Meet Alexandra Murphy: Agency Represented Commercial Dancer, Former Dance Captain & 6 Year Veteran Dancer Touring with Maluma, and Former 6 Year NBA Dancer...
There's more! Don't miss out on this incredible interview with THE Alexandra Murphy!
For this week’s edition of More Than Poms, we are featuring…
Alexandra Murphy
Agency represented Commercial Dancer, Former Dance Captain & 6 year veteran dancer touring with recording artist Maluma, Former 6 year NBA Dancer - Miami HEAT & Atlanta Hawks, 2x Veteran of The Year - both teams, Dancer’s Choice Award, Featured in Dance Spirit Magazine, classically trained ballet dancer & gymnast, seasoned casting & production associate, with an online mentorship launching February 2024!
1. Tell us about your background and what the life of Alexandra has looked like up to this point!
Short Version:
I grew up in New Jersey training in both dance & gymnastics, and performing in the Tri-State area’s most notable facilities with top industry leaders of all genres. Including intensives with the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. After receiving a BA in Creative Writing and Business from Florida State University - barely dancing, 6 years collectively dancing for the NBA with both the Atlanta Hawks (3yrs) and Miami HEAT (3yrs), and many different 9-5 jobs along the way (ask me about the time I was a waste broker), I managed to parley my pro team career into a commercial dance career. I am now based in Miami, recently signed with United Talent Agency, and toured with recording artist Maluma from 2017-2023, the last two years adding on the responsibility as Dance Captain. I have also worked with other artists such as Marc Anthony, Becky G, Pitbull, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Jason Derulo, Prince Royce, Robin Thicke, among many others. My most notable credits include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, MTV’s VMAs, Coca Cola, Capital One, NCAA, and more.
Long Version:
I grew up in New Jersey training in both dance and traditional gymnastics from age 3 after my mom’s friends convinced her she absolutely needed to because I was climbing on literally anything and everything. I started learning to dance at my local community center and quickly grew to love it, so I continued my training at In The Spotlight in Waldwick with the Karaty Family. You might know Dan Karaty, original judge on So You Think You Can Dance, and backup dancer to early 00s Britney, among many other notable credits. Actually, watching him dance backup for Britney at the VMAs on TV all those years ago ignited that original fire to pursue a career in commercial dance. My mom held off putting me into competition dance as long as she could because it can be very expensive and time consuming, but eventually she caved because I wasn’t being challenged enough. This was before acro was being widely taught in dance schools across the country, so when I wasn’t in dance classes, I was at US Gymnastics Development Center in Mahwah. Can you believe that back then they told me I had to choose one?! What I would have given for acro classes at my dance studio back then!
At a certain point, my ballet teacher suggested I focus on ballet full-time and recommended the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. I did my first summer ballet intensive there at 13 and pursued every summer intensive program after that with a notable NYCB Alumni. By high school, after taking dance classes literally everywhere, including popping into adult classes and attending two different studios at the same time, I finally settled into The School of New Jersey Ballet. Now run by former NYCB Principal, Maria Kowroski. She has done such amazing things with both the ballet company and the school in such a short amount of time. It’s been so fulfilling to watch as an alumni!
I would still take the train into Manhattan frequently and supplement my hip hop and jazz fix at Broadway Dance Center and STEPS on Broadway. Somehow I also managed to find time, barely, to perform in school musicals and join my high school’s cheer team. Looking back, I can definitely recognize there were plenty of times, especially in high school, when I was severely burnt out and experiencing performance or test anxiety, but wasn’t aware at the time. There were also times when I did vocalize how I was feeling to adults around me, and it was received negatively. Such was the culture back then, but is also still sadly present at times in today’s dance culture. Dancers, just like athletes, thrive with the right kind of support. Even if it’s just from a mental health professional providing them with the right insight, tools, and making them feel heard. We don’t talk enough about how critically necessary mental healthcare is for dancers, artists, and creative professionals as a whole.
In college at Florida State University, my performance/test anxiety grew to an all time high. So much so, I completely pivoted and declared a major in Creative Writing with Emphasis in Business. I was so much happier and more fulfilled with the small 20 person classes and written exams, and finally began thriving in my upper division classes. I’m the only member of my immediate family to graduate college and, not having that familial experience-based knowledge definitely caused some speed bumps in my college career, but it’s part of my adversity story, and honestly, why I’m doing what I’m doing today. The dancer in me survived in college with the occasional allowed course credits and my sorority’s dance team performance each Spring. That was it. During my time at FSU I really had to learn who I was without dance as my identity, which is another topic we dancers don’t openly talk about in the dance industry enough. What’s ironic is, THAT. All the cumulative life experiences that mold a person and rebuild them over and over again. THAT is what makes someone a great artist. It’s not the technique.
