Meet Alexis Evans - Professional Dancer, Choreographer, and Educator. Former NBA Dancer.
An inspirational journey of resilience, dreaming big, and honing into her natural talents.
For this week’s edition of More Than Poms, we are featuring…
ALEXIS EVANS
Professional Dancer, Choreographer, and Educator. Former NBA Dancer.
1. Give us a little insight on the life of Alexis. What is your background and how has that led you to where you are today?
I started dancing when I was two years old and haven't stopped since then. Like many of us, I danced in a competitive dance studio and went on to dance for my high school dance team, my college dance team, and graduated from Colorado Mesa University with my Bachelor of Arts degree in dance performance. After graduation from my undergrad, I danced with the Cleo Parker Dance Ensemble for one year before suffering a devastating knee injury. Many medical professionals around me during this time told me that I would have to teach myself to walk again, that I'd never be able to run again let alone dance again. My knee injury halted my dance career for one year as I underwent reconstructive surgery on my ACL, MCL and Meniscus. My surgeon repaired the ligaments in my knee and removed a piece of my left hamstring to create a new ACL with. This resulted in a pause in dance and required a complete focus on physical therapy and full recovery. During this year of recovery, I moved to Los Angeles and finished my last six months of physical therapy while teaching ballet, jazz, and contemporary at a dance studio in Southern California.
I slowly began auditioning, networking, and taking class while living in L.A. I started with a full-time dance contract at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which led to 6 years of touring as a Main Stage dancer at EDC Las Vegas, EDC China, and EDC Mexico. One of my favorite contracts was dancing in the Christmas on Ice - Holiday Spectacular in Niagara Falls, Canada. Beyond the stage I've had the pleasure of dancing in commercials with Ivy Park x Adidas, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Mercedes-Benz. I danced with Maroon 5, Shinedown and on the Disney Channel. I also danced for an arena soccer team called the Ontario Fury. This experience really gave me the insight and the connections needed to be successful in the pro dance space.
Through the midst of all this, I created a side business called "Level Up with Alexis Evans" where I choreograph competition dance routines for high school dance teams, teach competitive dance skills and tricks and push high school dancers to achieve success in the competitive space. Around this time, I also became a certified fitness coach and nutritionist. Fitness has really helped me share my passion for movement and injury prevention to dancers and non-dancers alike.
In 2021 I began working towards my Master of Arts degree in Dance Education. I am finishing up my last semester of grad school this summer at California State University - Long Beach.
In 2022 I achieved one of my greatest dreams, dancing on a pro NBA dance team with the Sacramento Kings. I moved to Sacramento and had one of the best years of my life, dancing in 42 home games, engaging myself in the community and creating lifelong friendships.
After my season with the Kings, I decided to move to one of my favorite cities, Las Vegas, and continue my dance career. Here in Las Vegas, I danced at the opening ceremonies of Formula 1, the Super Bowl Sports Illustrated party, and the NYE Gala at Resorts World. I teach Contemporary Jazz dance classes at UNLV as well as fitness classes.
Lastly, in 2020 I began judging dance competitions. I have traveled throughout the U.S. judging 8-10 dance competitions every year for Stage One National Dance Competitions and Impact Dance Adjudicators.
I'm looking forward to spending many more years in Las Vegas while expanding my dance career as a performer, choreographer and educator.
2. Tell us about the motivation behind becoming a professional dancer on the industry side of things? How have you seen yourself grow over the years? What kind of opportunities have you been able to partake in and have those opportunities leveled up as your training has progressed?
Growing up dance was my first love, and I knew that it would be my career. I never steered away from that goal. Everything I've accomplished in my life was methodically a steppingstone to the career I've always dreamed of having and deep down knew I would have. Like many dancers I've gone through setbacks along the way and my reconstructive knee surgery being one that threatened to end my career all together. During my time of recovery, I went through an identity crisis, and I spent a year trying to figure out who I was without dance in my life. And while this year away from dance could've forced me to end my dance journey and start on another path, I took it upon myself to go against the odds and continue my dance career. Not only did I decide to continue my dance career but to move to Los Angeles and carve a path for myself in the industry/commercial dance world. My motivation was simply to prove to myself that an injury and major surgery was not going to stop me from having the dance career I always knew I could achieve.
