We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashlea Sovetts. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashlea below.
Ashlea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
As a creative, there are many rewarding elements that may not fit into the mold of a conventional job setting. However, am I happier as a creative? I would say yes and no to being happy as an artist. That answer is two fold in the sense that being happy for me is something that comes down to the present moment but also is determined by making thoughtful decisions in preparation for more fulfilling moments in my future.
As an artist I feel happier in the ways that I am able to express myself through my medium of dance. I am happy as an artist when I am performing in real-time. I am happy as an artist when I teach and see the light bulb go off instantly with my students when they articulate something they have been working on for a while. I am happy as an artist when I see what I have designed come to fruition on stage and it is witnessed by others in the audience. I am happy as an artist when I am able to discuss my process and answer questions about the work I make. I am happy as an artist when artists receive funding to begin creating what they dream about.
However, being happy in those moments are sometimes short lived. As an artist I believe there is a second side to that question of being happy and fulfilled for the long run; sometimes that isn’t always talked about.
In my experience, being happy comes down to what your priorities are at that moment in time and if you are capable of fulfilling those priorities. I think happiness is an ever changing flow of ideas that one must grasp onto and take for a ride. One thing that made me happy before may not be the same thing that makes me happy now. And that’s okay. There is a constant state of poking and prodding through symptoms of rediscovering oneself, which could lead to other ways of finding happiness outside our normal artsphere. In other words, perhaps it may take more than what you’re doing with your passion as an artist to maintain happiness now and in your future.
This is a heavy concept for me, as I am still trying to grasp the full effectiveness of what happiness outside my comfort art realm really entails. Also, grappling with the fact that I am loyal to dance and all the dedicated hard work I have put into my career thus far. To be an artist is wholeheartedly surrendering to things that are outside your realm of control. Especially today with how the economy is inflated making day to day living more expensive. The job market for artists is continuously narrow and forcing artists to find work elsewhere. And, the lack of awareness or desire of non-artists to go out of their way to support the very thing I (or you) do best.
Something I’ve noticed that often goes without much discussion in the arts field, is using the transferable skills gained as an artist to shift towards potentially another career to make a comfortable livelihood. This is something I am constantly thinking about as an artist. What will make me happy and give me purpose and lead me toward fulfilling my long term goals even if it doesn’t always revolve around dance?
The choices that I make now to move towards a career where I could set myself up for success to be fulfilled in my future (i.e. retirement savings, travel fund, home in Italy, etc) are ultimately where my priorities are shifting. And because of this, it makes me want to discover what my life could be like if I chose to put energy into learning more about a new field while continuing to pursue my goals as an artist.
Furthermore, this notion doesn’t make me less happy as a creative, but rather a more practical and forward thinking individual who cares about the visions of her future. But now, I’m curious what else is out there in the sea of unknown to also make me happy, help me find sustainability and purpose while still keeping dance in my back pocket.
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 background and context?
My dance story began when my mother attempted to enroll me in my first dance class. However, the dance teacher said “she’s not ready”, and gave my mother her money back. Apparently, when I was two years old I had my own personal agenda. That still remains true today as I have continued to step into a dance studio twenty-nine years later.
Despite the speed bump, I asked my mother to register me for dance classes again. By this time I was older, ‘more mature’. I was accepted at a local dance studio, Elite Dance Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where I participated in recreational classes and dance competitions. I enjoyed competing and being a part of a group, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I began to feel I needed more of an outlet to express myself and process emotions.
It was during that time in my life where I experienced isolation as a teenager. Unfortunately, a deep seeded wound of being bullied and feeling as though I wasn’t enough brought forward the aspiration to want to change environments and connect with others who would accept me, for me. But most importantly I wanted to be in an environment where I could ultimately process, express and heal myself.
When the opportunity to change schools arose, I jumped. It was the best decision I ever made to attend the Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology where I became a dance major under the direction of one of my dearest dance teachers, Ivy Hale.
