Meet Laura Macy | Dancer, Pianist & Model

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

Hi Laura, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I was actually very academic in school and enjoyed most subjects, so I found it difficult to decide what I wanted to pursue as a career! I’m very lucky to have parents who supported whatever decision I made, and they simply told me to do whatever I enjoyed, because life is too short to spend it working in a job you don’t enjoy. My parents both work in the arts themselves, so my decision was probably influenced by seeing how much they love what they do.

I remember my teachers getting frustrated with me for choosing dance and music over something academic like maths or science. I knew a career in the arts wasn’t going to be easy, but in my head if I didn’t at least try I knew that I would always regret it, and I hoped that if I worked hard enough I could make it happen. At least if it failed I could always go back to something academic and make my maths teacher happy!

When I was 16 and my friends all started to work part-time jobs in restaurants and retail stores, I started to work as a wedding pianist instead. It was one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. I loved getting to be part of someone’s special day and playing for the bride as they walk down the aisle, and it was then that I realised I didn’t want to ever work a ‘muggle’ job, I wanted this special, rewarding feeling that comes with creating art.

Although my main job is now a professional dancer, I still love to play for weddings alongside dancing and be involved in the music industry in my own way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Alongside dancing, I’m also a professional pianist! I play professionally for weddings, restaurants and functions and I teach piano both online and in-person. I love that I get to work in both areas of the arts, as each of them bring me so much joy!

Over the last year I’ve also started to direct and choreograph my own work. I love bringing together a group of people who are passionate about what they do, and I find it so rewarding to see talented individuals come together to learn from each other and bring a project to life.

Here are some examples of work that I’ve choreographed and directed:

I’ve been really lucky to have worked with so many talented people and travelled to some cool locations on jobs. However, my journey hasn’t always been smooth. I was planning to return to LA in March 2023 for a six-month period to work on getting an O-1B visa and was ridiculously excited at the prospect of being able to live and work in LA for a longer period of time. A few weeks before I was due to fly out, I fell badly out of a turn at an audition and broke my kneecap in half. I was told by doctors that I would potentially have to have screws drilled into my kneecap and if that was the case, it could end my career as a professional dancer.

I was seen by multiple doctors who all gave different opinions on if I should have surgery or not, and I remember feeling completely overwhelmed and confused at which option would give me the best fighting chance at a full recovery. My entire world felt like it was falling apart. Trying to not let my thoughts go to a dark place, I started researching dance charities in the UK that might be able to help. I reached out to a charity called The Dance Again Foundation, who made a huge difference to my recovery. They signposted me to a dance specialist whose opinion I could trust and they helped me to fill out all of the confusing paperwork and x-ray requests to get all of the information to the right people. Their knowledge and experience in the dance side of the medical industry gave me someone to trust when I was surrounded by so many conflicting opinions and they also signposted me to funds that I could apply for to support my recovery, because as a self-employed artist unable to work, I was feeling very anxious about my financial situation.

My doctors and I came to the decision to let the knee heal without surgery, and with great physio and a lot of determination, I’m very grateful to say my knee recovered fully and I’m back dancing again. To raise awareness for the charity that helped me, I choreographed and directed a concept video about my story in the hope that other dancers can reach out to them too in the future. One of my favourite videographers (Zurisaddai Corona Jr.) actually flew to Liverpool from LA to shoot it, so the video is extra special to me for many reasons:

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favourite places to eat in LA at the moment include Republic of Pie, Amp Coffee LA and Pitfire in North Hollywood, I often go there with friends to work (with motivation from the incredible food served in these places!) I also LOVE Porto’s bakery in Burbank, they serve gorgeous pastries and cuban food!

In terms of things to do, I love visiting the Griffith Observatory at sunset and watching the city light up. One of my favourite things to do is watch the stars and the observatory have telescopes that you can use on clear nights.

To be honest I spend most of my time in the dance studios! There are so many amazing classes to take here and the studios attract dancers from all over the world. I’ve met lots of creative, talented people here and there’s a lovely sense of community in the studios. My favourite classes include Tevyn Cole’s Street Jazz, Haley Messick and Sienna Lyons Heels, Kyle Hanagmi’s Jazz Funk and Sam Nelson’s Contemporary.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people I’m grateful for that helped me to get to where I am today; my family, friends, teachers, with a great physio (shoutout to Raymond Healy!), my own students & their parents too! However, there is one person in particular who has made a huge difference to my career that deserves credit, and that’s Vince Coconato (Coco) of Bob’s Dance Shop.

I met him Coco back in the UK in 2021 when we were both dancing on a job for the Amazon Prime Red Carpet Premiere of Everybody’s Talking’ Bout Jamie. I was in awe of him and everything he represented. After spending years in training, striving to be perfect and being rejected from auditions, having someone with a completely different approach to the dance industry was so refreshing! Coco was really inclusive and encouraging of individuality and his passion for making people smile through dance shone through everything he did. He was a beautiful reminder of why I started dancing all those years ago.

He told me if I ever wanted to come out to LA that he’d make sure I felt safe and supported, and I think that’s what gave me the courage as a 21 year do my first solo trip across the world. Alongside the other ‘Bobs’ (members of Bob’s Dance Shop: Lito, Kameron, and Lucas), they looked out for me during my time in LA, picking me up from the airport, taking me out for dinner and taking class with me! That trip was life-changing, it opened my eyes to a whole other world of dance, and I learned so much during my time there. I met many incredible people and life-long friends and returned to the UK feeling inspired. I flew out to LA again later that year, and at this point I had directed my first concept video project. Having seen my work and seen potential in me, Coco asked me to direct and choreograph a video for his company ‘Bob’s Dance Shop’, giving me a platform to show my work to a wider audience and connect with creatives that would open up so many doors for me in the future.

Having Coco’s trust made me believe in myself and my abilities, and since then he has continued to support me and my journey as an artist. He has been a huge help with my visa application, has always ensured I have a place to stay when I’m away from home, given me endless opportunities as an artist and shared advice about everything and anything he can. Even though he’s incredibly successful and always booked, I feel very lucky that he always makes time for me.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauramacy/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGU92oWUztkuEZVbHHYUFvA

Other: https://encoremusicians.com/Laura-Watson

Image Credits
Erin Sullivan Phoenix Photos Mob Drop Media