We recently connected with Andie Knudson and have shared our conversation below.

Andie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

On February 5th, 2020, I was enjoying a day off on a café patio in Jackson, Mississippi. I was nine months away from graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, navigating the uncertainty of what would come next. I was trying to establish creative rituals of my own—outside the scaffolding of arts education—and found myself sitting with a notebook in hand, writing what could only be described as amusingly bad poetry.

I wasn’t new to writing at the time, and it wasn’t that I lacked practice. But I was reconnecting with the kind of creative play that isn’t driven by outcomes—just the delight of doing. There was something sacred in how unpolished, unassuming, and free it felt—especially in contrast to the way I had been trained as a dancer to strive, polish, package, and perfect my work for performance.

Then, in a moment that felt almost cinematic, something clicked. Everything got quiet and clear, and I felt this deep, unmistakable knowing: I wanted to dedicate my life to art-making. Not just as a profession, but as a commitment. That no matter how hard it got, no matter the form it took, I would devote this lifetime to being an artist—to creating, to showing up for my community, to imagining new futures through the language of art. That day became a promise: to embody this path generously, in a thousand different ways.

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’m a dance artist, performer, arts administrator, educator, and founder of Andie K Media. My artistic journey began in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio singing and playing make-believe under my father’s ivory grand piano. My earliest creative expressions were steeped in movement, song, and storytelling, which opened doors to deep connection with both my developing identity and the creative expressions of those who raised me. My early years soon became a relentless pursuit of the magic I was privileged to experience within the performing arts – awakening a hunger I knew I would spend the rest of my life trying to satisfy.

This craving only grew throughout my adolescence, carrying me to Jackson, MS to receive a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University. In 2020, I moved to my current home base of Atlanta, GA to participate in the ImmerseATL Artist training program. My desire to learn from new creative processes and perspectives has continued to carry me to various corners of the world, including spending a summer in France working with Oriantheatre’s Paris Summer Academy and my time with staibdance in Sorrento, Italy.

My performance credits include work with EXCAVATE BODY, staibdance, Fly on a Wall & Alliance Theatre for the Very Young’s The Curious Cardinal, and a movement collaboration with Dominic Moore-Dunson on The Remember Balloons.

My creative practice has most recently been consumed by developing a long-form solo work, currently titled Love Letters to Doubt – exploring the complex dynamics between spirituality, identity, and belonging. My choreographic work is grounded in both thematic research and creative impulse; my movement seeks to capture earnest embodiments of truth-telling through the use of improvisational scores and contemporary dance forms.

I’m also proud to be known by many as “Miss Andie” and currently have the honor of leading as an Associate Artistic Director for Rise City Dance where I help shape curriculum and choreograph regularly for the pre-professional students. With over a decade of experience in dance education, I’m passionate about mentoring young artists and helping them cultivate both technical skill and creative agency.

Outside the studio, I’m the founder of Andie K Media. I work with artists, companies, and nonprofits to provide videography that’s both beautiful and budget-conscious, because I believe deeply that those doing transformative work in the arts deserve to be seen and celebrated.
Whether I’m onstage, behind the camera, or in the classroom, my work is about creating space for honesty, connection, and the shared magic that exists within the creative process.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The sacrament of unlearning has been a recurring theme in my creative life—an ongoing invitation to examine and release the inherited assumptions about how things are supposed to be. One of the most poignant unlearning processes I’ve experienced professionally has been deconstructing the idea of “success” that was handed to me early in my training. I used to believe success was a fixed destination: choose your target, aim carefully, and hope you strike true.

But what I’ve discovered in my early professional years is that success is not static—it’s a living, moving thing. It shifts, reshapes, and expands as I do. And more importantly, it’s something I get to define for myself. Letting go of the need to arrive at someone else’s version of success has opened up space for a more honest, spacious, and generative creative life.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

In my undergraduate choreography course, I stumbled upon a passage in The Intimate Act of Choreography by Lynne Anne Blom in which she defines art as “a means to convey magic, alertness, and nowness to people… and if they have those moments of being awake, maybe it could apply to the rest of their lives.” That idea embedded itself deep within me—and has since become a cornerstone of my creative mission.

In an increasingly disembodied culture and a society that often rewards apathy, distraction, and disconnection, I’ve experienced firsthand the revitalizing power of the arts. It has woken me up—kept me tender, curious, and courageously present. Through my creative work, I’ve learned to suspend certainty, strengthen my curiosity, and remain rooted in my embodied experience as I navigate the world around me.

My mission is to create and support work that awakens that same aliveness in others. I want my work to invite audiences back into their senses, back into their stories, and back into each other. I believe in the transformative potential of art to reorient us toward authenticity, toward community, and toward the sacred possibility of “what if….”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://andieknudson.com
• Instagram: @andieknudson @andiek.media

Image Credits

Main image upload: Dustin Chamgers

Teaching image: Rebecca Crawford Harman

Performance image w/ phone: Garett Walker

Orange dress & squirrel action shots: Christina J Massad

Red costume: Carly Wynans