Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Comstock.
Hi Liz, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My parents put me in ballet when I was 3 years, and I immediately found those classes to be one of my favorite parts of my whole week. I remember seeing myself in the mirror, watching the teacher, and paying such close attention to my movements as I tried to make my positions and motions as precise as possible. As time went on, I began adding more styles and hours to my schedule, taking classes throughout the school year and doing intensives during the summer. I captained my high school drill team my Junior and Senior year, but continued dancing at studios outside of school as well. I choreographed for the first time when I was in high school for our school theater program, and found I really loved it. It opened up a new way of understanding movement and storytelling with dance. Getting to show people how to do the motions to music just like how I learned when I was little was more gratifying than I expected it to be!
When I was in college at Southern Methodist University, I began choreographing for high school drill teams and theater programs in the Dallas area. I was able to use my previous experience with both of those to guide me when first getting started. While earning a degree in Psychology, I minored in Arts Management, Arts Entrepreneurship, and Visual and Performing Arts History- all of which have helped inform the way I understand and create with dance as a medium to tell stories and connect with an audience, while maintaining the realities of understanding yourself and your art as a marketable business.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think when pursuing a career in any artistic field, there are inevitably bumps and struggles along the way, but I believe every struggle is an opportunity to grow and redirect. I’m lucky to have had so many early opportunities to learn about dance, choreography, and how to work with people to help them understand movement.
Growing up, I heard a lot about how hard it is to work in a creative or performance-based field. It was very common to hear that working in a creative field will kill your joy for the art, and make it more suffocating than rewarding. You are told often that there will be no money in it, and that working a stable 9-5 job would be more practical for building a life. However, I continually find that when you have the passion behind it and the desire to keep going, you will find a way to work it out! I’m happier than ever getting to work with what I love, and it’s worth any challenge that could come along with it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m proud to specialize in musical theater choreography. I’ve had my past experience additionally in pom dance, drill team, and various competition styles, but at this point in my career I’ve fallen in love with the musical theater world too much to turn my attention back to those. I love using the skills I’ve gained from all of that to inform routines, sequences, and formations.
While it’s wonderful working with a cast of trained dancers, that is not always what you come across when working in student or community theater. I love being able to work with people who have little to no dance experience to help them reach their goals for what they need to do. It’s a major goal of mine to be understanding and supportive of those who are trying something for the first time, and it’s so important to bring a positive and uplifting energy into a rehearsal room and create space for mistakes and learning.
Most of the time, my role working with a performance doesn’t stop at choreographer. In addition to working with a director, tech team, and various department heads, I love to see where I can lend a hand. If we’re down to the wire and there’s a need, I want to help fill it. I’ve found myself working backstage makeup, set dressing, quick changes, and so much more. Everything can be an opportunity to learn, create, and build something amazing with people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m filled with gratitude when I think about how fortunate I have been with choreography as a business. At just 15 years old I started getting experience staging and creating musical theater dances. I’m also thankful that my parents put me in dance classes at a young age, and encouraged me to keep at it when they saw my passion.
I went to undergrad for a degree in Psychology, expecting to not work in the world of dance at all. However, telling myself I would not pursue anything in performance only made me want it more. That forced me to look for any opportunity to help out with a production in the works. If working in musical theater choreography had been my plan from the beginning, I don’t know if I would cherish my opportunities to work as much as I do currently. Now with over 10 year of experience, I am proud to be able to do this all the time with so much excitement for every upcoming project.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: liz_comstock