During my time at the academy, I was given an opportunity to not only process my emotions, but express myself and grow as an artist. There, Ms. Hale introduced me to modern dance, improvisation and choreography practices that enabled my creativity in a nurturing environment. I connected with other students who were like minded and were accepting of who I was and the work I created. This experience changed me, and I wanted to learn more. I never thought I could go to college for dance, but with reassurance from Ms. Hale and my family, I decided to attend Winthrop University and major in dance.
My time at Winthrop University was a beautiful experience. I really blossomed as a dancer. In particular, one class really sparked my interest, seeing the other side of being an artist to being an advocate. During an advocacy class I learned how to articulate why dance matters and how to educate others about the importance of arts in our society.
After graduating from Winthrop, I transitioned to live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where I worked in arts administration at Fringe Arts and the performance space the (former) Iron Factory. I gained experience working with financial managers, production coordinators, grant writers and artists. This challenging type of arts administrative work along with advocacy motivated me.
My time in Philadelphia was short lived because I had aspirations to pursue my Master in Fine Arts in dance, which led me to Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. Prior to entering this experience, I found myself longing for an environment where I could connect with others, learn, and process in hopes to discover more of what makes me, well me.
While at TWU, I was grateful to find a community yet again where I could grow as a person, artist, educator and professional. I absorbed a plethora of ideas, formulated critical questions and opened my mind up to new perspectives. I was fortunate to specialize in choreography and refined my creative process every semester by making a new dance work. Also, I developed my own dance pedagogy utilizing social justice art teaching practices and led courses in contemporary and ballet as a graduate teaching assistant. I was the Recruitment Coordinator for the Department of Dance where I assisted advising all prospective doctoral, master and bachelor students. I led departmental events, and coordinated with dance faculty, students, admissions and all DFW area school teachers. I learned how to be an artistic professional, create and articulate my work effectively, and learned to educate and connect more deeply with others. My graduate school experience was extremely challenging, but highly rewarding.
My time after graduate school was a major shift as I had to deconstruct the expectations of what dance outside of school may look and feel like. Going from a constant state of creative juices flowing to time of stillness and deep reflection (and a pandemic being thrown into the mix) I found myself on the rollercoaster of understanding and undoing. I realized though, what I was craving, yet again, was another community of people to learn from, create with and move toward more personal understanding.
I found this after receiving the Emerging Artist grant award through the South Carolina Arts Commission. During this particular program, I was paired with artists within my state to discuss our backgrounds and experiences as artists, discover more about our creative process and receive mentorship and professional development tools for success.
This program helped pave the way to other opportunities as well. I am proud of my creative work, as it has been supported by the South Carolina Arts Commission, Alternate Roots, the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. Also, I am proud of my service to the dance field as I am a World Dance Alliance Americas board member, a National Dance Education Organization Advocacy committee member and the former president for the Grand Strand Charter Arts board.
All of these accomplishments are rewarding, however the thing I am most proud of is my innate ability to connect with people. Accepting this, I realized that my sensitivity and emotional awareness of myself in relation to others drives the work that I do as an artist. I am a person who is able to flow between a variety of different communities. I take time to connect with individuals that I encounter throughout my day. I do this by asking meaningful questions. I offer to dig deeper in their investigations of self, because I think that ultimately everyone is craving a sense of an authentic human connection, understanding and belonging.
As an artist, I believe the body is an encyclopedia for knowing, learning and transforming ideas all built from experiences we face in our lives. Therefore, my creative process relies on the impetus to create from what we already know in order to cultivate meaningful relationships on and off stage in real-time.