To this day, my dance journey is untraditional, disjointed, and messy, with just the perfect amount of right-place-right-time and a little bit of luck thrown in. Every artist has moments when their career takes on an almost mystical or metaphysical quality, and things align seemingly all at once. What many people don’t see, and I want them to understand, is all the continued training, learning, and “staying ready” that went in to make those moments seem perfectly aligned. Even when things aren’t seemingly going my way in my career. Or more specifically, the way I would LIKE them to go, there’s always an unexpected beneficial outcome, even if realized in hindsight. That’s how I would describe my dance journey post-grad and cues us up with these next questions.
2. What first inspired you to audition to become an NBA dancer? What kind of preparation did it take you to reach that level?
In a shocking turn of events my parents moved to the suburbs of Atlanta during my second year of college. So post-grad, I was living and working in Atlanta, realizing I needed a hobby to keep me feeling fulfilled in my 9-5 corporate life. I started taking classes after work and training again, saw Atlanta Hawks auditions were coming up, and decided to tryout. Keep in mind my track record with auditions thus far was 0-2 at FSU with the Golden Girls, so my expectations were minimal at best. That being said I have this knack for chasing rejection in my creative life, which has oddly enough worked out pretty well for me (more on that later). I made it through preliminary auditions to final auditions, but I was not polished or prepared enough for the brand ambassador aspect of the position at this time. What I wore that whole week of finals still makes me laugh when I think about it. I was very much giving broke college student. I definitely needed another year to grow up and figure out my new adult life; 0-3.
When Atlanta Falcons auditions came around, I had been taking class, preparing for months and auditioned with a sorority sister of mine and a few friends. I even enlisted a stylist to help make my audition outfits. I made it to finals, and everyone I initially auditioned with made the team, except me. Looking back I was exponentially more prepared this time around, but still needed to work on my strength & conditioning; 0-4. Hawks auditions came around again, so at this point it had been a full year since I first auditioned for them, and I was motivated. What many dancers out there don’t know is coaches, choreographers, and pro team staff like to see you come back if you’ve been dismissed in previous auditions. It shows good character, tenacity, and willingness to apply feedback. This applies to the commercial dance world as well. That 5th time auditioning for a team, I made it. All that work I had put in, and knowledge I applied that last year and a half, plus the knowledge gained from my FSU auditions, paid off, exponentially you could say.
I would go on to dance with the Atlanta Hawks for three seasons, being named Veteran of The Year in my second season, and leaving with the utmost support from my organization as I set out to audition for the Miami HEAT. Imagine my surprise making the team my first year auditioning with a 3-4 record! Remember how I talked about chasing rejection earlier? Sometimes chasing rejection pleasantly surprises us in the most unexpected way. Perhaps because we are not tied to the outcome as much. As I reflect on that moment now, it makes sense because I continued to apply everything I had learned from my collective years of pro team auditions at that point. Dancing professionally is so much more than being the best dancer in the room. This applies to commercial auditions as well, now more than ever. It’s about being a smart, well-rounded, articulate dancer, brand ambassador and team player. People preach this all the time in the dance industry because it’s true, “hard work beats talent any day.” And a little luck ;)
3. What was your experience like as an NBA dancer? Tell us about your favorite parts about each team and how you evolved as a person / dancer?
My experience as an NBA dancer was fantastic, start to finish. I couldn’t have asked for two better organizations to work for in the NBA. I admire both organizations, my former coaches, and the marketing staff immensely and continue to lend my services whenever I am able. It means so much to me to continue to give back to organizations that not only took a chance on me, but molded and shaped me into the woman and dancer I am today. There are so many exemplary badass women in the NBA, past and present, and I am grateful to call them role models, mentors, and friends to this day.
My favorite part about working with the Atlanta Hawks is my coach, Donni Frazier, who is still the coach of the Atlanta Hawks Dancers. A close second would be traveling to China twice with Sprite and London for the Global Games. Those were unforgettable trips. Circling back to Donni though, I learned so much from her then, continue to learn from her now, and she always has my back. I’m grateful to have her as a mentor I can go to in high seasons and low. Donni and the Atlanta Hawks organization helped me navigate post-grad 9-5 life, learning vital skills necessary for all facets of life beyond the dance floor, basketball court, and even the boardroom.
I would say the Miami HEAT helped me hone and refine the skills that I learned with Atlanta Hawks, and provided opportunities for me to build connections and a platform in the Miami dance space through working with an abundance of commercial industry choreographers. Clara Stroude-Vazquez, who is now the Chief of Culture and Inclusivity with the HEAT, taught me invaluable time management and accountability skills that I utilize every single minute of every single day of my life. Ask them about the time I had a late playoff game the night before, set every kind of alarm and calendar notification known to man for an extremely early appearance the next day, and slept through it all, but STILL managed to receive the Veteran of the Year Award. That speaks to how I carried myself every other day during that season, and the organization’s ability to show me grace. Then during next year’s initial meetings, Clara had me walk the rookies through all the ways I improved my utilization of my calendar & alarm notifications. Partly to make sure I learned from my error, but more importantly to pass on my knowledge so they reduced their chances of making the same error. That’s what makes Clara great at what she does.
