Growing up immersed in the world of performing arts, movement has been a part of Elise’s life for as long as she can remember. Today, she’s the co-founder and executive director of Motivated Movers NYC, providing beginner level dance training and audition techniques for actors and singers. She’s also a managing director for Denman Theatre & Dance Co., and by day, she works as marketing manager for the American Marketing Association. With the passion, dedication and work ethic she embodies, we’re confident she’ll continue to balance it all (and more) with ease and grace (and of course, rhythm).

The Basics:

Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin
Current city: Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater: Oklahoma City University; Columbia College Chicago
Degree: B.S. American Dance Pedagogy, M.A. Arts, Entertainment, & Media Management
Very first job: Lead Dancer & Guest Choreographer, Smoky Mountain Opry
Hustle: Executive Director, Motivated Movers; Marketing Manager, American Marketing Association; Managing Director, Denman Theatre & Dance Co.

The Interests:

Babe you admire and why?
My mother who has taught me to lead with compassion, lean into my potential, and love fearlessly. She’s an impactful teacher, an honest mentor, a faithful friend, and woman of true integrity. My Motivated Movers NYC cofounder, Jesse Miller, brings her whole self to each moment in life. She is fearless in her ability to share the beautiful mess and radiance of that life with others. Jesse helps me embrace every moment with eyes and heart open while encouraging me to keep the faith in what’s possible. The incredible director/choreographer Stephanie Card faces her creative and personal life with fierce courage and authenticity. Her example challenges me to grow emotionally and professionally. Actor Jane Bunting’s resilience, grit, and generosity push me to take ownership of my journey and tend to my heart’s needs.

Go-to coffee order and/or adult beverage?
I keep it simple: black coffee, red wine, whisky neat, and sparkling water. The fuel for passion and productivity.

What’s something you want to learn or master?
I need to get started on my Spanish! My husband is bilingual and I’d love to honor his heritage and continue the legacy in our own family.

If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Brené Brown. To say this woman’s research and insight has impacted my life would be a serious understatement. From the core of Motivated Movers to my future-facing self, she has taught me to stand firmly in each moment choosing courage over comfort, failure over perfection, and vulnerability over calculation. To tell her how she has impacted my life would be a gift. To discuss our visions for the future would be an absolute dream.

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle.
The role that keeps my heart full and my creative wheels turning is as cofounder and executive director of Motivated Movers NYC. For over six years we have been serving professional artists in the New York area, providing beginner dance training and dance audition technique for actors and singers. By day I am the marketing manager at American Marketing Association, where I manage promotion for our event portfolio and support overall brand management through messaging, design, and experience. It is an exciting time to be working at this 80-plus-year-old nonprofit, as we focus on what the AMA looks like for the next 80 years, evolving into the essential community for today’s marketers.  Continuing my commitment to dance, I serve as managing director for Denman Theatre & Dance Co. We are a new company focused on developing hybrid theatrical works that use movement and dance as the primary vehicle for storytelling.

What does your typical workday look like?
The beauty of my professional life is there is no such thing as a typical workday, but to give a snapshot of what a day could look like: Monday morning commute to work listening to a podcast to get inspired for the week; the day at AMA collaborating with an innovative team filled with lots of laughter; calling a Motivated team member on my lunch break to discuss upcoming programming; checking in with DTDC artistic director post-work; and then head home to catch up on some marketing initiatives and artist correspondence for Motivated Movers (while making time for my hubby and puppy).

Tell us about your performing arts background.
I grew up training in classical ballet and watching my mom in rehearsals for the annual musical at Notre Dame Academy. The real pivotal moment that directed me towards theater was developing scoliosis at age 12. Dance was my life, but at the time scoliosis was a big obstacle as a ballet dancer. While it helped me keep my back strong and flexible, it also became quite difficult and uncomfortable to develop the clean lines the style demands. My mother encouraged me to start voice lessons so I could begin translating my gifts to the theater. After performing in “West Side Story,” “Into the Woods,” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” I never looked back. 

In high school, my plans were to enter a pre-med program and become an orthopedic doctor focused on spinal ailments and dancers. My father one day asked if that was what my heart actually wanted, or if it was just what I would be good at. My heart wanted to keep performing, and I had no idea if I could make that vision work. But that is what I chose—to pursue theater. 

At Oklahoma City University I found a new world of dance at the Ann Lacy School of Dance & Arts Management. The teachers there, particularly Kay Sandel and Tiffany van der Merwe, started teaching me how to work with my scoliosis in movement and not against it. Possibilities started opening up, my love for dance was reinvigorated, and I transferred to their new American Dance Pedagogy program. College was filled with dance classes, voice lessons, rehearsals, musicals, business classes, pedagogy training, choreography, and the developed passion of teaching others to embrace movement. 

Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what I wanted for a career, never thought I would perform forever, but knew if I didn’t try at age 22 I never would. So, I set off to NYC upon graduation, hit the pavement audition to audition, had the pleasure of performing professionally, dabbled in casting, founded Motivated Movers, and grew to realize evolved dreams for my life filled with dance education, community development, and arts leadership. 

