Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Ly Peedu
Chrissy Ly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started dancing when I was 2 years old and I have not stopped ever since. Within that time I’ve done pretty much everything, I started off with Show Dance in Siki Tantsustuudio (Siki Dance Studio). Then I became interested in Ice Hockey out of all things and from there my snowball started rolling because I saw figure skaters daily so obviously I told my mom that I want to do Figure Skating, however the words “Figure Skating” and “Rhythmic Gymnastics” are very similar in Estonian, therefore as a kid, I kept mixing them up. Naturally, my mom put me into both of them then. Having Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics teachers for years, has made me incredibly flexible to this very day. Back in the day, all the hardcore stretching that the teachers pushed us to do felt like the worst and most painful thing in my whole life, I even hated the teachers for it. Now I love the teachers for it since I’m almost always the most flexible person in the room. The road to paradise is never easy or fun, it took a lot of tears to get to the level I am now.
All of a sudden, in addition to everything else, I ended up getting accepted into a professional ballet school. Which is ironic, since the only two reasons I went to the tryouts were because I wanted to prove to my mom that I am good enough and I wanted to make new friends. That’s proof of a butterfly effect because such a seemingly small and random decision in my life as a child, turned out to be the biggest influence in altering the whole course of my life. I ended up graduating from Tallinn Ballet School eight years later, all while keeping my grades up in general subjects and doing other things on the side. No matter how many times I thought that I hated Ballet, hated dance and wanted to go back to a normal school and become a pilot or something, I kept pushing through. As my mom would always say, finish one thing properly before quitting and moving onto the next thing. There is no greatness without struggle. Everything worked out unexpectedly perfect, I was one of only 3 new women to get accepted into the Estonian National Ballet company the year of, I have a very strong dance base in several styles now and all those things make my resume stand out.
As I had been doing ballet professionally for about 10 years and performed other dance styles for even longer, I decided to try out something new, which was acting. Therefore I got an Associate’s Degree in Method Acting from the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Hollywood, CA. However, almost every single short film, a movie or a series I’ve done, I’ve played the role of a ballerina. I can never escape from ballet, even if I really wanted to. Now, many of the films I’ve acted in have been screened at and won awards in various international and national film festivals.
Since after hustling in LA for 3 years, I still couldn’t escape from dance just yet, I decided to try out the dance industry in Las Vegas, NV. Within my first couple of months being here, I got offered a weekly job with Hagan Entertainment, performing in Papi Steak. I also might have a spot in an even bigger show if they’ll still want me after I get my new visa approved. However, don’t get it mixed up, it wasn’t easy, the offer did not just fall into my lap. It took dozens of auditions, dance classes and submissions before that. One must get hundreds of “no’s” before that one “yes” but that one “yes” is going to push the ball rolling and change everything for the better. Never give up, most failures don’t happen because of the lack of skill, but instead they happen because of quitting too early.
In conclusion, every great thing I’ve ever done and achieved is only through sweat and tears, hard work and staying consistent. If I don’t make things happen for myself then noone else will. I have people who fully support me, however they can’t get me job offers, they can’t make my skills better, only I can do that. If I want something, I must take steps towards it every single day! Some days I do feel very unmotivated, but as long as I take even a very little step towards my goal, I’m good, because a little bit a day is better than nothing. Atleast I’m moving forward.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been the complete opposite of a smooth road.
One of the biggest struggles is sticking to my choice when times get hard. As soon as something starts feeling impossible or the complications are piling up or I keep being unhappy for a while, my brain tells me that the grass is going to be greener on the other side, that I would be better off doing something else. Which is wrong. Even on the other side, I would have to work hard for the grass to be green, water that grass every day and so on. Additionally, I would have to start growing that grass from the ground up, whereas on my current side the grass is already grown, I just have to keep maintaining it.
