Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristal Tan.
Hi Kristal, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Oh man, when I talk about how I started it always blows my mind how far I’ve come, haha! I was a real chubby, quiet and shy kid, and I usually felt especially awkward and weird because I was Asian. Growing up I was typically the only Asian in my classrooms, and I usually felt embarrassed. So I never really wanted to try anything, but then I watched the ballet scene is The Little Rascals and decided I could maybe try dance. I obviously fell in love with it, but it took me a really long time to feel comfortable. In a weird way, it felt like people were always looking at me anyway (for being Asian), so when it came to dance, and being on stage, I felt seen, but in a good way. It was comforting because people were looking at me, but because they were supposed to be.
Although two of my best friends ever came from my years dancing at the studio, I actually did not have the greatest relationship with my studio. To be honest there were some mean kids there and I would come home from class a lot of nights crying, sometimes because of my teachers. However, I did have a few extremely impactful and positive teachers during my time there. My ballet teachers were ALWAYS such positive influences for me- Miss Lisa, Priscilla, Jennifer, and Megan. My jazz teacher, Mr. Ilan, and hip hop teacher, Ms. Diana. I didn’t feel like I had to be a star student for them to care about my progress in class, and they were never involved with any studio politics, or dance mom gossip, so I felt safe and seen. Eventually, the mean girls at my studio left, and something inside me just blossomed. Looking back at it now, it really does matter who you surround yourself with. I gained confidence with my dancing because I didn’t have to worry about rude remarks, or people laughing at me for trying. That year I received my first convention scholarship. For those who don’t understand the dance world, being noticed at a dance convention and chosen for a scholarship is the ultimate “I see you” feeling. It’s like, you spend hours every day in the studio working on yourself, and then one weekend someone notices the work you’ve been putting in the entire year. It’s a great feeling and I wanted more of it.
My two best friends from the studio; Darby and Chrystal and I would constantly be searching for ways to be more flexible, more athletic, and just better dancers in general. During this ultimate blossoming growth for me, I had just joined my high school dance team, as well as my high school ballet company. Dance consumed my life and I absolutely loved it. It gave me so much more purpose than just doing well in school (which is what my parents have always pushed, go figure).
I remember I had to choreograph my own solos because my parents could not afford to hire a choreographer for me. It used to really upset me because I felt like I was missing out on so much. All my friends had solos and private lessons, so they would usually have fond relationships with our teachers and outside choreographers but I wasn’t able to experience that. Little did I know this was such a blessing in disguise for me because it essentially sparked my entire choreography career that I have now. I’ll never forget after class when I showed Darby a snippet of a dance I was making up and she says, unprompted, “Dude, your choreo is like, really great.” And it was just that one sentence there that I needed to hear to push me to actually do more of it.
After graduating high school I knew I had to move to NYC or LA to pursue dancing. I chose to attend Pace University’s Commercial Dance Program in NYC and it was a dream experience. I truly had an amazing freshman year experience. Ultimately I decided to move back to Texas to finish out my degree because of financial reasons. This was an extremely difficult decision for me because I kind of felt like I was giving up. It turned out to be the best decision for me, career-wise.
During my time at Texas State, I began working as a resident ballet and contemporary instructor and choreographer at a local studio. I worked at a studio called First Class Dance Center, under the direction of Lindsey Ledwig and then Kelsi Eckhardt. It was an amazing experience. I loved the dance family that I got to be a part of, the students I had, and the moms I grew relationships with. It upped my choreography game a whole new level to where I was able to get choreography jobs in other studios and cities after I graduated. My studio was very supportive of my choreography career, I even had some of my current students show up to classes and workshops that other studios had invited me to teach. It was an amazing feeling. Not only did I again, feel seen, but I felt really wanted and accepted. There are very few times in my dance career that I have felt that way, and I think most performers can relate. There is a constant “pick me” feeling, and not enough “I belong here” feelings (it’s a journey we all experience!)
Anyway, I headed back to NYC to continue my training for a few months at Broadway Dance Center. I wish I could say that I enjoyed my time there but my days were a 50/30/20 percent mix of dance/work/sleep. I did not get to experience NYC as an adult. My hours were filled with dance and work, which I did love, but I knew it was not sustainable for me to have a life I could enjoy. All my income went to rent, classes and living expenses and I felt like a hamster running on a wheel. I decided to move to L.A. and experience the West Coast, cause maybe it would be more affordable for me to start a life and dance career there.
My time in LA has been a LOT. Honestly in college, I went through a phase where I was working 3 jobs, going to school full time and attending rehearsals. I was also managing my boyfriend-at-the-time’s band (LOL, and they are doing really well now and tour all around Texas! You should interview him next actually, ha!) In LA it got pretty brutal sometimes. But since I was so in love with what I was doing there every day with taking classes, auditioning, and meeting other dancers- I never felt tired. My typical day in LA looked like work 9am-3pm, work second job 3:30pm-8pm, dance classes 8:30-11:30pm. Or when I worked in nightlife, classes 10am-3pm, work 4pm-9pm, work 2nd job 9:30pm-3am. Only recently I started implementing a consistent gym routine and a steadier work schedule. But I have worked every side job from nightlife, nannying, sales, food service, catering, Uber, and Postmates. The hustle and struggle were REAL haha. My roommates in LA were also dancers so our household was honestly SO much fun and full of passion for dance.
