Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Earls.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I began dancing when I was 5 years old, studying and performing in tap, ballet, and jazz at a local dance studio. While I always loved dancing, it really came alive for me when I was 14 years old. This was the age when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease – cancer of the lymph nodes. In the darkest of times, dance was my light. Living in the music was one of the few places in which I felt I could truly express myself, enjoy the moment, and be in my body in a positive way. Fortunately, I survived that period, and went on to dance through college.
My next dance awakening came when I began dancing Salsa intensively towards the end of my college career. It’s hard to put into words the magic that overcomes you when you drop into the Salsa rhythm and connect with your dance partner to improvise and co-create something entirely new, that has never existed before, nor ever will again, during a social dance. It’s thrilling! I also had the opportunity to travel to Cuba in which I connected with the Afro-Cuban culture and the deep African roots and traditions that lie at the heart of the Salsa rhythms. Overall, when I’m dancing Salsa, I feel like I’m a part of something much greater than myself – a part of living human history and culture, and spirit becoming manifest in the form of music, dance, and the human expressions of joy, beauty, passion, and love.
I’ve been dancing Salsa now for 10 years and had the great fortune of performing professionally with Masacote Entertainment, a Latin Dance company in the Boston area. As of late, I’ve also been involved with Authentic Movement and Contemplative Dance, including practices such as Contact Improvisation, which to me, are all about bringing what is in your subconscious into the realm of your conscious awareness to be worked with through movement for healing, creativity, and growth. I recently created a solo dance piece called “Rebirth”, which was choreographed using these methods. The purpose of this piece was to process my journey of life thus far and to initiate or call in the next evolution of my body, mind, spirit, creativity, purpose, and life path. My hope is that by curating and sharing my own cycle of change, that others would be inspired to reflect on where they might be experiencing a “rebirth” and how they can consciously step into their personal growth process with an open mind and heart, and to invite others to witness and support them along the way.
Please tell us about your art.
I dance! Whether it’s social dancing in Salsa, grooving at an Ecstatic Dance event, or creating unique choregraphed works and performing them, my message is to inspire people to find what it means to them to “Dance with Life”. I believe we were all brought here to this Earth to find a way to thrive, and for me, showing up authentically means expressing myself honestly and creatively through dance. I hope I can encourage others to have the courage to share their unique gifts in ways that light up their souls and make them feel alive!
I recently watched a documentary about Madonna, and I was comforted to hear her say that she’s not the best singer or dancer, but that she had something to say, and she wanted to share it with the world to make people think and wake up to new possibilities. I know I’m not the best dancer either, but I can’t deny the passion in my heart. I feel compelled by a force so strong, I know I must dance. I believe it is each person’s birthright to be able to explore how they want to “dance” with and express the creative life force that animates and lives through them. There is nothing more moving to me than to see someone opening their heart and sharing their creative expression with the world. Thus, every time I dance, I aim to be in the fullest expression of my life and to thereby be a reminder to myself and others to continue to step out onto “the dance floor of life” over and over again to fully experience and enjoy this precious life we’ve been given.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
For me, success as an artist means staying with the process through both the challenges and the joys, whether or not anyone sees or likes your work, because you know that the work is contributing to your personal growth and unique purpose in this life.
I recently read the book “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert, which was super helpful around this topic. I highly recommend it! One comment that stood out to me is that she said that she never asked her art (in her case, writing) to support her – be it through fame or finances. She would continue to write, whether she got noticed for it or not, because it had deep personal meaning for her. She also developed discipline, committing to writing as a consistent personal practice as she knew she was growing from every moment of the process of engaging with it. Lastly, she would also gain a lot of support from writing groups and others to help her stay her course and follow-through on her commitments to herself. I see all of these as signs of success for an artist.
Furthermore, I see artistic success in being able to connect to our true creative power, which lies in our ability to see our choices and possibilities, especially around our inner attitudes and beliefs, even when it’s difficult. If we’re making art and are feeling at ease despite the normal ups and downs, then that’s perhaps a sign we’re finding success! If we’re making art, yet feeling anxious and unhealthy, then perhaps we need to pause, reflect, and figure out how to experiment with new possibilities, and perhaps make new choices to find different ways to successfully make art in meaningful, healthy ways.
Overall, I believe the process of making the art itself is mostly about the meta-process of us learning how to live an aligned life – to find the structures and systems that works for us to sustain the flow of our desire and vitality, so we can continue to be creative! While some of us may acquire fame, it is something fleeting that we can’t hold onto and thus shouldn’t become attached to in order to feel successful. I believe it is an artist’s personal commitment to staying with their inner growth process and connecting with others for support through the process in order to evolve that is the true sign of success.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can find a video of my recent Rebirth solo dance here on YouTube:
“Rebirth” by Jennifer Earls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYIEiGuKbpo
You can also find my inspirational writing around my “Dance with Life” philosophy as well as other musings from my work as a Career & Life Coach, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Dancer, and Group Facilitator on my website: www.dancewithlifeconsulting.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dancewithlifeconsulting.com
- Phone: 617-600-8378
- Email: dancewithlifeconsulting@gmail.com
- Instagram: jennifer.earls
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancewithlifecommunity/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jearls/
Image Credit:
Enrique Yaptenco Photography, Valentin Behringer Photography
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