Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alison Stroming. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes I have to earn a full-living and I am so grateful to be able to work and support myself. As a professional ballerina I have had the opportunity to travel, perform, and work with some incredible artists and brands. Most of my jobs now come from social media and I am so grateful to have a platform. The journey of a dancer is challenging, but rewarding. I have devoted pretty much my entire life to ballet but all of the training, dedication, and years of hard work have paid off. Of course there was rejection along the way, and a lot of dream companies and roles I had hoped to dance but it all works out in the end. However, my passion for dance has turned into other side projects within the dance community including teaching dance, choreographing, and designing and starting my own dance wear brand, AS Dancewear. Looking back, there are a few things that might have sped up the process if I were to do it again including investing in learning more about the business early on to have the right knowledge and skills can help avoid common pitfalls. I continue to push myself everyday to learn and grow but, I am fortunate to be at a point where I am able to do what I love full-time and make a living from it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am professional dancer, model, and entrepreneur and was born in Recife, Brazil and raised in the heart of New York City! My brothers were professional tap dancers so my mom enrolled me in dance classes just for fun when I was three years old and I immediately fell in love. I was incredibly shy as a kid so dance was a huge outlet for me. I started my formal ballet training at nine years old at the School of American Ballet. After three years at SAB, I accepted a full tuition scholarship to the JKO School at American Ballet Theatre where I continued her studies.
As a professional ballerina, I have danced with many major ballet companies including Alberta Ballet, Ballet San Jose, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.I have also had the privilege to perform across the country and overseas in Spain, Lithuania, Guatemala, Tel Aviv, Poland, Budapest, and Italy. In 2011, I booked my first national ad campaign with Tumi Luggage and since then has been featured in national campaigns for Canon, Under Armour, Free People Movement, Adidas, McDonalds, and American Eagle, which was featured on Times Square billboards.
I also can be seen in projects dancing for JLo, Mariah Carey, Kendrick Lamar, Brent Faiyaz, and Kanye West. In addition to dance In also love to teach dance, choreograph, and even designed and founded my own dance wear line, AS Dancewear, which launched in 2018.

I continue to dance and even judge on several ballet and dance competitions which is a full circle moment for me because I feel like I am going back to where it all started, but with a completely different perspective and set of experiences. It’s been beautiful to see where my career has taken me and I continue to push myself everyday to be the best version of myself.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started posting videos on Instagram back when Instagram was pretty new! I would just post quick 5-10 second videos in the dance studio after practice and started gaining views. From there I continued to post more behind the scenes of my life as a ballerina as most people don’t know what we truly do. Everything from my ballet outfit, to preparing my pointe shoes, I was able to share with my audience a perspective of a professional ballerina that is not your normal everyday life. My advice for those just starting to build their social media presence is to just be authentically you, be patient, and post your content!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Yes, I think one thing that non-creatives may struggle to fully understand about the journey of a creative is the emotional and mental investment that goes into the work which I have learned from being a dancer. Creativity isn’t just about producing something visually appealing or the finished product, it is personal and often a vulnerable process. Pouring energy, time, and emotion into a piece of work can be deeply satisfying, but it can also be exhausting, frustrating, or even disheartening. Creatives often face self-doubt, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome, which can make the process feel like an emotional rollercoaster. My biggest big of advice that I had to learn the hard way is that it’s okay to take step away and take breaks. It’s hard to be productive when you’re mentally or emotionally drained, so don’t be afraid to take a break whether that’s a short walk, a day off, or even a week where you don’t touch your work. It’s okay to recharge. Remember, rest is part of the creative process. You may feel guilty for stepping away, but those breaks often lead to fresh perspectives and new ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alisonstroming.com & https://www.asdancewear.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisonstroming
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alisonstroming
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-stroming-2670a299/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/alibear331
• Other: Tiktok
  https://www.tiktok.com/@alisonstroming