Today we’d like to introduce you to Anastasia Arsenic.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started performing at the age of 7. My Dad was a musician and my mother was a thespian. They both made sure their daughters had been entrenched in experiences of theater throughout our lives. I was performing seasonally with Missoula Children’s Theater. The company had a program called “Little Red Truck” where two actors toured all over with sets, costumes, and scripts to small towns. They auditioned us and other kids the first night they arrived. After introductions and acceptances, they proceeded to execute fast and furious rehearsal schedules over the course of the next five days to have us show ready for our parents. It had a summer-stock vibe to it and definitely set the tone for my career as a performing artist.
This was a regularly scheduled program for my adolescent years. From there I soon discovered the drama club in junior high and high school. I was the weird, over the top kid that took my normal class presentations to a new level of extra. No, not new. “New” would imply that extra was already a resident in my little town and there was an old guard of extra I had to succeed. No. It was just a whole level of extra that stood on its own in general.
After I graduated highschool in dance, theatre and sports, I attended the University of Montana where I majored in dance and theater. I am forever grateful for the overly abundant education I received. Post graduation, I taught at a performing arts school. There I spent a lot of time stage managing and producing shows when I was not performing. When spring semesters ended, I worked for the Missoula Children’s Theater & Performing Arts Summer Camp. That was such an incredible experience as a teacher. Literally every kid there was insanely talented with little to no training.
I performed and choreographed for dinner theater cabaret shows, worked as a freelance choreographer working with actors from other universities and theater companies, taught at local dance studios, and coached the University of Montana Dance Team. A friend of mine from the Drama Department told me I needed to check out Austin. They told me the art scene “was a boomin’”. After hearing that, and all the tales of Texas heat, Austin sounded pretty seductive. I was ready for a change from Montana winters. So I packed what I could into my jeep, took the blind leap of faith and moved down south.
I instantly fell in love with this city. This fun, funky art and music-filled city felt like home. I auditioned for the Austin City Showgirls and had an amazing experience while I was with them. It was hard and oftentimes brutal work but provided me the means to put everything I learned up to the point into professional action. We worked every season with Univision where I had the privilege of dancing for international artists for the Premios Music Awards. I danced for artists such as Aleks Syntek, Ozomatli, Pedro Fernandez, Elvis Crespo, Joey Montana, Diana Reyes, Angel Y Khris, Dulce Maria, and Fedro to name a few. While I was with Austin Showgirls, I also sang backup vocals and choreographed for local artist Larissa Ness.
We performed in SXSW and opened for Maroon 5 for a private event in Cali. From there, I ventured off to perform and choreograph with a neo-circus performing company called Crash Alchemy. It was with them I explored the wonders of dancing with and consuming (or eating) fire, lyra and silks. My experiences with the Crash Crew were very inspiring and so amazing. Through Crash Alchemy, I got to guest perform with a NYC site-specific immersive and experimental performance company called Third Rail Projects. They were touring through Austin for their show Momento Mori. They saw my work and offered me the chance to perform.
I choreographed and performed with Dancing with the Austin [Lake Travis] Stars. One year I choreographed, another year my partner and I won cutest couple, and the other year my partner and I won most entertaining. I was at a point in life where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep performing. I still wanted to create art but I wasn’t sure how. I was bombarded with feelings of needing a new means to express and exist through movement, presentation and performance.
Then one day, a friend tagged me in a post that a burlesque troupe posted a call for an in-house choreographer for their dinner theater shows. When I saw that I was like “absolutely!” This was my jam and I would love to create movement for other dancers. And just like that, I fell into the wonderful and beautiful world of burlesque. I started directing and producing a drink and draw event called Dr. Sketchys. I performed with The Sins, The Bat City Bombshells and am currently a member of The Girlie Revue cabaret house. Burlesque brought me back to my love of back up dancing and I’ve had the honor of backup dancing for local artist Caleb De Casper who, at the time, opened for Big Freedia. I lost my mind. It was a mind blowing experience.
I perform all over the great state of Texas and have had the pleasure of spending my last two years touring and performing in the festival circuit. I’ve performed all over the US and recently in Canada. This has been a fun and wild ride, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There was most definitely bumps in the road. I would always have so many irons in the fire that there was no balance, and I would on occasion experience periods of severe burnout.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a burlesque dancer. I went to school for dance and theater. So, there was extensive training in contemporary dance, jazz, and ballet. I sing, play the flute and ukulele, eat fire, choreograph, stage manage, and produce; my “proudest moment/most memorable” (or moment that lives rent-free on repeat in my head) is when I taught at a dance studio, and Alvin Ailey’s dance company was in town on tour, and they came into the studio and took my class. I was simultaneously terrified and excited. To this day, it’s one of the best moments of my life. Getting to meet Josh Johnson and the rest of the company was a dream, and they all signed a company poster I had. (I had my serious fan girl moment with them.)
What matters most to you?
Staying true to yourself and never stop dreaming. When we stop dreaming, we die.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anastasiaarsenicbu.wixsite.com/website?fbclid=IwAR0Pr2H3a6CX_rkI1kPqfBwllahCO5Pf09TVgpcXfsopj3swGNp1boMh_tM
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnastasiaArsenic
Image Credits
Paul Clear
Patrick Rusk
