Art & Life with Alanna Christina Endahl

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alanna Christina Endahl.

Alanna, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in a unique way of being submerged in the Arts and having the total freedom to pursue my dreams. I started taking dance classes when I was about five years old as I had two older brothers who were constantly taking dance classes, singing lessons, auditioning, rehearsing & performing on a professional level, so it was only natural that I jumped in as well. We were all homeschooled, which allowed us all to focus on our passions 100% while giving us this amazing education that supported us in being curious and imaginative free thinkers. When I was eight years old, my brother closest in age to me, now the photographer of Ballet Zaida, auditioned for The San Francisco Ballet School. My mom said something along the lines of “You might as well audition too because we’re going to be here anyway!”, So I auditioned and was accepted into The San Francisco Ballet School as well and totally fell in love with Classical Ballet. I trained there for ten years before becoming a professional dancer.

My love for movement took a turn while in a rehearsal one day for the Ballet Carnival de Animals when I dislocated my left knee. As a result, I was forced to take a year off if I wanted to avoid surgery. I ended up moving to Arizona for rehab and during this time my Mother suggested I enroll in a Yoga Teacher Training Program since I already had exposure to alternative healing modalities and had a love for movement along with knowledge of the body. During this time, I went through a lot of reflective self-work, healing of my body, mind, and emotions. I ultimately made the choice to leave the classical ballet world, and I became a full-time Yoga Teacher transferring my passions for movement in new ways. I’ve been teaching full time ever since.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My art has evolved over the years because I have evolved over the years as a human.

I think with any Artist whether your expression is dance, painting, singing, music, etc. you’ll find that they don’t stay the same for too long, as art is never truly stagnant. At first, Ballet was my Art and I wanted the audience to experience the freedom of the combination of movement mixed with music, or the story we were dancing out to its fullest potential allowing the viewer to be carried away from this world. When I became a Yoga Teacher, I started to explore the healing capabilities of movement and how all movement itself is actually Art. When you are a dancer, you are taught no two dancers are alike and that every induvial is their own unique artist. This statement is true of everybody that moves, as in all bodies that move. Everyone is spectacularly different and unique. Any time a body is moving, it is in a state of expression. Expression is moving art unfolding before your eyes if you are willing to witness it. My more recent expression of art that has been unfolding is in the form of writing. I’ve spent most of my life using my body to communicate what I’m feeling to the world; writing felt like the natural next evolutionary step for me to take. I’m big into topics discussing the very almost secretive world of Ballet, Dancers mental/physical health challenges, things that most of the world isn’t allowed to know much about outside that small bubble in which dancers exist. I write about Yoga as I’m very passionate about what’s happening in our Community here in Arizona and the trends I see as a whole in the Wellness Industry. I’m a big supporter of Women’s Rights and Equality. I write a lot about what I’m witnessing within my Yoga community. I specialize in Teaching Kids & Teens Yoga, so I often write about my various experiences with them and how we can be listening and supporting Kids & Teens better.

I’m an extremely open person so share most of my writing on Instagram, which allows for a huge range of ages to interact with my posts, which I just adore. I feel that we as a world are seeking more authentic voices and interactions in our lives these days through our social media platforms and I strive to be a voice or a friend for any soul that connects to my observational writings.

Lastly, to be truthful, my inspiration is always changing. Right now, I encourage others to really witness the world around them and feel everything. One of the main points of Art is that it moves you out of the mundane and elevates you to experience newer realms and ways of viewing our surroundings. It transports you. This can happen at a live performance, a yoga class, or from reading something. It allows us to momentarily leave behind all of this around us. Anytime someone interacts with me I hope they are elevated somewhere new inside themselves. Life and art are always about growth, ultimately.

In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
In my experiences, the biggest challenge artists are facing are always this idea that you should continuously be a blank slate for someone else to mold you into what they need/want you to become. Whatever your format of expression is in Art, find and develop your own unique style. Even if it isn’t popular at this very moment, even if everyone else is doing something entirely different, stick with it because what you have to offer and express as an Artist is truly unique and the world needs you. As any type of Artist social media is a huge factor in your career now, people want to know why and how you’re different from every other dancer, writer, singer, painter, etc. out there in the world. They want to see you. Be confident and stay true to who you are as an Artist always.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
For classes, I teach all over! I teach Barre for Pre/Postnatal Mama’s at Modern Milk, both at their Scottsdale & Gilbert locations. I’m a Yoga Teacher at LifeTime in Tempe. I teach Barre and Kids Yoga at Sweatshop on Central in Phoenix, and lastly, I teach Yoga designed especially for Ballet Dancers at Studio R Ballet in Mesa for Kids & Teens.

For my writing, I’m currently sharing everything through my Instagram: AlannaChristina.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.statesofturiya.com/
• Email: AlannaChristinaContact@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alannachristina/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alannachristina

Image Credit:
Oliver Endahl Ballet Zaida

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