Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Olivia “Ozzie” Bonich . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Olivia “Ozzie”, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I grew up in Troy, Michigan, dancing competitively for Juliana’s Academy of Dance. I could not wait for school to be over so that I could head over to dance class/rehearsal. I felt like I had a true purpose and talent when I was there. I felt truly loved and cherished when I was there. Although I was never the most talented kid, or “star” at the studio, I felt my happiest when I was at that dance studio with my best friends. After nonstop rehearsals, competitions, conventions, early mornings, late nights, and bad asthma to the point where my lips would turn blue and my face would turn pale, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, because I STILL loved it. Even though I had a minimal social life and would over-exhaust myself both physically and mentally at such a young age, it was so worth it for me.
Olivia “Ozzie”, 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 Olivia Bonich, but a lot of people know me as Ozzie. I started dancing at age 6, recreationally, and ended up joining the competition team at Juliana’s Academy of Dance. I trained in jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, musical theatre, heels, acro, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and even a little bit of ballroom. Starting at a young age, I had a lot of negativity thrown my way as a dancer. I wasn’t the best in any room I was in, I wasn’t thin enough, I couldn’t point my feet as well as the other girls could, no matter how hard I trained I would never place as high as the other girls would, and I rarely got a scholarship at any of the conventions my studio went to. To this day, I am so thankful that I grew up the way I did because it has motivated me to prove others,and myself, wrong. That I CAN do it. That I am good enough. That I just need to work a little harder than others sometimes. That it won’t come as easily to me but that it’s OK! It has all made me work that much harder, be more dedicated to my craft, and want to reach that ultimate dream of mine even more. I knew during senior year of high school that if I had to go to college, I wanted to major in dance. I unfortunately didn’t have the best experience while I attended Wayne State University as a dance major for four years. I did, however, find the path that I wanted to go down through Della Hamby coming to teach a heels class at Wayne State University. I always thought I was going to go down a concert dance path, but was steered towards a commercial dance path. I took all of the negativity that was thrown my way at school, and turned it into a fire under my butt. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from Wayne State University, I made the big move out to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams of making it big in the entertainment industry! Since making the big move, I have made such great connections with choreographers and other dancers that truly believe in me and want the best for me. I try to make sure that these choreographers and dancers know how much I value and support them, because without them, I don’t know where I would be, both mentally and physically. In particular, there are 3 dance instructors/friends that I just have to say an extra “thank you” to. Brian and Scott Nicholson have so generously helped me get signed to Go 2 Talent Agency, helped me improve more than I ever have in such a short amount of time, and have been such amazingly supportive people during such a drastic change in my life. Their “Wonder Workshops”, have brought me more joy, lasting friendships, human growth, dance growth, performance growth, insight, and self confidence, than anything I have ever attended to. Eight workshops down and I still can’t stay away from it! I would also like to personally thank, Jonathan Sison, for taking me in under his wing, and letting me be apart of his team, “Tha Most>”. As a team, we became such great friends (basically a family), and even got to perform and place 2nd at World Of Dance! When moving across the entire county by yourself, it can be lonely and scary. Since knowing these people, I have not felt that way in a very long time. Lastly, I would say that my “brand”, or goal of mine to express to everyone, is to always stay true to yourself. Be OK with standing out. Try to stay focused on your own path, not others paths. If it’s not the path you’re supposed to go down, wait for the right path to appear. It’s so hard to not compare ourselves/myself to others and the path they are on, but the friends I have grown up with and have met out in LA have constantly reminded me that I am 1 of 1. Each and every one of us is 1 of 1. Each individual path is meant to be traveled down individually. I am still currently trying to remind myself this, and so should you!
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I believe that both dancers and non-dancers need to be reminded of certain things to better the dance industry. Dancers need to maintain a supportive and loving community for everyone that is within the dance community. In retrospect, the dance community is so small. You tend to see the same faces in every dance class and audition you go to. It can be an extremely competitive environment to be in, and can take a huge toll on the mental health of dancers. Not making it far enough in an audition, not booking a job, not getting called out in a class. It all adds up and makes a lot of us question our ability/talent. It makes a lot of us question what we did wrong, and makes us believe we aren’t good enough. Knowing that you will hear more “No’s” than you will “Yes’s”, can make a person feel like they aren’t worth it, will never get it, and should just stop now. Dancers being supportive of one another and accepting each others flaws will help make those “No’s” hurt less and seem less meaningful.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn trying to match everyone else. As a competition dancer, you have to dance as a unit while being in sync. You are trained and rehearsed to match each others lines, positions, and movement. It’s almost as if you are an army. One wrong move or off-count step will end badly for you. Now that I am a professional dancer, auditioning with some of the best of the best, you have to meet the balance between being somewhat in sync with the other dancers, while trying to stand out amongst a crowd. It’s tricky, but shows true professionalism within a dancer. When you book a job that consists of an ensemble/group of dancers, you have to dance cohesively with each other, while also showing the audience who you are as an individual. I wish this was taught to me sooner, because I truly feel that since it wasn’t taught to me growing up, I struggle with taking risks and completely standing out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://orbonich18.wixsite.com/my-site
- Instagram: @kidozzie
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/t38BaUopr04
Image Credits
Vince Trupsin