When I was younger, I was never quite a patient person and can say that was a downfall in my personality. As I've immersed myself in the professional dance world, I've grown patient with myself and my career. I've taught myself that every audition is a learning experience and began journaling after my auditions. I would document each audition, how quickly I learned the choreography, if I was able to fully perform the choreography to my best ability, what I wore and how I felt after the audition. I still journal after auditions and it really helps me process my emotions whether I'm happy or a little down. I wish I could say that rejection doesn't affect me anymore but I'm still human and rejection still hits me like a ton of bricks. Although now that I've experienced it so much in the professional world, I've learned how to process it faster and more efficiently to help me be more successful in my future auditions.
Of course, many of my performance opportunities have been nothing short of a dream come true. Dancing in multiple different countries, working on movie sets, and dancing in the NBA playoffs are moments in my life that I will cherish for as long as I live. One opportunity that was unexpected but has truly sparked joy in my life is judging dance competitions. I began this work in the midst of the pandemic, and it truly regenerated my deep love for dance. While judging dance competitions I've had the pleasure of sharing my knowledge and experience in dance with dance teachers, and young dancers from all over the U.S. Honestly, watching dance for 13 hours a day, 3 days straight, talking about it, critiquing it and offering my feedback, has truly been a dream job for me.
As I continue to train and learn not only in dance class but in my grad school studies, I'm able to offer knowledgeable advice and feedback to young dancers. One of my favorite moments from judging was reading a DM from a dancer that I judged earlier that season. In her feedback I told her that I thought she could really have a successful career as a professional dancer if she chose to take that route after high school. She reached out to me and thanked me for my advice. She said that she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue dance after high school, but now after hearing my feedback she felt convinced to look into dance programs and start the journey towards working professionally. Reading that message fulfilled my heart and soul more than I could've ever imagined.
3. Tell us about your experience as an NBA dancer! What initially inspired you to audition and what were your favorite parts about the opportunity? What kind of growth did you see within yourself?
In 2016 after some convincing from my Mother, I auditioned for the Los Angeles Rams. Pro dance truly was never on the radar for me, and I thought "I'll just audition for fun". Well, I made it to the Finals, beating out hundreds of dancers and making it to the Top 40. After being so close, but not making the final team I became obsessed with pro dance and knew that I had to get one a team at some point in my career. I spent the next few years training, auditioning for numerous teams, traveling for auditions, making it to finals, but unfortunately not finding the team that I fit best at. I honestly told myself that it was time refocus my efforts on other aspects of my career and step away from pro dance. I saw an opportunity to virtually submit for the Sacramento Kings and with some convincing from my friend Madison (who is a former Chargers Girl and current Lake Girl) I went for it. After my submission, I was asked to join their in-person audition while I was on vacation with my family in Colorado. I quickly booked a flight to Sacramento, spent the day auditioning, learning choreography, and interviewing and eventually making the team. It was a whirlwind experience and in the two weeks following my audition I moved up to Sacramento and began my NBA season.
While on the team I was on the Social Responsibilities Committee. This committee was comprised of dancers from both 916 Crew and Kings Dancers. Our duty was to put together presentations for the team that paralleled the theme that the organization was recognizing during that game. For example, for the Military Appreciation game we asked our teammates to bring in photos of their family members that have served in the military. We framed these photos and had them displayed in our locker room during the game. During halftime we gave a presentation about the military and let each team member speak about their loved one that was in the military. We then asked each team member to take a minute to write a Thank You letter to an active service member; we sent these letters off to a non-profit that mailed them to active military base. Throughout the season we did multiple presentations and explained to the team the importance of recognizing organizations and learning about different cultures and celebrating them together. This committee really brought a sense of purpose to my role on the team. It gave me value as a team member and filled my desire to be a leader on the team.
