Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Britton.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a professional dancer and fitness professional located in San Diego. I began dance lessons over twenty years ago at the age of three. I was a born performer, jumping at any opportunity to entertain others. Growing up as a military dependent, dance was one of the few constants in my life. From an early age, I knew I wanted to attend a university for dance and become a professional dancer. I can honestly say that I’m living a dream life that five-year-old me never imagined. I graduated from California State University, Long Beach as a Dance Major with a Minor in Child Development and Family Studies. I’m currently enjoying freelance work and directing my dance company. I established my dance company, Britton’s Dance Project, in 2017. I proudly produced my first production the following year. I’m currently preparing for 2020 as I rework my original choreography and extend the work into an evening-length production. Performing, choreographing, and directing assuredly flourishes my soul as an artist. It allows me to express myself beyond verbal communication and welcomes spectators to witness my visions.
I take pride in saying that I have three careers. Dance led me to my second and third careers as a personal trainer and movement specialist. Numerous injuries and dance science curriculum led me to appreciate the importance of proper kinesthetic alignment. I became a National Academy of Sports Medicine – Certified Personal Trainer in 2017. I take honor in saying that I’m a Personal Trainer, Wellness Coach, and Group X Instructor at my local YMCA. I have incredible leadership that allows me to grow as a fitness professional within the organization and independently. I also have my own clientele, mostly composed of professional and pre-professional dancers. I remotely train these clients at parks, homes, and dance studios to best accommodate their fitness goals.
My third career perfectly ties my dancing experience, personal training expertise, and family studies knowledge together. In 2018, I became a Certified Lead Teaching Artist with Minding Motion for Graceful Aging. I go to senior communities, assisted living centers, and memory care homes to teach multi-layered movement classes that provide regenerative, transformative, and preventative benefits. Connecting with seniors through movement, conversations, touch, music, and rhythm enhances our quality of life. I feel so much fulfillment and joy with my work.
A typical workday for me includes senior classes and independent clients in the morning, followed by youth fitness classes, cycling, clients, boot camp, and/or wellness appointments at the Y. Depending on the season, I sometimes have company classes and rehearsals throughout the week as well. Days that I train or rehearse, I usually warm-up at a nearby Y beforehand. Like most dancers, I often find myself in rehearsals for long periods of time, multiple times a week – either as a performer or as the director. To accommodate this schedule, I have a lot of active recovery days where I focus on injury prevention and rehabilitation. To help me stay on track, I invested in a phenomenal personal trainer at the Y – who supports my health and wellness goals. I also trust an extraordinary chiropractor and a remarkable masseuse at the Center for Corrective Exercise. They have changed my life in unprecedented ways. If I help someone the way my trainer, chiropractor, or masseuse have helped me, I’m fulfilling my purpose.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Honestly, I’ve struggled and fought for every accomplishment I’ve achieved. A number of my earliest memories were anxious thoughts. I had a nurturing upbringing with an incredibly loving and supportive family. But generalized anxiety disorder tends to overpower rationality. While I’ve learned ways to cope with my anxiety as an adult, it held me back for several years. My pre-teen and teen years became even more challenging as I developed poor self-esteem, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s hard to thrive while experiencing overwhelming feelings of worthlessness and stress. I wasn’t the slimmest ballet dancer and individuals made that known – I was bullied by my peers and pressured to diet by adults by age nine. By twelve, my sadness and loss of energy increased as I coped with my father overseas. Every day felt like a lifetime. I matured quickly that year as I waited for my father to call every day in hope that his base wasn’t bombed again. My dad safely returned, and life went on.
By high school, I could hardly handle my anxiety or depression. I put a lot of pressure on myself and every fiber of my being wanted to succeed. I attended a performing arts high school and trained at a ballet studio. I wore myself out. As a result, I developed chronic illness and chronic injuries. I never rested; I couldn’t get better. I pulled out of public high school due to my illnesses and injuries. As difficult as the decision was at the time, leaving was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It opened so many opportunities for me as I rehabilitated. I had the incredible privilege of principal roles in ballet, summer training in New York City, began college while in high school, and acceptance into a top-notch dance department at California State University, Long Beach.
