Elizabeth George’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

We recently had the chance to connect with Elizabeth George and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Boxing is bringing me a lot of joy outside of work lately. I’ve been consistently training at Boxing Fit University here in Tucson and working with PT Isaiah Marcus, who inspires me to push my limits and stay open to learning new things. There’s a refreshing energy there—no one takes offense easily—and that openness has created a great space to focus on both the technical and physical aspects of something unfamiliar. It’s also a powerful reminder to practice what I preach to the students in the School of Dance. As author Gary Zukav might say, it helps me stay connected to my soul rather than getting caught up in my personality—and it’s a steady reminder of the opportunity I have to connect to my power center and light up my solar plexus!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Elizabeth—Liz—George, and I work as an Associate Professor in the School of Dance at the University of Arizona. I’ve been at the University of Arizona for the past two decades, primarily teaching ballet, as well as pointe, choreography, yoga for dancers, and mentoring both BFA and MFA students. Over the last few years, my creative work and research have started to shift in a more cross-disciplinary direction. One of the most exciting recent projects I was involved in was Imagination 1, an all-artist analog astronaut mission that took place at Biosphere 2 in spring 2024. We were all sealed up tight together for a six-day simulated moon mission… so luckily, we all liked each other!
The project gave me the chance to collaborate with people across so many different areas: Ivy Wahome in costume design from the College of Fine Arts, Julie Swarstad Johnson at the Poetry Center, Chris Cokinos, a retired professor from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and of course, the amazing team at SAM up at Biosphere 2. I am so grateful for this incredible group of people, and we are continuing to collaborate for a student performance inspired by the project for the Stevie Eller Stage in Spring 2026. I’ve been able to share some of those interdisciplinary experiences with my students, and I included some links below about the project.
I’m very appreciative of the support I’ve received from Duane Cyrus, the Director of the School of Dance, and Ellen McMahon, the Associate Dean for Research at Arizona Arts—they’ve both been incredibly encouraging and have helped make space for these kinds of creative explorations. There’s something about the energy of connection and the potential for the arts to be a way of knowing and healing—especially through dance—and the powerful impact that embodied understanding can have in your body.
This fall, I’m thrilled to be on my first sabbatical! I’ll still be teaching regularly and connecting with younger dancers in both Tucson and Phoenix, while also diving deeper into my yoga education through coursework with the Prison Yoga Project—a global nonprofit focused on trauma-informed yoga and embodied mindfulness. I’m excited to learn from their approach and bring that knowledge into my work. I’m also teaching more yoga this fall at Tucson Yoga Sol, a community I deeply appreciate connecting with whenever I can in Tucson.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
Definitely my relationship with my two girls. It’s a constant reminder of the opportunity for growth and expansion I have. It’s no longer just about me—and yet somehow, it’s everything about me at the same time. When I remember to keep the focus on myself, a spacious routine and genuine opportunity for authentic connection emerge. Being a mom has pushed me to show up differently in all areas of my life, and I deeply appreciate that growth. They are amazing, fierce little forces who also text in some sort of abbreviated letter language. That has definitely shaped how I see myself—in ways I’m still trying to decode.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
A now-former student shared a book with me: The Tools by Barry Michels and Phil Stutz. There’s so much accessible “energy imagery” in the book, which I immediately connected to as a dancer. Early on, the first tool—The Reversal of Desire—is introduced, exploring how pain can be transformed into power. The book describes pain as a black cloud, with a source of light on the other side. Moving toward the cloud shrinks the pain; moving away from it causes it to grow. Thinking about the pain won’t help—it only gets you stuck in victim mode. It’s impossible to purposefully move forward and accept what’s happened if you’re not actually feeling it. This was something I was excited about reading—as someone who has always had a physically driven job.
Visualizing this got me out of my head and into my feeling body—I could see and feel myself moving through the pain cloud and into a more present, authentically powered place. As a dancer, I did this physically without even realizing it for a good portion of my life. There was always plenty of physical pain to deal with (haha), but now I’m continuing to explore what vulnerability really means for me. I’m learning to move forward with more intention in all areas of my life, which wasn’t always easy in the past.
Helping the students connect to their own sense of vulnerability is something I care deeply about. It’s an essential skill in the arts and in being human. As the book puts it: Bring it on. I love pain. Pain sets me free. This tool stuck with me, and I continue to use it. And maybe most importantly, I’m realizing that the students are often teaching me—like the student who shared this book with me. I’m so grateful for all of them!

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I believe we tend to connect to wherever our current state of being is resting. So for me, it’s less about the lies the industry tells itself and more about the ones I may be telling myself. I’ve found that my inner narrative usually shapes how I perceive the outer world.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
Although I did take tap when I was 12—and can still pull off a decent shuffle if needed—these days, any “dancing into work” I do is more free-form and bouncy.
That said, yes—there are definitely times I feel that level of excitement about my work. Lately, I’ve been finding more purpose, fun, joy, and energy in teaching. After 20 years of teaching, I’ve learned to spot those little glimmers of meaning that make it feel real in the moment.
I tell my students, “Your triggers are your glimmers.” And if I’m going to say that out loud, I have to try to live it myself. So anytime I start to feel tired or frustrated or like my work feels purposeless, I try to remember to take it as an opportunity to dig a little deeper.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lizgeorge1721 work instagram is uazdance
• Other: Here are two really great links with UA news and AZPM about Imagination 1 that I talked about.

  Uarizona crew of professional artists completes simulated moon mission
  https://news.arizona.edu/news/uarizona-crew-professional-artists-completes-simulated-moon-mission

  AZPM: ARTISTS ON THE MOON
  

  Additional Instagram mentions:
  uazdance School of Dance, University of Arizona
  simoc_sam SAM, a Space Analog for the Moon and Mars located at the Biosphere 2.
  boxingfituniversity Gym/Physical Fitness Center

Image Credits
1st photo: Elizabeth George/Teaching Image Credit: Mackenzie Haensgen Photography/mackhaensgen.photography
2nd Photo moon projection: Credit Imagination 1 crew
3rd Photo moon projection: Credit Imagination 1 crew
4th photo teaching at UA: Mackenzie Haensgen Photography
5th photo student Nikki Martin at the Biosphere 2/SAM: photo credit James Atwell/james_atty
6th photo Imagination 1 crew: photo credit Chris Richards/University Communications
7th photo UA dance: photo credit Ed Flores
8th photo Boxing Fit University/Isaiah Marcus: photo credit James Atwell/james_atty