We were lucky to catch up with Tottiana Duffy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tottiana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue the arts. I remember asking my mom for a red dress that resembled an outfit Selena Quintanilla wore because I adored the movie about her life. I can recall rewatching her movie dozens of times as a kid. She was a superstar, and I wanted to be just like her. I have always been a multifaceted individual. For most of my life, I have been into fashion, drawing, singing, dancing, hair, make-up, modeling, photography, etc. I enjoy and indulge in all of these things about myself. However, it wasn’t until I really started diving into dancing in High School that I realized how much passion I had for performing and creating my own choreography.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For starters, I am a 27-year-old wife and mother. I met my husband in December 2020, got engaged in June 2021, got married in November 2021, and had my first child in February 2022. In 2018, I graduated from Hamline University with a degree in Legal Studies, a minor in Social Justice, and a Paralegal Certificate. For the last three years, I have worked as a Legal Assistant for a few firms. Outside of my day job, I am a hip-hop and jazz-funk dancer and choreographer. I started dancing when I was young but did not pursue it on a deeper level until I was in High School. In my junior year of High School, I booked my first gig teaching recreational Hip-Hop at Turning Pointe in Eagan. Since then, I have taught recreational and competitive Hip-Hop at multiple competition studios but realized that I loved teaching community classes to young adults more. So, in 2020, I began teaching community dance classes solely. Some studios I have taught and teach at are Klass MPLS, Hothouse, All Day, Straightline Dance Fitness, and The Workroom. I used to teach my own classes before having my son, but now I assist my best friend, Selwyn Talley, with his Tuesday class every week at Klass MPLS. Outside of teaching, I have been working and pursuing some of my personal goals as a dancer and performer. My biggest aspiration in life is to one day be able to showcase my work to the world on bigger stages for celebrity music artists. Today, social media tends to play a huge role in an artist’s success, so I am constantly thinking of innovative ways to showcase my work online. Every year, I try to drop at least 2-3 dance concept videos. For these videos, I gather together local dancers, teach them choreography, plan out outfits and locations, then we shoot the video. Once we finish shooting, I edit the videos and post them online. Typically, I get really good feedback when I post my videos. By hosting these dance projects, I have been able to network and build professional relationships with many dancers and artists in the Twin Cities. As of now, I am in a phase where I am questioning what’s next for my dance career and what I need to do to get to the next level. I have had so many cool experiences, including dancing on 612 Crew for the MN Timberwolves, but I want more. All I have known is Minnesota, but the dance world is far more vast. I want to break through the small bubble barrier of the Twin Cities and go farther than I could have imagined. I do not know how I am going to get there, but I am going to keep pushing and challenging myself until I reach my fullest potential. I know how talented I am, and trust I will go far in my dance career. Currently, I am working on obtaining a grant to put on a showcase of my choreography. If granted the money to put on the showcase, this would be a huge opportunity to show the Twin Cities audiences what I bring to the table.

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

Before I had my son, I was on a weight loss journey. I was in the gym daily and was seeing the results. It took me a very long time to build up the discipline I had with the gym and had finally gotten to a place I was proud of. While pregnant with my son, I gained over 30 pounds and developed acid reflux. After giving birth to him, I was struggling to get back in the gym. I did not feel like myself at all and had many tough days. I felt like I had lost who I once was. Further, I did not dance the same and was having trouble creating choreography. My mental health was rough because I was dealing with postpartum anxiety. It got so bad, I contemplated quitting dance. My journey to where I am now was not easy. There were many days when I thought everything was okay until it wasn’t. By the grace of God, I can finally say things are much better. Prayer and family helped me make it through that time in my life. Having people in your corner who will go through the storm with you is a blessing. However, it did take a lot of personal work as well. I did not quit on myself. I kept dancing. I kept choreographing. I kept showing up for myself. Becoming a mother does change you, but that’s a good thing. Today, I can finally accept this new identity I have. No, I am still not the same as I was before having my son, but I am okay with that.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I did not join a competitive dance studio until I was between 16 and 17 years old. So, I wish I knew before that age that it was beneficial to have technical training earlier on so that I could have started with a stronger foundation. However, I am a firm believer that every individualś journey is different. It does not matter how or when you get there, long as you do!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theetianaberg/
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Bill Cameron photographed one of the photos of us on stage in blue for a show called Mixtape.