We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hilary McAlister. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hilary below.

Hilary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I have ever worked on is Storytellers: a show I created, directed, and choreographed. Here is the story about the birth of Storytellers.

Storytellers truly started to develop in me as a young girl. I had to walk out certain things in my life so I could carry the mantle and the weight of what this show is.

“Mom, Mom, MOM….” This is me at about the age of 9 sitting at the bar of our kitchen as my mom prepares dinner. Again “mom, Mom, MOM….” but there is nothing but silence and the sound of Wheel of Fortune playing in the background. She doesn’t look up and doesn’t miss a beat in preparing dinner. You see, the problem in this scenario is not that she didn’t answer me or that she ignored me… the problem is that I wasn’t saying anything out loud but instead I was screaming her name in my mind. My thoughts as a little girl were so loud that I was sure people could hear them. However, the truth was I was quiet, shy, reserved, and a compliant child. It looked that way from the outside but it didn’t feel that way inside. I had experienced things as a child I never would share and no one would have suspected… my experiences, my feelings, and my thoughts were deep and complex.

As a child, my chosen activities included singing, acting, and most importantly dance. I would hide behind my moms skirt and allow her to speak for me; however, when I walked on stage I demanded the spotlight. Performing arts… that was my home– my safe place. People would comment to my mom about how I was not the same child on and off stage. I experienced a confidence and a safety on stage that I didn’t have the capacity and language to understand as a child.

Next, I’ll fast forward to my senior year of High school through my sophomore year of college. I had many things happen in my life within those few short years that truly changed the course of my direction, how I would live, and what I would pursue as my career. Most people would look at those years of my life and all that happened and feel sorry for me. Yes, it was difficult and traumatic but it ultimately was what helped me find my voice and the bravery to share my journey with you today.

During those years, my perfect suburban family fell apart before my eyes, and I hit the lowest depression I had ever known. I also married my husband and best friend John Wayne McAlister, and met my spiritual father John Smeltzer during that time. For a season, it felt as if the whole purpose in their lives was to sit and listen to everything I had never said. We would sit for hours behind closed doors in a counseling office as they patiently waited for me to figure out what I needed to say next.

During this season, I also started teaching dance and choreographing. I would take what I was walking through in the counseling office and create dances around the stories. This process brought healing to my life in ways that are hard to put into words. There is something about seeing your tragedy unfold through the beautiful art of dance and movement that is indescribable. My calling became clear and my voice got stronger which led me to Storytellers.

I would like to fast forward my journey to 2018. I had been approached to create a 45 minute show with my company Meraki. I was so honored by this offer. I sat and thought, “What stories could I share in this show?” and I was blank. I couldn’t think of any that felt right. I couldn’t believe it… this had not happened in the 15 years I had been teaching, choreographing, and creating stories through dance. I began journaling on mornings over coffee, and out flowed the whole concept and the birthing of Storytellers. It fell on the paper from my pen like it was in me all along. It became clear that it was time to give back to the voiceless. I had worked tirelessly to find healing through dance and I wanted others to see beauty from their ashes. It was time to help others find their healing through dance.

I reached out over social media and invited people to share stories from their life. I would create a dance around their story, and through all the stories build Storytellers. At the time of reaching out over social media, I was still on a journey of learning to trust my own heart and thought “No one will submit a story.” But I pushed send anyway.

September 26 at 10:44 am, just two hours after reaching out to the wonderful world of social media, the first story appeared in my inbox. Tears began to flow when I read the first story. I could hear how the author was longing to be heard. I felt the bravery of their risk to share, and the hope that through dance they might get to find healing. For weeks and months emails came in as people shared their human experience with me. The stories would start with “When I read your post, I immediately started to cry.” ; “You feel like a safe place to share and I never have before.” ; “I have recently been encouraged to begin sharing my experience, and I feel this opportunity presented itself at the right time.” These stories came from states as far as New York and California, from people in my personal life and people I have never met. I was completely humbled and I knew immediately I was a part of something so much bigger than myself. I felt the weight but also the purpose of my journey.

I did some research to see what other words were used to describe a storyteller and the first thing to come up was Spinner of Yarns. Thought is a thread and a Storyteller is a spinner of yarns. This rang so true to my heart. Truly the whole journey has been woven together, from yelling in my head at the age of 9, to finding my whisper in a counseling office, then, my voice through choreography, to now, sharing the stories of others through the beautiful language of dance.

It was more than I could have asked, hoped, or imagined. After each performance, people would come to me and say “ I felt like you were telling my story”. The audience, author or not, felt seen and heard. I have had the honor to sit with many of the authors whose story was told. One in particular told me that after watching the dance of her story she will never see herself the same. One author reached out and told me she was sharing the show with her counselor. The beauty and healing for people was a ripple effect that seems to keep going. To this day, I get texts from the authors about how they still carry that healing in their hearts.

I have had the privilege of bringing Storytellers Vol. I and Vol. II to the stage. I am also currently working on a new way of sharing Storytellers to an even larger audience and I can’t wait to release more information as it can be shared.

I believe people want to be seen, understood, and heard. In fact, I know that they do and that is what I wanted as well. I am proof that when people feel safe to share their story, even if it isn’t the prettiest, they begin to heal, they begin to change, and they begin to truly create beauty from their ashes.
Storytellers is that for people. Storytellers a place to know your story matters, and you can find your feet for a moment as you watch the dancers move theirs in honor of your voice. Storytellers is a movement, not only of the body, but a movement of the human heart.