For example in the ninth grade, in my head I was so done with dancing and everybody who was trying to convince me to be a better dancer was annoying to me. So I decided that I am going to hard quit ballet & dance, go back to a normal school and take up ice hockey again, just as a way to be like “in your face” to everyone. I even registered myself to the tryouts of a couple elite schools. However, I never showed up to those. I realized that this would contribute nothing good to my life in the long run, I would not know how to be anything else, other than a performer. Even after graduating ballet school, I thought that what if I quit and become a pilot instead. Luckily I had taken a wrong math exam, which was not acceptable for the flight school that I was looking into. In case I would have gone through with those drastic changes, I would have had to start building my skills from the ground up again. I would have gone through the same ups and downs as I did with dancing but the difference is, in dance, I have a huge head start, I already know how to do it and I have put all of my life into training it, so in the end I have less stress and less work sticking to that.
Another struggle was that I had to realize that if I am a performer, I need to be taking classes and keeping myself in shape even after graduating schools. When I had my ballet school’s or acting school’s set schedule then everything was easy – I didn’t have a choice, I had to show up to my classes and train. After graduation, though, the certainty was gone, I had to find my own classes and make myself my own schedule. I had to overcome the thought that “oh, I don’t need to take classes anymore, I’m already good enough & I’m already a working performer anyways.” A performer is never “done”, there are always things to perfect, new skills to learn and room for improvement.
For example, there was a period where I was not really taking any dance classes, yet I was still auditioning for big things such as the Radio City Rockettes in NYC. My first year auditioning for them I, for obvious reasons, did not get to the final round. Then I started taking classes every day again and I was working more on myself and the next time I auditioned for the Rockettes, I got to the final round. Which is already a huge improvement, since the competition for that is very high. I probably got cut then because of my lack of Tap-Dancing, since I’ve never actually trained Tap, I only trained it a little bit specifically for that audition. However now, for the upcoming Rockettes audition I know what to expect and I have been actually taking more and more Tap Dance classes to be prepared.
The journey to something impressive is always going to have all types of struggles, otherwise every single person would be on the top. The important thing is to always keep on going. You can’t let anything or anyone bring you down because it is your life and your choices. Your outcome will be as good as the amount of work you put into the whole journey.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My specialty is performing. I believe that what sets me apart from a lot of others is the fact that I am a double-threat (on my way to becoming a triple-threat). As I’ve mentioned before, versatility gives you more opportunities. In the acting industry I’m known as the actor who can do ballet, so often whenever someone is making a movie where they need a ballerina, there is someone else who will recommend me. In the dance industry I’m known as the dancer who is very flexible. So whenever there is a gig where a contortionist or ‘cool tricks’ are needed, they will reach out to me. I have added strength training & weight lifting to my list now aswell, I go to the gym almost every day so I’m hoping that I can start incorporating that into my performance opportunities aswell. Obviously, that makes my body look better for the stage and camera but additionally I’m trying to make my way to gym-related commercials & I am going to try creating my own fitness brand. How sick would that be when I’m a professional dancer who is also extremely strong and can act & sing.
In acting I specialise in Method acting, like many of the greatest actors of all time. I went to the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute and everybody knows that Lee Strasberg is called the Father of Method Acting. So I dove deep into specifically that technique for years, I didn’t just learn it superficially. I would consider myself more of a comedic & action actor and a commercial actor, however thanks to having an actual technique I now feel very confident in drama aswell. In my regular life I’ve always had a problem with accessing sad emotions and crying, probably because I was raised with the saying “crying gets you nowhere & it helps with nothing”. Obviously this transferred into my acting aswell, but deeply learning everything about Method acting, understanding the technique and having various accredited teachers for a couple of years in the institute finally helped me overcome that problem. I’m very proud of myself that now I can portray ‘deeper characters’ confidently.