One of the greatest lessons I learned in the NBA was to learn quickly, be able to adapt to the unexpected, and to truly be ready for anything. I learned that the best laid plans could change in an instant and that a valuable teammate is someone that can remain calm, conduct themselves in a professional manner, and always have the organization's best interest at heart. These aspects of the job are essential to the success of the team. And once they are learned and experienced it's easy to take those skills with you as you move on not only in the dance world but as a professional in any other career.
4. How do you keep a growth mindset with all that you do? As a fitness professional, professional dancer, Masters student, author, and choreographer, what are your best tips and lessons learned from accomplishing so many different goals?
For as long as I can remember I've had an internal drive to set myself apart, to achieve great things, to set goals for myself that would push me but were achievable. It's hard to explain, but I've always realized my potential and have felt that it's a duty of mine to fulfill that potential. I've never been conventional in the idea of what my life "should look like". I gave myself the availability and the permission to carve out my own path in life and not feel pressured to follow "social norms". I am so lucky to have parents that recognized my drive early on and let me run with it. They saw that I was passionate about dance and supported me every step of the way. I am always eager to learn and grow as an individual, a dancer, an educator, a choreographer, and now a writer. I know that in order to make the impact I strive to make not only in the dance world but also on the next generation of young women I have to achieve certain levels of success, gain experience and knowledge and push myself out of my comfort zone to be that inspiration to others. And with that thought in mind, I'm willing to break glass ceilings, to achieve what seems to be unachievable, and to inspire others to be the best version of themselves.
For many years I believed that I was only talented when it came to dance. I didn't think that I was smart or good at school. I thought that if I was going to ever see success in my life it would have to be in a dance environment, therefore I focused solely on becoming the best dancer I could. I was under the impression that if I didn't put all of my effort into dance that I wouldn't show the dedication and passion required to make it as a professional dancer. With that thought in mind, I didn't put any effort into other talents or interests growing up. Even in my undergrad studies, most of my energy was focused on my dance classes and rehearsals. My general education classes were of little concern to me.
After graduation, professional experience, and many years of self-exploration, I came to the realization that having more talents and more interests besides just dance would actually help me in the long run rather than hinder me. I realized that being multi-passionate was in fact a good thing and I started to allow myself to dabble in other talents that have always been a part of my personality, but that I've suppressed for so many years. After having this epiphany, I wished that I had realized it earlier in my life and had allowed myself to explore all of my natural talents instead of just dance. With that thought in mind, I decided to write a children's book that gave permission to young girls to explore all different activities, sports, and arts.
My book is titled "Charlie Can" and it's about a young girl that has a natural drive to not only play soccer, but to try art class, to go to outdoor club, and to run for her school class president. She is unaffected by her friends continuing to tell her that "soccer players don't go to art class" or that "girls can't run for president". With her undying belief in herself she explores here different talents, makes friends in every activity she is in, and ultimately becomes her school class president. The book ends with another student asking her for advice and Charlie encouraging her and inspiring her by saying "you can achieve your dreams, no matter what others say." I wrote this book in hopes of inspiring the next generation of young women to whole heartedly believe in themselves, to reach for their dreams, to push pass barriers and become the strong women they always knew they could be.
5. If you could give your best piece of advice to a young dancer wanting to make a team or become a professional dancer or a current dancer still striving to accomplish their goals, with all that you know now, what would you tell them? In regards to dance training, hopes and dreams, etc.
For any dancer working towards a goal in their dance career please do not give up on yourself. Be a sponge, learn from every rejection how to do better next time, and keep evolving as a human being. Ask for help, ask for advice from those who have achieved the goals you're still working towards. Be observant, be patient, and don't ever forget that you have something special to offer, something that no one else has.
For me my work ethic and professionalism has helped me not only get more and more opportunities but helped me keep those opportunities year after year. There are a million amazing dancers in the world, be the one that shows up on time, comes prepared, is a team player, and can stay calm in any situation. That is a valued member of any team.
HUGE thank you to Alexis for taking the time out of her busy schedule to share with the MTP fam! I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did! Her resilience is inspiring. Her knowledge that she has gained from so many different experiences in the dance world and in her daily life is truly insightful. Give Alexis a a follow and keep up with her journey! @_alexisevans on Instagram!