Meet Crystal Chestnut | Professional Dancer

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

Hi Crystal, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind my success is hard work and determination. I’ve always dreamed of being a professional dancer since I was a little kid, and throughout life I had to learn to stay headstrong through all the doubt and criticism that comes along with pursuing an artistic profession. With that being said I had to put the work in behind the dream, and through persistence and perseverance I continued to push to be my best self in what I love which has led to my success and start of my brand.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

When it comes to my brand, I rely on many forms of dance that I’ve been able to achieve. My diversity from hip hop, contemporary, modern, tap, ballet, heels, and more have allowed me to be booked for various types of jobs. It took a lot of studying and years of practice in order for me to master the skills I have, and most importantly patience because it’s not easy to jump from one style which works a particular muscle group, to another style. Along the way I’ve learned persistence is key and to not give up on your dreams or think they are unattainable because anything is possible!

What I want the world to know about my story is how hard I worked to get to where I am. How even in the toughest times I never gave up, I kept going! I’m sure a lot of us hear the saying as “there’s no such thing as an overnight success”, and as cliche as it sounds it’s the truth. Artists work extremely hard at their craft sometimes for years prior to getting a “big break”, even after tons of rejections, they keep persistent till they reach their goal.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I enjoy being outdoors mostly, so if I had a friend in town I would plan to go hiking and to the beach. Those are my top two places to go! And because there are beaches all along the coast and hiking trails all throughout the hills I enjoy picking different ones and going to explore!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Every dance studio that I’ve been to in my hometown of the DMV, the University of the Arts, which is the college I attended, all the teachers I’ve come across in my time of learning and growing, deserve recognition. It’s so many teachers to name and I’m extremely grateful for each one of them for helping with my betterment and journey with dance.

Big shoutout to all the choreographers and agents who have given me an opportunity since I’ve been in LA to express my love of dance!

Website: https://crystalleah.wixsite.com/dance

Instagram: www.instagram.com/crystalleah_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063588876613

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCLX0Tb9alOKnAe4bhfF2-mg