We were lucky to catch up with Alyssa Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alyssa, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I choreographed a piece this past year to the song Separate Ways by Journey. The version I used was a remixed take on the song that was used in a Stranger Things trailer. I heard this remix for the first time 4 months prior to the start of rehearsals and I thought to myself wow that is such an impactful song that makes me feel something. The concept behind this piece is a classic story of good vs evil. We see 8 dancers dressed in red, and one dancer dressed in white. Throughout the piece, the red dancers are trying to corrupt the dancer in white and turn her ‘red’ essentially. The piece ends with the dancer in white ‘defeating’ all the 8 dancers in red, thus representing a message of hope: we can defeat negative forces in our lives.
For the concept and choreography behind this piece, I was ‘inspired’ by my personal experiences at the time. Last year, I was struggling mentally, and truly having my own battle of fighting to stay positive even though I was feeling very negative. Out of this struggle, Separate Ways was born. I believe in drawing from personal experiences, that is how impactful art is born.
Alyssa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started dancing at the late age of 11 in Hip-Hop. From there, I went on to pursue a career in ballet throughout my teens, which landed me training with Ballet Austin, American Ballet Theater and more. When I turned 18, I had an ankle injury which forced me to rethink my path. I made the decision to move to NYC and study musical theater at AMDA. In the meantime I had already started studying with Grand Canyon University online, to which I continued when I started at AMDA. So, I did two colleges at once which had me on my toes constantly (no pun intended)! During the pandemic, I relocated to Nashville to safely pursue professional opportunities in the dance and film industry and continue to study for my bachelor’s degree. Today, I am a professional dancer, choreographer, as well as a teacher to dancers in the greater Nashville area. I just graduated from Grand Canyon University with a Bachelors of Arts in Digital Film, summa cum laude.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
From my personal experience, I have found that some non-creatives find the life and career of a creative to be unstable when it comes to money. Many family and friends of mine have given me advice to do something else, however, I have found my job(s) to be very lucrative, more so than if I got a non-creative job. In the arts industry, it is important to stay consistent. I would be lying if I said it was easy, it is definitely not. There are years that will suck and people will tell you to do something else, but a creative must be smart with their money and keep going as times get tough. Then, inevitably, they will find success.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I don’t believe it was invented yet when I was a teen, but today, I religiously use online dance platforms such as CLI studios, Space TV, T.Milly, etc. Since my working hours are typically at night, I find it hard to go take class to train, (which is very important as a professional dancer to stay in “dance shape”). Using these online dance studios during the day, have truly helped me and have pushed me in the past year. I truly recommend it for anyone looking to pursue dance but can’t get to the in-person studio due to work, they have all levels and helpful videos! If I had this as a teen, I would have totally been these taking extra classes for extra training. 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/queenalyssarose
- Youtube: YouTube.com/alyssarosebb
Image Credits
Michelle Ayers, Grand Canyon University