Skillr Profile: L of The MIX Technique

L is a college professor, certified personal trainer, dancer and the creator of The MIX Technique, a workout class that blends ballet barre, floor barre, yoga and pilates. She spoke with us about how a childhood dance class led to pursuing a career in dance, her favorite parts about teaching others and what she’s learning right now. 

Alexa Goins: So to start out, can you tell me your name, your pronouns, and what you do on SKILLR?

L: Yeah, I'm L and my pronouns are she/her/hers, and I teach dance and choreography on SKILLR.

Alexa Goins: Cool. How did you get into the field of dance and where did your passion for it come from?

L: I really started as a kid. My mom started me in classes and I just never stopped. I just kept wanting to be in dance classes and performing. And so it kind of became a huge part of my life and I just kept going with it.

Alexa Goins: What styles of dance did you do as a kid?

L: My very first class that I remember was a combo tap ballet class. And I just remember having the little taps at the bottom of my shoe and just really liking the clackety sounds that I would make. I had no idea if I was doing it right, but it was just really fun and I felt like I enjoyed that aspect of it. So I think I associated with that and just wanted to keep going. From there, I went into more tap and then ballet and then jazz, and jazz actually is one of my favorite things to teach. So I focused in jazz dance, danced competitively, danced in college, and so it just kind of became who I am.

Alexa Goins: That's funny that you mentioned when you're a kid and you're in tap class and it seems like such a fun thing. I did tap as a kid and you don't really know what you're doing, but you're like, this sounds cool and it's fun.

L: Sounds really cool. And because you're little, you’re like that's so great. So yeah, I remember my first recital and not remembering what I was doing necessarily, but I remember the costume and putting makeup on and practicing with my friends and then going on stage and the audience just being, yeah. And I was just, oh my God, I want to do this forever. So, yeah.

Alexa Goins: Now you are. So that's so cool.

L: Yeah.

Alexa Goins: What's your favorite thing about teaching people dance and fitness?

L: I think it's the confidence that they gain when that light bulb goes off on a step that maybe has been confusing for them and they finally get it or they're able to just feel confident whether it's personal training, or fitness, or dance, just feeling better about themselves because they did something that was challenging.

Alexa Goins: That's awesome. I relate to that a lot, because I do pole fitness and it was challenging the perfectionistic part of my personality, just to be like, “Okay I can do this even if it's not perfect.”

L: It's hard. I've only taken one pole class and I was pretty bruised, but it was so much fun. And I was, oh my goodness, I need to take more to just feel like I know what I'm doing, but it was fun to twirl around and be upside down, the inversions and stuff.

Alexa Goins: Yeah. It's a ton of fun. What does a typical day look like for you in your profession?

L: So I usually will start... First, what I try to do every day is meditate and try to have a moment for myself because I know that being an entrepreneur or a small business owner, there's something you can do all the time. So to not get overwhelmed with that, I try to just kind of set and have some peace first, whether it's sitting on my mat or doing some stretches and having my coffee and just kind of reflecting.

And then I will try to create my social media things, because a lot of it is just promoting. A lot of it also has to do with lesson plans, creating either choreography before I'm working with someone, or just a plan of action of what we're going to do that they want to focus on. There's a lot of physicality in it, too, because I also need to stay strong to be able to teach what it is I'm teaching. So I'll try to get my workouts in somewhere and even in practicing or setting choreography, I'm getting a workout doing that. So it's on top of that. There's a lot of physical demand with it, but I think because I love it so much it is part of it. And it's kind of part of the description, I guess.

Alexa Goins: I love that you start your day with meditation. I recently started doing that and there's such a difference in my days now just being able to feel grounded after that. It's incredible.

L: Because if you set a time for it, it feels almost like too easy to just skip over it, because there's so much to do in a day or so many things that come up, that if you don't set that time, you just kind of skip it. And then I find that I start to feel a little bit drained, so I want to make sure I set that, even if it's five minutes, set that at the beginning of the day and then I can do the productive stuff.

Alexa Goins: What's one thing that you want Seekrs to know about you?

L: That I'm funny. I mean, I think I'm funny. I've been told that I'm funny. So I've tried to incorporate humor into my classes and trainings because a lot of times people don't want to work out or they feel intimidated or overwhelmed by learning something new. So I try to be down to earth and have people feel like they are just talking with their friend. So it doesn't feel like a task that they have to do.

Alexa Goins: What kinds of things can people come to you for since it's like a virtual format?

L: So I'm listed as dance and choreography, but I'm also trained and certified in yoga. So I teach yoga. I also do fitness classes. I have my bachelor's in dance and my masters in physical education. So I've taught boot camps, aerobic dance classes, stretch classes and flexibility. I also do makeup part-time, so I'm everywhere. Everything that's creative, I want to do it.

Alexa Goins: Complete the phrase. When I'm not working as a dance instructor, choreographer and personal trainer, I'm...

L: I am either doing makeup or I'm doing something like content creating just for fun or to share to my platforms. I also podcast. I have a YouTube channel, but then I also enjoy horror films and standup comedy, watching that. So I try to give myself those things throughout the day when I'm not working.

Alexa Goins: Cool. On SKILLR, we're all about learning and growing, and taking small steps to gain new knowledge and skills. So what's one thing that you're learning about right now, or you're interested in learning more about?

L: I feel like I'm always kind of practicing in dance. So taking class and I've been doing a lot of online classes with some other instructors. Learning, makeup, practicing that. What else? I'm really kind of interested in, and it seems very daunting to me right now, but learning more about bitcoin and finances and also real estate. So random, but those are all things that I kind of want to tip my toes into.

Alexa Goins: Those things also intimidate me, but they're good things to know about. One last question. What would you say to people who want to learn more about dance, maybe don't have any experience in it, and are maybe a little nervous and don't know where to get started.

L: I think the biggest thing is to not worry about what it looks like, not worry about what you look like. I know just in this day and age it feels like you're seeing everybody, so it's hard to not be competitive, or compare yourself. When you're starting something new. It's always going to feel weird. It's always going to feel awkward. I rarely know anyone who's starting something new and been perfect the first try. So I try to remind people that it's okay to feel new at something because you're learning something new, and to let go of what it looks like and to just have fun. I think that's probably the biggest thing is to just have fun with everything that you're doing, find some aspect of it that... Of course, take things seriously and all of that, but have fun with what you're doing, because it makes it easier.

Alexa Goins: I love that. I think it's really easy to get wrapped up in “I have to be so good right away,” and you don't.

L: Right. It's uncomfortable learning something new and then being the newbie or whatever. And so it's a good reminder to just be okay with that, and then before you even realize it, you have more knowledge and you're better at something.

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