Hilary, 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 Hilary McAlister and I live in Edmond, OK. I grew up dancing, singing, and acting. I knew as early as second grade that I was created to be a dancer. In my later teen years, I struggled with confidence and truly believing that I could make a career in the performing arts, which caused me to run from it. Through a series of events, heartaches, and a complete transformation of my life, I made my way back to the dance studio and started the journey to where I am today. I started to understand my purpose.

I was created to be an artist, mentor and share stories through movement, and I have a deep love for each mover that walks into my life. My greatest hope is that dancers know they are safe and seen when they walk into my space, and that they feel inspired to see themselves honestly. I want them to know that their individual movement matters. I know that dance is the rhythm every person is born with; therefore, people dance alone, dance with, and/or dance for something. The experience, feeling, and emotion of dance is what drives me to express my heart through this platform and to choose it as a career path. With this understanding, I hope to touch, inspire, move, and encourage not only the dancers during their training, but the audience as well. I believe dance is the language of the soul that can move us to feel and experience something greater than ourselves. I feel blessed to be able to contribute to our world with something as beautiful as dance.

I have had the privilege of going down many roads during my career, and they all were leading me to my current position. Each one taught me the most valuable lessons and brought me amazing people to work alongside. Every opportunity was preparing me for the next open door. Those roads included college, working at an inner city summer camp, assistant jobs, teaching dance to all ages, working as a company director for a dance studio, co-owning a dance convention that traveled the United States, guest teaching and choreographing for many studios, and eventually starting Meraki Movement Company and opening INTENT. This is where I am today, but I believe my journey will continue on and many more doors and paths will be opened up for me.

INTENT is an immersive mentorship program in training, career, and life. My heart for INTENT is to explore the whole heart of the creative mover. I want to guide dancers into finding their voice and their path, and through that, I am experiencing the fullness that art can bring to someone’s life. INTENT is a fully immersed mentorship program providing consulting, coaching, managing, and creative counsel.

INTENT gives you the opportunity to learn how to walk in your artistry with wisdom, understanding, and eyes awake to who you are as a dancer, what you want as a dancer, and even more importantly, what you are called to be as a dancer. INTENT provides a place for young artists to conquer goals and propels them into dance as a career path. It also helps guide parents as they navigate the many directions in dance their child could choose from.
Throughout the year, INTENT’s main focus is one-on-one training, however, we offer two public events, both called The Experience. The Experience is an immersive, three day event that will ask movers to go beyond steps and discover the deep parts of their artistic heart as a creative. Through mentorship, education, movement, and a judgment free environment, we will move together, inspire one another, and step into confidence and self acceptance, learning to move from an open heart. Registration for these events is open to the public and we have dancers travel in from around the Nation. We provide classes for all ages, elementary to college, and we bring in some of the best dance educators to teach. There is an emphasis on classes in jazz, hip hop, contemporary, fusion, mentorship, and dancing for the camera. Scholarships are awarded at the end of the weekend. There are networking opportunities with dancers, and teachers are available throughout the event. There are also several live performance opportunities for attendees to participate in. You can visit our website (intentmoves.com) to stay up to date on our upcoming dates.
I am also the director and creator of Meraki Movement Company. Meraki is a professional dance company based out of Oklahoma. The movers of Meraki share a devotion to storytelling, passion, and art. We are committed to creating honest work and building beautiful things. Meraki is a passion project straight from my heart and a true outlet to share the most honest parts of me as a creative person.

Meraki has had the opportunity to perform at many events in our community, hold open classes, work on collaboration projects with other artists, and most importantly share Storytellers Vol. I & II with our community through our live performances and through video projects. Meraki dancers join through invitation or an audition process each year. We are currently working on our next show and diving deeper into artistic expression on new levels.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I realized that did not work for me was the hustle culture. I have found, to make something happen, it is important to be in alignment with what you are created to do, and it is not about hustling. I hope people don’t hear this wrong, because I am not talking about hard work… I definitely believe in that. I found that having a hustle mindset was causing me to create from a place of anxiety, fear, and comparison. I recognized I was working from a depleted place, or a dry well. When I started INTENT, everything shifted for me, and I realized I was pursuing work and creativity from a different place. I found myself working from a place of rest, peace, and trusting the process. I was able to go at the pace of what was in front of me instead of trying to force myself, my business, and my students to be further along than where they were. My business was able to grow at a genuine pace and I was able to find a healthier balance of work, family, rest, play and living my life. At times it is a slower journey, but it is a rich one.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Besides the obvious blessing it is to make a living while doing what makes my heart beat, there are many things that are incredibly rewarding about being a creative artist. I love having the opportunity to pour beauty into the world through the art of dance. Creativity keeps a door open to the childlike wonder and imagination in my heart. It helps me see things differently and process the world around me from a different perspective. I believe it has helped keep my heart sensitive and open to the experiences of others and the art that they create, and it keeps me open to taking risks.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.intentmoves.com
• Instagram: @hilaryrose1
• Facebook: INTENT
• Youtube: @intentmoves

Image Credits
Koon Vega Sonder Images Julianna Straughn Be Still Studio