Donni and Clara, along with my coach Natalia Gonzalez- Gazzola, who is also still the Director of the Miami HEAT Dancers, all taught me what it is to lead, and what different forms of leadership look like. I apply different facets of their leadership styles daily, especially while I was Dance Captain with the Maluma team. I truly cannot say enough good things about both of these organizations and feel so fortunate to still have them in my life. I will never forget where I came from and who helped pave the way for me as a dancer, as a woman, and most importantly, as a human being. NBA people are just really good people.
4. What made you want to make the transition into the industry side of dance? What are your biggest takeaways and favorite moments of the opportunities / artists you were able to dance in?
So as I mentioned previously, my early dance teacher Dan Karaty was a huge initial inspiration for dancing commercially. I even had my first professional auditions and dance jobs in Manhattan as a kid through my studio, In The Spotlight. I also booked a few dance jobs on TV in Atlanta through the Atlanta Hawks, Donni, and our sponsor, Xcel Talent, but I never fully imagined dancing commercially as a full-fledged career until I booked my first tour with Don Omar in 2016.
I was dancing at an award show in Miami unknowingly in between two of the already touring dancers. I will never forget it. I was literally backstage prepping for year 3 HEAT Dancers Finals, the last day, and I got two very different career offers. The first offer was to dance in the final dates for Don Omar & Daddy Yankee’s The Kingdom tour in NYC, LA, and Miami. The second offer was a position as a casting assistant for Netflix’s Bloodline. After working in casting & production for 5 years in the unscripted space, I was so excited at the thought of making the sometimes nonexistent jump to scripted television. And for Netflix. And for a show I admired for its creative choices. BUT, I could only dance on tour for a finite amount of time, right? What a beautiful dilemma the universe handed me. Although it pained me, I passed on the position with Netflix to follow through with my commitment to the Miami HEAT Dancers, and the spot dates with Don Omar, with the thinking that casting is a career that isn’t as finite as dance. By some grace of God, I had very few schedule conflicts that season and was able to complete both of my commitments with the HEAT and Don Omar team in high regard.
I am grateful to have achieved so many career highs, including one most recently in 2023. The first includes performing in my very first show ever with Don Omar in Madison Square Garden. It felt like a full circle moment. Like coming home. Like I had really truly “made it” in my own time, on my own timeline, having come from New Jersey and experienced my own first concert there (N*Sync) - I’ve now aged myself.
Through following my theory of chasing rejection I was also able to dance on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with Ozuna, MTV’s VMAs with Maluma, and just this year I signed with United Talent Agency in LA. 90% of this happened for me in my 30s and I feel so proud of that fact. Especially in an industry that makes people feel like the clock is continuously counting down, I have such gratitude for the versions of me that chased rejection back then and continuously help me somehow “fail up” presently. Justin - if you’re reading this - I’m available for your upcoming tour!
5. Tell us about your upcoming online mentorship program! Who is the program for and what do you hope dancers will achieve from it? What inspired you to start this program and how do you hope it will evolve? Please, let us know the details of how to join / reach out etc.
My WHY is the joy I receive helping other dancers realize their dreams, goals and getting a seat at the table, because I truly believe there’s room for all of us. If I can do it, my mentees can too, and I’m happy to help in whatever way, shape or form I can. So, after years of giving away my knowledge and advice for free, I’m finally betting on myself and starting an online mentorship so I can give back to my community.
This program is for those who have aspirations of auditioning for a college dance team, pro sports team, dancing commercially, acquiring an agent, getting feedback & assistance with your headshots/resume, self-tapes, dance reel, your look/brand, or a mixture of the above. NO AGE DISCRIMINATION! My hope is that I can do for others like my mentors, leaders, teammates, and the women who came before me, did for me. My goal is to help other artists and creatives realize they too can live the life of their dreams by taking a chance on themselves and chasing rejection or “failing upwards.”
In terms of how I envision this mentorship evolving, right now my immediate goal is for my mentees to establish a deep sense of community and support in one another, both virtually and in-person, whether in class, auditions, or on the job. Us creatives, we definitely need it. Eventually I would thoroughly enjoy the opportunity and space to create an in-person mentorship session as well.
The first day of my mentorship is officially launching February 5th and I am currently offering 30 minute 1:1 introductory sessions for the next 7 days below for $20. Should a potential mentee choose to move forward with the month-long February mentorship, the $20 will be deducted from the overall fee. This session allows me and a potential mentee to get to know each other, discover if we are a right fit, what the goals are, and how I can best be of assistance.
I’m just so excited to dig in, share my knowledge, expertise, and get to know my mentees!
This is the link to sign up for initial introductory zooms:
HUGE thank you to Alexandra for taking time out of her busy schedule to share with the MTP fam! I hope this interview inspires you, reminds you that rejection is an opportunity for growth, and to never put a limit on your dreams - whether that be with time or anxious thoughts. Her journey has come full circle and it’s so admirable to see her constantly reach new heights while at the same time wanting to give back to others by creating her mentorship program! Reach out to her and give her a follow! Alexandra Murphy Instagram