Meet Lindsey Williams | Dancer, Aerialist and Choreographer

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

Hi Lindsey, what matters most to you?
Self compassion has become really important to me. It wasn’t somthing I naturally gave myself growing up and I had to learn how to cultivate it. It allows me to make mistakes without letting severe judgment impact me. The reason that’s important is because then I can grow and explore as an artist instead of feeling locked down stagnant.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Thanks for the prompt. I don’t try to be “set apart” from others anymore, the most miserable parts of my life and artistic career were when I was striving to be unique and separate from others. My work now is mainly about connection. Connecting with others on a spirit level through stories told in motion. I love taking an emotion, story or something I hear in music and transforming it into a visual piece of work. One of the biggest compliments I’ve received from an audience member was that she felt like she was seeing how the piece of music I had chosen sounded. I love that. That’s the connection. That’s what I’m most excited about.

Where I am today is something I used to dream about as a little girl by myself in my bedroom. I was a dark and lonely child even though I had 3 younger sisters and a mother who loved us. I felt like there was something missing, something I couldn’t grasp and ballet was the only thing that made sense and brought a feeling of peace and like I was working towards finding that missing piece. I worked very hard at a very young age. My feet were bloody and blistered for years. But I loved the feeling of performing and there was a quiet that happened in my brain when I was on stage. I got to perform with various ballet companies including Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theater and San Francisco Ballet. That’s why, when I had an injury that took me out of the professional ballet world, I spiraled into a mental health crisis. I didn’t know how to find peace without ballet. What I couldn’t see then was that the injury was just part of the journey and part of learning how to navigate the ebb and flow of life and art.
Professional ballerinas don’t go to college, they join ballet companies as young as 16 years old and, if they’re lucky, their career as a performer is 15-20 years. I was a prideful child, college was a demotion in my mind. I didn’t realize that college is a privilege and only a dream for many. So when I entered college, I was depressed, angry and skeptical of my future. But I worked hard. I’ll always be grateful that that’s something I have, a work ethic. So here’s another lesson I learned: all I wanted at the time was to hide in a cave for the rest of my life, taking that leap of faith and showing up meant that I was able to discover a new way of moving as an artist. I found I took to choreography naturally. I loved being able to tell stories through motion. I found my spark, my inspiration again and continued on to get my degree in dance from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.
I co-founded a small dance company in Seattle called “Althea” and we’d choreograph and perform at venues, on site outdoors, we even showed up in a metal band’s music video, produced a few modern dance videos, one of which I’m particularly proud of: filmed on the stony shores of discovery park in the ocean and covered in seaweed. We’d wake up at the crack of dawn to get the right light, venture off road areas to get the perfect setting, perform floor work on cement, bloody our knees, dirty our bodies, we even hopped up on train tracks and got in trouble with the city for filming there. I loved it. Eventually the members all moved on but that’s a time I’m proud of and look back fondly on.

And then there was a time of stillness. I felt dissatisfied, on edge and was drinking myself into a depression every day. I tried finding my sense of worth and purpose in anything outside of myself. Something was missing and I was so restless with this belief. I truly believed I had screwed my life’s purpose by not being in the ballet world. Somehow I had missed the boat, the tutorial on how to live without ballet. I won’t get into the whole spiritual journey I had to take to get to the point I healed, but I will say I almost didn’t make it. Some don’t make it and I’m very fortunate I made it out of the darkness I lived in for years. The reason I’m including a small part of my mental health story is because my art has always been intertwined. I ended up taking a hiatus from dance for a few years just to recenter and find happiness within myself. When I came back to training again it was with a completely different mindset. I approached my art form with gratitude and a self compassion I didn’t have before. I practiced shrugging mistakes I’d make off or using them as a thread to follow. I turned fear into curiosity, these are things I picked up from others who had gone before me and suggested I use. It was either learning how to approach art a different way or letting it go.
With these newfound tools I stumbled upon an aerial class. It was a Lyra class. Lyra is a big metal hoop suspended from a tall ceiling by span sets and carabiners. I had only seen pictures and a couple live performances by Cirque Due Soliel. My first class was awful, I felt like Bambi in the air. Not graceful, not confident, but a small spark of joy and pride in accomplishing that class developed. I decided to try again with the mindset of discovery and play. I fell in love with Lyra. I realized my ballet training was being put to great use and that combined with the spinning of the hoop made me feel like I was flying again. This time though, there was lots of self compassion, lots of play, lots of creativity and friendship. I met talented, likeminded fellows who are at similar stages in their careers and personal lives. I found fun and play and joy in movement again. It’s something I cherish. I’ve gotten to choreograph and perform with my latest mode of art at studio shows, private venues and as a hired contractor for an aerial company called Cirque Party.
Another thing I’ve learned on my journey is that art is a living thing. Art is always changing, sometimes there will be stagnant period, other times it’ll feel like the garden of Eden. My job is to accept and trust the process. I don’t need to know how everything will come together right now, I just need to show up for myself and others with as much compassion, humility and humor as I can.

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?
Easy, my best friend and her daughter just visited LA a couple months ago! First stop for food are Teddy’s Red Tacos in Venice beach, Side Car Doughnuts Santa Monica and for dinner Men Oh Tokushima in Little Tokyo. We hang out and go roller blading on the boardwalk in Santa Monica and Venice.
Some of the most exciting places are the Huntington Gardens when the roses are in bloom, Little Tokyo, and I’ve really enjoyed hiking in Malibu.
Cirque Due Soliel was in town recently with “Kooza” and that was also very fun. The dance studios here are amazing, the Playground LA was a bucket list item for me. I would also take a friend to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire if they were here in spring.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely! My mother, Lesa, drove me back and forth 50 minutes to Portland everyday growing up and would fly us to Seattle for ballet at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She’s the reason I received the training I wanted as a young person and paved the rode for my success. My grandmother, Sonja, helped me attend arts college when I didn’t have the finances and was a huge inspiration to me growing up. My husband, Brendon, who has inspired and encouraged me with his own passion and dedication to his music career everyday for 15 years. His love and support has been vital in my success.
Jo Byrnes and Hailey Hoss Jameson who entered my life when I thought I was done with dance and taught me modern dance, choreography and a new way to express myself.
My mother in law, Melisa Williams has been one of the main reasons I’ve been able to keep going as an artist, her unconditional love and support in many ways has kept my spirits up. My mentor, Shannon Crowley, is a huge part of why I’ve been able to make it this far as well, she entered my life at my darkest hour and took my hand to guide me towards the light again.
Erica Wilson and Annie Holden will always be two gems in my mind as artists I cherish having been able to collaborate and dance next to.
Talisa Hayes Tuman, Robin Gopal, Jessica Anderson-Gwin, Mina Mechanic, and Rebecca Paulsen with all their talent and passion for the aerial arts. They’ve inspired and supported me through a new way of expressing my art and finding joy and play in movement once more.

Instagram: Lindsandlyra

Image Credits
Knocking Bird Creative
David Tuman
Joseph Lambert