Today we’d like to introduce you to Lily Shepard.
Lily, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I slipped into my dancing shoes at four years old and from then on there was no turning back. From that point I danced my way through school, earning a dance degree from The College at Brockport State University of New York. After graduation, I submerged myself in the glitz and glam of Las Vegas where things started to take off for me. I performed in a variety of Vegas productions before hitting the pinnacle of my career – performing as a backup dancer for global icon Beyoncé at the Billboard Music Awards.
Around that same time, I started dancing working as an exotic dancer at the largest gentleman’s club in Las Vegas. It was there that I began to see my femininity as power. I took it a step further by cultivating my own sensual movement practice outside of the club, away from the male gaze. That practice led me to begin healing some old wounds in my personal life and developing unwavering self-confidence. It was in Las Vegas that my love for empowerment, self-discovery and self-expression grew and I set my sights on dancing to a new tune – one that merged wellness, self-awareness and sensual movement to boost self-acceptance and confidence. In 2015, I moved to Austin and founded Lily Shepard Moves, one of the only dance & wellness brands in town owned and operated by an African American woman.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has been anything but smooth. I moved to Austin as a single mom with no job. There were many times when I wanted to give up on the idea of making a living from my passion. When I first started, I was saying yes to everything, running around the city, sitting in traffic for hours to teach a class for other companies or studios that would pay me $25 bucks a class… not even the price of gas.
You have to pay dues and you have to start somewhere. Nobody knew who I was so all that grinding it out was worth it because I was able to get in front of people and start making my imprint on the community.
I had to start taking bigger risks because I had no real plan B and no capital. No loans, no crowdfunding, no donations. Everything was coming out of my own depleted little pockets. The decision to start producing my own events, do my own promotion, start building my own creative assets was a leap of faith.
Please tell us about your work.
LILY SHEPARD MOVES is a brand dedicated to empower women through movement by helping them find their Sacred Power through the art of dance and community. My brand uses dance as a vehicle to affect inner and outer transformation in a safe community of like-minded women who support and uplift each other along the path of self-exploration and sensual expression. Introducing women to the healing power of movement and developing programs in which they can access this healing in a way that feels natural is what I’m most proud of. African dance, twerking, breath & flow, heels dance, moving meditations… all of these ways of moving are incredibly empowering to women. I’m glad that for me, this work has evolved from teaching steps for the sake of choreography to be executed and into movement being the catalyst for major transformation.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have made the choice to be the name and face of my business earlier. I first started out as Body Bloom ATX and had my little logo and everything. First, having ATX in the title was very limiting and also, I WAS Body Bloom ATX! WE were one in the same, it’s always been just me. Also, the name implied that the brand was strictly about the physical body blooming, although in all fairness I was much more into the dance-fitness modality when I started out.
I was scared to have my name and face out there representing my business but I realized that I am indeed the brand. What I offer is a direct result of Lily Shepard’s training and life experience. Now Lily Shepard Moves is the umbrella under which anything I’m creating falls under whether it’s panel discussions, movement classes or online training.
Pricing:
- Sacred Power 30 Day Online Program -$129
- 1:1 Private Sensual Movement Sessions – $49.99
- Virtual Sip N Twerk Classes-$10
- Bad Bitch Energy Mini Course $19
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lilyshepardmoves.com/
- Email: lily@lilyshepardmoves.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilyshepardmoves/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilyshepardmoves/
- Other: https://sacred-power.mykajabi.com/bbe-sales-page
Image Credit:
Jenn Rachid
Mark Mayes
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