In dance, I obviously used to specialise in Vaganova method of Ballet for years but now I’d say that I specialise in whatever is required of me. Since I keep on training different styles simultaneously, I am prepared for anything that is offered. If I’m offered a showgirl position, I switch my focus more on taking Heels and Burlesque classes, if I’m offered a cirque position, I focus more on Tumbling and Aerial Silks classes, etc, all while maintaining my other training aswell. I’m obviously very proud of my accomplishments in ballet – I’ve been a finalist in several international Ballet competitions, including in South Korea and Latvia, I’ve performed in Estonian National Opera’s and Ballet’s productions and so on. However I’m very happy that while doing all that, I managed to make and keep myself proficient in other dance skills aswell.
Lastly, I believe that my personality is a huge advantage of mine, compared to others in my field. Nobody wants to work with someone who is negative and brings down the energy in the room. Luckily, I am probably the most positive person I know. A lot of people have referred to me as “the happiest in the room”, “the ball of energy” or “the always smiling”. Even if everything in my life is crumbling down, as soon as I set my foot to work, no one will ever know that something is wrong. Nobody has time to deal with someone else’s bad mood or personal issues at work. Film sets, rehearsals and productions all have a time limit, not a single second is supposed to get wasted on nonsense. Positive people are easy and more efficient to work with.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
The best things come out of taking risks.
I had a great life made for myself in Estonia, I was going to be set for years, some might even say that I had a dream life ready in front of me. I had my position in the Estonian National Ballet company and a lead position in Dance Wonderland Kabaree (Cabaret). I took a risk with passing it all up, some might even say “throwing everything down the drain” and moved to the United States to try to make MY dream happen here. So far so good. I would definitely not go back in time to change anything about that decision. Taking that risk has for sure made my life harder, however atleast I went for something that I want in my life. Since I gave up everything to pursue my acting and dance career here in the States, it gives me even more motivation to work hard and make it happen because if I fail, I will end up with nothing and I can’t have that. Now the stakes are higher than ever so it fuels me even more. Due to me taking that risk, my face and work is being screened in the cinemas internationally, my skills are even more versatile, I get to dance on even bigger stages than Estonia has to offer, my inner child is happy that I made it to America, I refound my passion for dance, I’ve met inspiring people, etc.
Taking risks doesn’t always mean huge changes. For some people, taking a risk is missing a friend’s birthday or missing a special occasion because they chose to prioritise their career or training instead. And that is okay. Noone should ever get mad at anyone for prioritising themself. I’ve missed so many special days due to training, yet I still have very tight bonds with my friends, in addition to my career opportunities. Taking a risk could also mean picking up something new and sticking to it until you get it. For example, I started learning power moves in Break Dance, which is hard for me because I understand all the theory but I have problems applying everything practically. So I’m taking a risk with ‘wasting my time’ on practicing one singular move every week for months, while I could be doing so many other useful things instead. Even if the power move feels impossible for months, I keep going at it, until I get it. That’s taking a risk with one’s precious time. However I promise, if you keep consistently grinding, you’ll eventually learn the skill, just like I did with the power moves such as Windmills and Crickets.
I encourage everyone to take risks towards your true dreams, even if everyone around you tries to talk you out of it or make it seem like your dreams are unrealistic. No dream is unachievable if you’re serious about it. It’s better to try and fail, than to not try at all because by trying, you are upping your chances of making it happen. You don’t want to one day be old and full of regrets, noone is going to be old and think: “Thank God that I did not take that risk and lived an average basic life without any great changes for years.” Even if you take a life-changing risk and you end up not reaching your end goal fast enough, you will have an amazing experience, you tried something new & exciting and you learned from it so you know what to do better next time.
If it’s a huge move towards your goal then “just send it”!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/chrissyly
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrissy_ly/
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@ChrissyLyPeedu
- Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm13858698/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_1_in_0_q_chrissy%2520Ly%2520Peedu
Image Credits
Backbends in the studio: DMain Focus
Outside in light blue dress: Aleksander Pedosk
Pirates: Toma Kostygina
In the studio with white background: Edyth Raamat