Article by Cecilia: How to Stay Inspired
“I want to use movement and art to connect with people to help them become better versions of themselves and to start important conversations.” – Cecilia Wen
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Cecilia Wen is a dance choreographer, teacher and visionary. Send Cecilia a message.
Latest News: Since we are in quarantine, as a heels teacher I have adapted my classes into this new norm-pandemic style. I have a bi-weekly beginner’s heels class on IG Live, filmed multiple tutorials, and done Q&A for some facts and myths when it comes to dancing. My newest tutorial “Yeah I said it” is now on @moveintouch IGTV, which is also where all the live classes happen.
Cecilia, thank you for joining us today at VQS. Take us back in time to how you first got into the performing arts.
I have always had a love and strong passion for performing arts—whether it is singing or dancing— since I was a little girl. Growing up, I have always been that kid who volunteered if it has anything to do with performing. I just love how powerful I feel on stage and how I am transpiring something for people who are watching me. But because how traditional my family is, dance was not considered to be something that I can make a living out of and not a career I could be proud of. Therefore, I did not get into dance and choreography more seriously and in a different light until college when I moved from Shanghai to LA. I remember being so inspired and amazed by the talent and resources in dance here in LA and feeling so hungry to learn. My choreographing journey would not have come about if I was not such a hungry and dedicated students for years just trying soak everything up to have the tools to have my art be able to speak for me.
“…what I am building is beyond just dance. It is about building confidence, learning self-love, embracing oneself’s femininity, and establishing a community.” – Cecilia
What 3 core values do you believe are necessary for success?
Passion; Patience; Open mind
Who have been some of your favorite people/projects to work with?
One of my favorite projects is when I got to work on a social media campaign for KIA Soul 2020. The project itself had a lot of structure and things I needed to fulfill but in the meantime, I had a lot of freedom to organize and conceptualize what I wanted to present in the end. It was a lot of responsibility and pressure on my end since i did have the leadership role. However, it really made me grow as a professional and helped me learn how to handle things and look at the bigger picture under stress and still deliver. Another thing is that I got to hand-pick who I get to work with on this so I had a lot of fun working with my friends who are also amazing professionals. Sharing a pro experience and being able to give solid opportunities to my friends are great feelings to have. On top of that, I got to experience the KIA Soul 2020 model for 2 weeks before it came out officially to the market–Definitely a really cool perk!
What future opportunities would you like to be involved with?
I would love to take my teaching to the next level. What I would like to bring and what I am building is beyond just dance. It is about building confidence, learning self-love, embracing oneself’s femininity, and establishing a community.
photo credits: Allie Gomes; Aditi Harish
Article by Cecilia: How to Stay Inspired
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