Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Davis.
Hi Lauren, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Dance is my life’s work. My life has always revolved around movement, fitness, and performing, though that has taken shape differently over time. I started out as a bun head until my teens when I branched out to the competition dance world. Ballet is my first love, that will never change, however, I have always felt commercial dance calling to me. I never feel as torn as when asked about my favorite genre of dance, so it only made sense for me to move to LA to pursue and study dance in a place where I could do a little bit of everything. After working in LA throughout college and graduating with my BFA in Commercial Dance in 2020, COVID not so gracefully interrupted those plans. There simply were no performing opportunities, after years of training and hard work.
I moved home to Dallas where I started teaching, and in 2021, began freelance performing again. I’d never been so happy to dance, because it was finally for me, not a studio, team, university, grade, but for my soul.
I’ve performed professionally for 10 years now in nearly every conceivable style of dance — from ballet to heels, hip hop to contemporary, pom to ballroom. I’ve taught consistently whilst performing professionally, which has given me a unique perspective by toggling between dancer and teacher “modes.” I strive to be the dancer every teacher wants, and the teacher I never had.
My students, from age 4 to 84 benefit not only from my experience as a current industry professional, but from my expertise on the body. Having dealt with injuries, I developed a passion for cross training after feeling the benefits on my dancing. I’ve weight lifted for 8 years, been a physical therapy technician for 3 years, and most recently earned my Fletcher Pilates Matwork certification.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A current challenge of mine is navigating the nature of the dance industry. I find myself growing pickier with the environments I place myself in. After carefully crafting an environment for my students that is strict with a purpose, yet loving and uplifting, I’ve realized it really isn’t hard to avoid creating toxicity, abuse, or negativity in the studio. Having experienced some WILD environments, teachers, and jobs over the years, I won’t subject myself to anything I wouldn’t want for my students. I wasn’t always able to advocate for myself, and admittedly, I submitted to less than ideal circumstances for the sake of exposure and getting the job when I was younger. I have more wisdom now, more grit, and I owe it to myself to look out for me. Beyond myself though, it’s important to me that I model self respect for my students, to show them it’s possible and vital to have standards, even if it means saying no to an opportunity.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am extremely proud of the work that went into my body to allow me to perform the way I do. I know very few people who have the balance of strength and flexibility I do, especially as I age. My versatility as a dancer did not come easily. I felt like a fish out of water for years in many styles, but developing that range in my skill set has opened many doors and given me a deeper level of confidence. Being able to step into any style, any audition, any piece of choreography with a higher baseline level of confidence has been so worth the time I spent feeling uncomfortable.
I now have a smart, meticulous blend of technique and style, bending the rules without breaking them. My slightly unorthodox approach gets the job done — strengthening while lengthening, staying light hearted while locked in, and never losing the childlike quality that attracted me to dance in the first place.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
How willing are you to suffer?
You can’t teach someone to love dance. You can nurture a passion that’s already there, but you can’t force the love for it. I never struggled to love dance. That hopeless love has made me very willing to suffer for it. I tell my students there’s always someone more willing to suffer, sweat, and sacrifice. My sincerity made sacrifice easy, because in my heart and soul, there is no other choice. It is either dance, or nothing.
That is why I succeed.
Pricing:
- Please contact for class/private pricing.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.laurenrdavis.com/
- Instagram: @laurenruthdavis
- Youtube: @laurenruthdavis
