We recently connected with Autumn Faith and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Autumn, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I wasn’t feeling my best at the beginning of 2022, I knew dance always made me feel better, so I started taking hip hop & heels classes after I got out of school. I networked and got to know a few people there and was invited to take a drop in class the following week. I wasn’t going to go, but decided to last minute. We take the class and at the end, the teacher (Derrick) complimented my performance and told me he wanted to expand his team in San Diego. He speaks with me a little bit more and asked if I’d be willing to be the director. To which I responded,”Hell yeah!” as he throws me a team sweatshirt and responds,” welcome to the team”.

I had years of experience performing on different teams and being a captain, but never the director. I just took what I knew and ran with it. Three weeks later I hosted auditions for season 1 and began rehearsals in La Jolla. I knew that the first season was going to be a learning season & that’s exactly what it was! We went through plenty of different trials, from organizing, attendance, shoots, performances, covid, etc. It was not easy, but it was worth it. Auditions for tbdsandiego or tbsd’s 2nd season was in June 2022. Since, we’ve performed downtown at Vybz, went on the road for Hip Hop Mindset in Oxnard,Ca & starred in a 30 minute set for San Diego Pride Festival & featured some of our favorite dance groups in the community. Now, we are concluding our second season and I have learned so much within the short amount of time between them.

Autumn, 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?

My name is Autumn Faith,(your favorite unknown celebrity) I’m an Inland Empire native & San Diego commuter. I’ve been dancing for over 9 years & photography for about 2 years. Currently, the director of tbdsandiego it’s our belief that where dance is present, so is joy. We aim to be a safe haven for dancers of all colors, sizes, & identities. We look forward to collaborating with other creatives in the community and wish to serve as a positive outlet for our members.

Tbdsandiego is here to spruce up your party, elevate your music videos, commemorate your loved ones, flashmob your unsuspecting friends, and perform at your special event. We host monthly workshops open to the community to teach & participate ages 16 & up.

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?

I’d like to explain to non-creatives especially when it pertains to dance is fiscal compensation. Some people have a concept of how much goes into creating a piece and some do not. Studio space for all the dancers to meet typically runs $45-$50/hr (depending on the length of the piece and the level of dancers you work with will depend how much studio time you’ll need to teach and ‘clean’ or “perfect” the performance). Costumes fees differ in color, sizes & style anywhere from $30-$120 or more per dancer not including hair & makeup if you require a stylist. Photographer/Videographer $100/hr or more to get media coverage of performance, transportation, hotels,etc.

Ofcourse, there are ways to cut corners on all of the items listed above. However, dance is not a microwaveable art it takes time, consider compensating your dancers/creatives for their time & efforts for what they’re worth…more.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Although I’m only two seasons in with my team, there were times I’ve felt down, unseen and unheard. Thinking why would anyone want to dance with me, work with me, be on my team?

Then I think of what dance has done for me. Dance has allowed me to heal and express my emotions from ecstatic to turmoil in a creative way other than using words. It’s allowed me to create memories that I’ll never forget with people I adore, and move people who support and enjoy performing arts. And if that sounds familiar to your experience then you would want to collaborate with me because we both understand what dance has done on a personal level.
There are people who like to dance, who love to dance & eat, live and breathe dance. For me, I love it! I truly believe where dance is present so is joy – it’s not about the titles & trophies for me, and I respect those who strive for those things. I like to surround myself with people who just want to dance to enjoy the art for what it is. No pressure, no politics, no cliques just dance. As I’m on my way to be the best person I can be I hope that others can recognize your community is what you make it. As for my team, TBDSD welcomes you with open arms 💖

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/tbdsandiego
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/autumnfaith98?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Image Credits
Photo credits: Robert Smith Hip Hop Mindset