Fast forward to 6 years in L.A. I have now been fortunate enough to teach and choreograph for over 40 high schools, middle schools, and dance studios in Texas, California, Hawaii, Mexico, Thailand and Malaysia! My work has received awards such as “Highest Scoring Number,” “Hall of Fame,” “Best Technique,” “Best in Category,” and several choreography and artistry recognitions. I am currently signed with Luxe Talent Agency and I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked on set for companies such as Dreamworks, Apple, Dance Spirit Magazine, and international music artists; Pedro Reis, JOKA, Megan Tibbits, INAS X, and Arman Hovhannisyan. I recently started working for a company called FLY Dance Competition as an adjudicator and regional director and have also accepted a full-time position as Assistant Company Director for a studio in Buda, TX. Which is actually what has brought me back here to Texas! I’m so stoked to join the dance family at Dance Unlimited Buda and to continue my career in dance education!
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?
I would say the biggest obstacle for me was dealing with body image when I was first starting out as a performer in the industry. I still struggle with loving and appreciating my body. It is a journey that many dancers go through, but I’m seeing changes in our industry that I wish started happening 5 years ago. I get casting notices for “REAL bodies or REAL women” and I don’t feel like I have to fit into a stereotype of the petite little Asian, or casted as a nurse, teacher, or nerd. I did lose a lot of weight which actually did a lot for my self-esteem… on good days. I always thought my relationship with my body would improve once I lost the pounds. Then I realized that wasn’t the case when I lost nearly 20 pounds one year. I still found days that I hated how I looked, or would cry after trying on an outfit for an audition. It was a toxic relationship I developed with my body during the course of my career.
Another challenge for me was accepting my ethnicity and the culture that came along with it. I hated being Asian growing up. This was partly being a first gen, but also dealing with bullies.
I used to have lots of trouble sleeping through elementary, middle and early years of high school and now I realize it was most likely anxiety. I would stay up all night just worrying about how the next day at school. Truthfully a lot of my anxieties were typical middle school teenage anxieties. But a lot of the time I found myself forcing myself to laugh at reallllly lame Asian jokes, even though they literally did not offend me at all, but I felt I had to pretend they were funny otherwise people would think I had a stick-up my butt. It felt like I couldn’t just be there as another student, or contributing team member- I was ‘the Asian.’ When I was younger, I used to come home from school and beg my mom to take me to have surgery to have my eyes widened. Lol.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a professional dancer and choreographer. I specialize in contemporary, jazz, and lyrical, but I am especially passionate about teaching ballet. I believe it is because I had such a positive experience with ballet from my wonderful teachers. I’m known for my work that I do with high school drill teams and studios. It’s amazing to me because all the jobs I have now are basically from word of mouth. I’ve sent a TON of cold e-mails and have been lucky enough to get some replies, but the majority of my clients and repeat clients are all from referrals, which I LOVE! It makes me feel more confident about my work. I’m most proud of the creative video projects I have done recently. I have been exploring dance on camera and creating artistic pieces because I want to work with music artists on bringing their visions to life. That’s the beauty about L.A. is that production houses are everywhere, and people willing to do them are also everywhere. L.A. is a giant collaborative globe of artists and creatives.
I think what sets me apart from the others is how mediocre I am. I know that sounds bad, but hear me out. Growing up, I was never the star student soloist that you would place front and center. I don’t think I have ever even been in 1st place. Maybe the one time that I did place first, I was the only one in that category, and I received a High Silver (yikes). I used to hate this about me. I really felt like I would be trying my best and I would have nothing to show for it. The beauty of this is that it made me more creative with choreography because I had restrictions. I also had restrictions that a majority of dancers could relate to. I was creating a movement for all the dancers who could not tumble, or do super cool tricks and a million turns. There is a huge population and the majority of us. So then I just fully owned it. My movement is challenging, but not impossible and it is relatable and will make you feel GOOD doing it. I’m not going to ask you to bend over backward and kick your face then drop into a split, because I can’t even do that haha. We own our limitations, and create our art with it!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Oof. Nearly everyone I knew went through an “OMG what am I doing with my life?” phase. We were all in the performing arts and then all of a sudden, that entire market was GONE. I learned that I should not take dance, the ability to take dance and connect with others, and the ability to move for granted. It is a beautiful thing the ability to connect with others. When we went into quarantine mode, and our interactions were limited to just virtual connections, it took a toll on me. Luckily my time during the Covid-19 crisis was not too bad because I was quarantined with my 3 roommates and our boyfriends. It was pretty crowded at times, but we got to re-create a lot of things that we missed about the regular world, lol. Such as movie nights (we even re-arranged the furniture to be like a movie theater and printed out tickets, yes we had a lot of time on our hand), themed dinners, group workouts, and intense game nights.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kristaltancreative.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/kristaltancreative
- Facebook: Facebook.com/kristaltanchoreo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxbA5DV2ZvDIPTL105nmfSA
Image Credits
Chris Henrikson Photography Samsquatch Media Evid Photography Fabian Rodriguez
