We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lo Eugenio a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I’m still only a couple years into my dance career, but sometimes after going on social media I fall into the trap of comparing myself and wishing I had start sooner so that I would have as many opportunities as other dancers. But then I remember everything happens for a reason and I have to appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

Dance has always been a part of my life, I danced competitively from middle school through high school and was always drawn to performance. I was shy and not a kid of many words so performing allowed me to embody everything I wanted to be off stage: confident, expressive, and authentic. After high school I had to focus on my education and career outside of dance. I worked full-time, 40-50 hours a week and was also a full-time student at DePaul University. Dance was still a part of my life, but only in a small way where I could only take a dance class once every couples months. During that time I got my first studio apartment at 19 years old and I was really proud of how independent and self-reliant I had become.

Shortly after graduating college I got a job that gave me a better work-life balance and left a relationship that was holding me back. During that time I felt like my body was finally out of fight or flight and reconnecting with dance heavily influenced my mental health and self-esteem for the better.

Fast forward a couple years, I now dance at least 2-3x week and sometimes everyday of the week, trying to master my craft by taking classes, preparing for performances, teaching classes, going to dance socials, or just dancing because it feels good. As I started focusing on my craft again, I knew I wanted to get back into performing but I didn’t know how. I go to a lot of music festivals and would always see dancers on stage and WISHED that could be me and just a couple years ago I started saying that WILL be me one day. I’m still learning the industry, but every audition I’d show up even if it’s out of state. I’d put myself out there and message or email local events or clubs. I put it out into the universe this is the path I want to pursue. And slowly, but surely I started booking gigs.

I’m still early in my journey and sometimes my ambition gets the best of me, but I am so proud of myself to say that I have danced on stages of festivals and although I don’t get every gig or audition I’m never going to give up because it’s what I love and it’s one of the things that makes me feel the most fulfilled. So yes, sometimes I wish I could’ve started my dance career sooner, but looking back on my journey I know that everything I had to go through prepared me for all the moments leading up to what I wanted.

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 Chicago-based dance performer/educator with roots in Shuffling, Hip Hop and Latin. I started dancing in the living room with my dad as a child when he needed a partner to practice his Latin choreos, from there I fell in love with the art and pursued other styles like Hip Hop and Jazz. As an adult I continue to learn new styles but was heavily influenced by the style of Shuffling.

As a Dance Performer I am trained in Shuffling, Go Go and Character Acting, I am committed to expressing and inspiring others as many other dance performers have done for me.

As a Dance Educator in Shuffling, I try to incorporate my other styles and usually infuse both Hip Hop and Shuffling. I focus on drilling foundations and creating a safe space for creatives to explore and feel confident in their movements.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn is comparison. Comparison is almost inevitable with social media, but it only harms your progress and your sense of self which is what makes your art unique. There’s still so much I want to learn and improve upon in my dance and sometimes I have imposter syndrome where I feel like I’m not good enough, but I have to remind myself just because I’m not where I want to be today, doesn’t mean I’ll never get there.

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

The most rewarding thing about being a creative and artist is having the comfort that if everything else in my life is going wrong, at least I can still dance and create. No one can take that away from me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: getdownlo__

Image Credits

kbevphoto