Xaviera Vandermay is the Artistic Director of 3rd Shift Dance in Seattle. Her company started when she lived in Chicago and got involved with Links Hall. When she had her child, her focus shifted to being a mom and the only time she could practice her dancing was between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. To this day, 3rd Shift Dance rehearses in the middle of the night.

As a young dancer, Xaviera trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Washington Academy of Performing Arts- two very different programs! The dichotomy between the two schools helped mold her unique style as a teacher.

What prompted Xaviera to go from dancer/ teacher to choreographer? She was teaching at Studio1 in Woodinville, WA, and the director allowed Xaviera to establish a student company, which she called L.O.A. (Levels of Aggression.) As a brand new company, she managed to sell out the first run of shows! She really enjoyed choreographing but ended up moving to Chicago, away from her studio. After having her son, she wanted to go back to choreography because having her own company would allow her to be creatively fulfilled while spending time being a mom.

One of the biggest challenges that Xaviera faced while starting was company was ego. She talks about a time early in her third season when she hadn’t quite sold as many tickets as she expected. It was a lesson for her in getting marketing and press releases out on time, rather than just assuming people would come.

Xaveria points out the importance of honoring other artists and recognizing that we can all lift each other up in the community. It’s not necessarily a competition because not all of our work is the same.

When it comes to creative process, Xaviera says that she choreographs best “on the fly,” because it keeps her from overthinking it. Reflecting on her collaboration with Naomi Wachira, she said that choreographing without having a copy of the lyrics was actually helpful because it forced her to listen carefully to the message in the music.

She first saw Naomi perform at the Rendevous in Seattle and fell in love with her music. Later, she wanted to do a live music collaboration and reached out to see if Naomi was available. They did the show together at Velocity and although they didn’t have any practice together until the tech rehearsal, the energy and vibe between musician and dancers was very powerful.

Like all artists, Xaveria experiences moments of self-doubt. But she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She remedies those moments by surrounding herself with great people who make her laugh, by switching up the music, and by not being too precious about her creations. If it doesn’t work, scrap it.

To find out more about 3rd Shift Dance, visit her website: www.3rdShiftdance.org

For tickets to With Love click HERE.