy helping them learn things they never thought possible. For me the journey of a beginner is very exciting because everything becomes new again and you get to share in that journey together. Even though I have taught dance for over 15 years, it is always a new journey with someone who has never danced before and that’s always fun. I also enjoy the freedom of expression I have as an artist and being an entrepreneur means I can schedule my time and work as I see fit which is a big bonus, as many in my industry are slaving away in highly restrictive studios with contracts and non-competes and all sorts of things that sadly turn a beautiful thing (dancing) into often a burden.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best thing you can do is to incorporate art into your life. The arts in America are not appreciated. We appreciate cheap pop culture and people dancing on TikTok for 20 seconds, but we do not appreciate true art. True art is supposed to leave an impression on your soul, it is supposed to touch you in a specific way and do something positive in your life. I play the piano, I write and I used to paint. Today I don’t have too much time to do everything I want to do, but the point is that art is also something that you must participate in actively not just passively. Today we live in a consumer culture and sit on our phones, rather than going to a museum, a dance class or to see the orchestra play. Very sad, but it is the world we live in. Should we want to keep these beautiful things alive we must actively participate in them ourselves and support those who are genuine artists to keep doing what they are doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.danceoflife.com/dance

Image Credits
Dancing with my various students at previous events throughout the state and country