Movement is a part of my soul, my identity. It carries me forward to each new chapter, revealing new strengths and new ways I wish to serve the communities I treasure. Dance is part of me, but it is not all of me. I’m in the process of discovering what I do not yet know.

What inspired Motivated Movers?
The true impetus occurred my second year in NYC. I was studying with Jen Waldman. She had another artist in her studio who was in need of dance training, but terrified to attend class in the city. I started coaching this artist privately from my apartment, working through that fear and developing a foundation of technique to carry her forward. I became increasingly aware of the lack of opportunity for professional artists to find pedagogically sound, beginner dance training. Learning to dance as an adult is a challenge and a large class with the primary focus on learning choreography quickly is not conducive for technical growth. Listening to my friends and other artists express their frustrations, I posted on our community forum the idea of starting a group class for all the “motivated movers” speaking up. The idea caught like wildfire; my cofounder Jesse (Palmer) Miller raised her hand saying she, too, felt passionate about helping, and before we knew it we had ongoing programming solely dedicated to beginner theater dance and audition technique.

What have you learned from the experience of co-owning a business with someone else?
Co-owning a business is an adventure. When Jesse and I started, we knew each other as colleagues but not much more. We’ve built our foundation on a shared vision of helping the community we so deeply believed in. What developed was not only a strong partnership, but a rare form of close friendship. 

Jesse and I are two peas in a pod, yet bring vastly different gifts to the table. I am the pedagogy brain building curriculum, developing processes, and maintaining our capacity for growth. Jesse is the creative energy maintaining our focus on serving the “whole artist,” a content creator driven by empathy for the unique challenges of artists. We’ve got an eye on the other’s blind spot. 

Having a partner has taught me to lead with positive assumptions, lean into trust, consider my communication style, diversify my perspective, and practice grace in tension. Partnership means having someone face it all with you, but also means inevitable friction and contradicting expectations behind the scenes. I am a more emotionally intelligent and courageous individual because of our work together. 

Our biggest challenge to date has been navigating the changes in our priorities. Earlier this year, Jesse chose to step aside from the daily management of Motivated Movers to commit her time and energy to her growing family. I chose to continue on with Motivated Movers, but am working on evolving the infrastructure into something more compatible with the full picture of my life. This change wasn’t easy. Choosing courage over comfort required we lean into our personal insecurities to determine the best next steps for ourselves and the community we are both dedicated to serving. We are still navigating this new terrain, but our hearts are aligned, conversations are open, and our vision for the Motivated Community remains strong. 

How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
We women often have to prove our value before we are ever given the benefit of the doubt. This leads to taking on an extreme amount of work, waiting until we check all the boxes to pursue an opportunity, hesitating to ask for a promotion and constantly fighting to prove our worth in the workplace and creative endeavors. As a woman with a clear vision and direction, I’m “intimidating” or “bossy.” Prioritizing my career over bringing life into this world makes me “selfish.” Being emotionally aware and open to sharing my heart makes me “sensitive” or “dramatic.” I fight these societal stigmas daily; many women do. I’m actively working to challenge those learned behaviors. Most importantly, I’m working on owning my value. This means requiring fair compensation for the value I give. It means demanding a seat at the table, whether or not my resume says I’m ready. It means unapologetically stating my worth. (Trust me, this is a major work in progress.) Creating more equal opportunities starts with us. It starts with digging in our heels, fighting in the arena, keeping the door open behind us, and mentoring the next generations of women. I see this happening all around me in the arts. We have a long way to go, but together we remain relentless in our pursuit of equal opportunities.

What’s the gender ratio like in your industry? Do you see it evolving?
“There are so many women who are ready to go. There are so many artists of color who are ready to go. And we need to see that racial diversity and gender diversity reflected in our critical establishment, too. This is not a pipeline issue. It is a failure of imagination by a field whose job is to imagine the way the world could be.” —Rachel Chavkin. According to The Wellesley Centers for Women partnership with American Conservatory Theater in a study of female leadership in resident theaters, women have never held more than 27 percent of leadership in American nonprofit theater. Progress is being made, but the numbers are unacceptable. From onstage representation, to creative teams to management leaders, organizations like Statera Arts and The League of Professional Theatre Women are leading the way in driving change. I aim to play an active role in this change. 

What’s your favorite show?
“Movin’ Out,” on Broadway. It was my first Broadway show on my first trip to New York City with my mother when I was 15. Third row, sweat from the dancers flying near me, collision of pure athleticism and artistry with each step on stage. It was magic before my eyes and caught a glimpse of my future unfolding before I even knew what it meant. I will carry that show with me forever. 

Who are some women in your field you look to for inspiration?
Seema Sueko, deputy artistic director at Arena Stage, visionary leader, and master of consensus organizing. Rachel Berger, founder and executive director of The Artist Co-op, brave entrepreneur, bold thinker, and true cultivator of community. Zanza Steinberg, cofounder and artistic director of ALMA NYC, master juggler, creator extraordinaire, and dedicated to developing a diverse and inclusive community.

Career and/or life advice for other babes?
Choose courage over comfort (thank you, Brené Brown, for this daily mantra). 

Connect with Elise:

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This interview has been condensed and edited.

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