My creative process begins with a thought provoking question or inspiration and leads to creating a foundation with mindful discussion as a way to establish trust within the dance studio. During these discussions I prompt the dancers to reflect on their experiences, giving them an opportunity to be seen, heard and understood. My dances develop by translating their experiences through the body by recalling specific words and detailed sentences as a way to begin our narrative. I do this to spark agency in choice-making and give the dancers an opportunity to apply their input throughout the process. It is important to me to use these strategies within my creative process because I want each of the dancers to know their voice has value. I use this to serve as my purpose as a human and artist. I have found this is a rewarding way to not only create dances, but to hone in on the details of others’ lives to succumb to our human experience together in an artful way.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
A goal that is continuous that drives my creative journey is my aspiration to create something new; an international study abroad dance program in Italy. This idea stems from the highlight of my first trip to Italy in 2013, for the Staibdance two-week dance intensive. That life-changing summer led to a partnership I’ve enjoyed for 10 years with the Staibdance program and its director, George Staib, as well as the communities of the greater area of Napoli, in the commune of Massa Lubrense, specifically Sorrento.
The importance of this program was made evident by the mayor of Massa Lubrense, who appeared each summer to speak with the community and thank the Staibdance performers. In 2019, during the program’s 10-year anniversary, Mayor Lubrense declared, “The dancers have brought life back to St. Agata!” This was a heartfelt moment for me to help bring dancers to this community; to see joy and appreciation on the faces of the patrons who watched our performance.
Wanting more of this as a student, and witnessing where student needs are unmet for dance majors to travel internationally to study abroad, I made it my goal to create a new kind of study abroad dance program. One that builds upon the life-changing experience I enjoyed as an undergraduate dance major and years after, elevating the international education experience of pre-professional dancers.
With this goal, I am advocating for students to have internationally diverse experiences outside their traditional college settings by investing in a semester-long program to dance abroad. To learn and grow as humans in a new environment, outside their comfort zones. Which essentially happened during my first trip to Italy. I never thought that trip would emerge into building a program where pre-professional dancers can indulge in a new landscape, express themselves and cultivate relationships for life-long connections. Stay tuned for what’s to come!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Being an artist is challenging. At times it could feel as though it’s a constant cycle to prove one’s worth in a competing world of other professions, sports and societal standards.
That is why it is critical for society to take part in supporting artists as professionals. One way to support artists is by actively attending live dance events. Be the person who brings back viewing live dance in theaters. Buy a ticket, donate money towards the company’s cause, share performance events on your social media and with others in your network. Even if you are unable to attend, perhaps someone else you know will go. Take the opportunity to witness dance in real-time. Many people say to me “I don’t know anything about dance or understand what I just saw” and for many I respond with, “Well, how did it make you feel?” Many of us have a hard time processing and communicating our emotions, therefore if we can sit and watch a performance and begin to feel something that is outside ourselves, then maybe, we will be able to connect that feeling with something we have experienced in our life before. This could lead to more personal understanding, processing and possibly healing.
Another way to support after the performance is to stay for the feedback/talk back sessions. By staying, this gives artists the chance to think through their works more thoroughly and gives them validation that what they are doing matters because you are there to ask questions, listen to their process and push their thoughts about the work further.
On another note, advocate for artists. Especially if you are an artist, advocate to your local officials, state and national politicians to show that all the time crafting, planning and organizing as an artist matters. By advocating, you can help provide officials vital information which could potentially lead to more opportunities for funding. That way, artists can create more meaningful work to share with their communities.
Lastly, as citizens, be curious, try something new. Break free from your comfort zone. Sit and ponder what life is without art. Is life as joyful? Could you take a moment to reflect on a time where you were moved by art? Perhaps during your commute on the way to your destination a song plays, igniting an emotion within you attached to a specific memory. Or, you walk by and observe a mural an artist painted. That initial pause in your pace can serve as an appreciation for the time spent by the artist preparing for the exact moment you are there to witness their work. Read that again.
Art is all around us and my hope is that you will think about art as a fundamental necessity to thrive as a society. I believe as citizens it is our duty to help keep the arts alive. It starts with you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashleasovetts.com
- Instagram: @bemovedxashlea
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bemovedxashlea
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlea-sovetts-ab92a95b/
Image Credits
Olivia Blaisdell Dana Morgan Kela Portee Erika Record-Sparks Hanna Williams Amanda Wolfe