Meet Alan Lee | Professional Dancer, Real Estate Manager, Actor, Model

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alan Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alan, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
As an artist, I grapple with this question consistently. The reality is that many artists have high highs and low lows – anything in between takes extra effort to ignite the same passion we have behind our artform. We can go from the rush of performing for hundreds of people one day and then back to a 9-5 job the next. In my case, I know whether or not to keep going because I have learned to trust my own instinct. As a professional dancer, i’ve always had other jobs outside of just dancing to supplement my income. This is because i’ve always known that while performing was always a dream of mine, other dreams like owning a house, traveling, starting a family one day are all also dreams that are non-negotiable. I’m fortunate enough to be at a place in my life where I have the ability to choose gigs that inspire me and turn away jobs that don’t serve a purpose for me. At times when I feel like giving up, I know that what is meant for me will always be mine and I remind myself that even though the current goal may seem impossible, life has a way of showing up for you if you know how to show up for yourself even at your lowest.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a professional dancer and also a branch manager for a Fortune 500 technology-based real estate company. It definitely was not easy or expected getting here. I can only be thankful.

I’m most proud of booking any job in my dance career. It’s important to understand that as an Asian American raised by a traditional Taiwanese-Chinese single mother alongside my two older sisters – pursuing anything in the arts was laughable and unrealistic. Not only did I have to fight my own doubts, but I had to fight the doubts of my greatest supporters, my family, at one time in my life. I didn’t discover my love for dancing until I moved away to college at 18. At that age, having just discovered a new dream, I never thought i’d really have the chance to make it happen. But it’s always been in my heart that I’m meant to do more so I followed that feeling to this day. If I were to tell my 18-year-old self that by 30, I would’ve danced on tour traveling the world, appeared on TV, and performed in international commercials, that kid would swear i’m lying. And i’m proud of being someone that little me never would’ve thought would be possible.

I’m also proud of my career in real estate. 10 years ago I was going on auditions while figuring out how i’m going to afford the cost of living in Los Angeles. Dancing alone was not going to make the cut. I remember while I was working as a teller at a bank, I stumbled on a real estate company on my break and asked them if they were hiring. The response I got was that real estate was a hard business and a lot of people can’t make it. That pushed me to prove them wrong and I shortly found a job as an assistant to a top producing agent. That job taught me a lot about resilience – my boss at the time was cutthroat and the environment wasn’t always positive. However, I told myself that giving up was not an option. 5 years later, I found the company i’m with now. This company inspired me because they not only allowed me to be my authentic self (with my dancing dreams), they encouraged and supported it. After 2 years into my role in operations with this company, I was unexpectedly promoted to a branch manager on the leadership team in Southern California. I’m so proud of this moment because I believe that we don’t have to sacrifice dreams to make other aspirations come true. You have to have the strength, tenacity, and grace to show the world who you are and what you want to become versus letting the world tell you what you can or can’t do.

I’ve learned that no matter what industry, the world will always try to fit you into a box that’s comfortable for them. But it’s up to us to recognize that other people’s inability to dream big does not represent your ability to manifest what is for you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
– I would take them to a dance class because I like being active and I think it’s an experience to dance at the studios that you see all over social media. – I would take them to different types of restaurants around the city to try a little bit of everything. K-town for the korean bbq, Yamashiro in Hollywood Hills for the views, Downtown LA for the experience.
– I would take the to West Hollywood for a night of drinks and dancing because of the culture shock of the West Hollywood scene.
– I would take them on a hike (my favorite is Wisdom Tree). Hiking is one of my favorite stress relievers. It is how I connect with myself and work out my thoughts on my own.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout any close friends, family members, and mentors/teachers that have ever believed in me. I fell into dancing in college taking a hiphop class for fun that ended up snowballing into taking more classes than even my actual major, which was economics. I was not a good dancer. But the teachers and friends (i’ll call them “purpose partners”) that I was fortunate enough to cross paths with reminded me to see the potential that I didn’t see in myself.

Instagram: instagram.com/alanxlee

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-lee-68933b2b/

Twitter: twitter.com/leexalan

Image Credits
Lee Gumbs Andy Chou