Attending Long Beach was another one of my best life decisions. Long Beach teaches their dancers how to make a career out of dance with vigorous training, profound lectures, stage tech application, and dance science courses. I struggled in these classes. I spent an entire lecture trying to understand the difference between hip abduction and hip adduction. I struggled a lot in college. I spent my college career thinking I was too fat for ballet and too balletic for modern. I panicked junior year and spontaneously added a minor in Child Development and Family Studies – it was life-changing.
Senior year, I was miserable and sick. I was in fight or flight mode for months. I had developed an obsessive-compulsive disorder. My compulsions started small and quickly progressed to hour routines. My anxiety and depression sky-rocketed at this time and it turned into a vicious cycle in which I had zero control. At most, I would get three hours of sleep. I felt so sick from my anxiety and sleep deprivation; I developed an eating disorder. If I was lucky, I could keep one meal down a day. I couldn’t keep up with school. I didn’t think I was going to graduate because I was so sick. One day, I managed to attend two of my family studies lectures. That day I realized; I was in an abusive relationship. My life was forever changed and I’m forever grateful for those professors. I was verbally and mentally abused by my ex for five years. I didn’t recognize it was abuse – I thought I was going crazy. I went home that day and I felt so relieved. I knew it was the beginning of a new life. A life I thought I had completely lost. I fell in love with dance over and over again because it was the safest escape for a number of weeks. It’s hard to remove oneself from an abusive relationship. It often gets worse before it gets better. At the time, I had very limited options. Now, I count my blessings every day.
Removing myself from that toxic environment allowed me to thrive. Postgrad has not been easy. Recovering from abuse has not been easy – but it’s’ always worth the journey. I’m doing so many things I didn’t know I could achieve for so long. I’ve formed a dance collective, performed internationally, produced my own show, choreographed works, danced professionally, earned certifications, and more. Every day I continue to fight for my health and everything that’s important for me.
I’ve learned a lot along the way. The insight I’d love to share is to not compare oneself with others. When we do so, we compare ourselves to everyone’s strongest qualities and neglect to see their hardships. We compare ourselves to someone’s physical attributes, someone’s talent, someone’s intelligence, someone’s perceived perfect life and so on while putting ourselves down for not feeling completely content with every aspect of our life. I used to compare myself to others immensely. It was awful. Be easy on oneself. Be kind to oneself and others. It’s vital to celebrate other’s successes as their successes, not our failures. Likewise, humbly appreciate your accomplishments. It’s challenging to change our mindsets, but it’s life-changing! Surround yourself with like-minded loved ones and positive communities who will cheer you on when you’re thriving and support you when you’re experiencing adversity. We’re all human. We all have seasons to grow.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I care about every client, student, member, and artist that I meet. I’ve already experienced so much in my young life, and I have the social responsibility to educate others on health and wellness. I train my clients for functional movement and injury prevention while addressing their fitness goals. I train and teach a wide range of ages and abilities – from preschoolers at the gym to seniors in memory care. I connect with each individual and use exercise science to determine how to best serve their needs. It’s my responsibility to train clients safely; speak mindfully; dance gratefully; and direct respectfully. While choreographing, I find ways to connect with my dancers and audience members. I use choreography to express my hardships and create safe spaces for others to do the same. Connecting and listening are attributes that I pour into my careers.
Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
I love and admire my mother more than words can describe. She’s strong, loyal, wise, nurturing and patient. When times get tough, she finds the strength to gracefully conquer any obstacles that life throws her way. She single-handedly raised me during my teen years while she went to school and worked full-time. She’s always devoted herself to the family and put my brother and me first at all costs. She continues to support and encourage every day. Our mother-daughter bond has strengthened over the years and has flourished into a beautiful friendship. She’s my best friend and I don’t know how I became so blessed to have her as my mother.
In addition, every one of my female friends are women who inspire me. We build each other up and flood each other with love and support. We listen. We don’t judge each other. We openly talk about goals and philosophies over tea.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brittondance.com
- Instagram: brittonyaaa
Image Credit:
Trixi Agiao, Yaro Jane, Jamie Carr, RAW VIXATE
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