Check Out Steph Gevone Heckert’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steph Gevone Heckert

Steph Gevone, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a relatively small town in the Midwest called Bettendorf, Iowa. I was adopted at five days old by my parents and when I was four, they adopted my sister Samantha from China. My family was really close and my parents made sure we spent a lot of time together.

Family dinner at the table was mandatory and we frequently took walks or bike rides afterwards, when the weather allowed. Growing up, my parents encouraged our creative development. I spent my younger years dancing, singing in church choir and playing piano. At some point, dance became a bigger priority to me than my other endeavors and I decided that I was ready to take it more seriously. I spent most evenings at the studio and many weekends at dance conventions, competitions and company rehearsals. This “DANCE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY” thing I could totally get down with! As I maneuvered through the changes and challenges of adolescence, dance was at the center of my identity. When I graduated high school, I packed my stuff into my red Pontiac G5 and moved to Corona, CA to join a non-profit organization called The Young Americans where I learned the ins and outs of teaching dance and music. I traveled throughout Europe and China bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 19 years old. Seeing as how I had never left the country prior to this, nearly everything I thought life was made of was quickly uprooted. My time abroad taught me so much about perseverance, open-mindedness and going with the flow.

Post-travel, I felt equipped with the tools and life skills I needed and moved to Los Angeles with my partner to pursue my dream of being a professional dancer. Over the last eight years, I’ve faced a multitude of challenges but also had some of my greatest successes. I’ve learned the value of a hard-earned dollar and that hustle culture is very, VERY real. Some of the best friends I’ve ever had I met in LA and also a few fair-weather ones too. I discovered the importance of a healthy and professional work environment, how to say no and how to prioritize self-care in my spare time. I’ve put hours of time and effort into making my North Hollywood home my own little oasis. Many passion projects have come to fruition here and now I can confidently say I know my way around a power drill. I’ve become a doting mom to my two kitties, Luna and Atlas, and taught one of them to sit, high-five, jazz paw, sit pretty and high tens but ONLY in that order.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Growing up, I was the quirky, artsy, bizarre kid. I didn’t have much interest in sports or school-related social events. I would’ve much rather stayed home and choreographed an entire show to a Yanni album in the comfort of my rainbow, tie-dye bedroom. The pre-teen angst was real, y’all. So take the mixture of adolescent awkwardness and add in the fact that I was a biracial child in a community of people that did not look like me and you’ve got a recipe for unthinkable bullying. My school wasn’t incredibly diverse and this made it hard for my peers to understand me. I was the kid who ate lunch in the bathroom to avoid confrontation in the mess hall, the kid who took the long route through the school basement to avoid congregations of my aggressors in the locker bays, the kid who got detention on purpose so I didn’t have to be in the classroom with the kids who terrorized me.

For a while, I did everything I could to try and fit in, including but not limited to straightening my curly hair. What a mistake! Dance became my refuge, a safe place and space for me to be my eccentric, unusual, artistic self. Through dance, I was fortunate to make friends that I’ve remained close with throughout my 29 years earthside. This was a really special time in my life because my dance friends saw me for who I was and loved me for it. When I was 16, my Dad passed away after a short but grueling battle with pancreatic cancer. So now I’m the weird-girl-with-a-dead-dad. Sadly, I thought people might feel sorry enough for me that they’d leave me alone. They didn’t. I dropped out of high school for a period of time and isolated myself. I confided in my Dad about a lot and within my family felt closest to him. Losing my Dad was easily the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, but dance was still there for me. Having danced in my life during this unimaginable loss gave me a sense of stability that I so badly needed. It grew roots into my crumbling foundation and held it together, unwavering and steadfast like a tree.

The studio was the only place I felt I could truly express my pain. Dance became the vessel through which I funneled my anger, sadness, fear, guilt and grief. If it weren’t for dance, I don’t know if I’d be here today. This is why I don’t believe that I chose the path of being a Creative, it chose me. I have always felt called to dance and create. After everything I went through, I knew that there were going to be other young people like me who needed dance. I knew it was part of my purpose to be there for those little souls like my dance teachers were there for me. So I followed my heart and landed in Los Angeles. It has not been an easy road but my past prepared me for this. I’ve gone to countless auditions, sent in submission after submission to every dance agency looking for representation, I’ve tried and failed over and over again but I’ve never given up. I’m grateful for the challenges in my life because without them, I wouldn’t know how to fight, fall down and get back up again.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been living and working in California since 2009, eight of those years in Los Angeles. I’ve traveled around the U.S. as well as Germany, Holland, Poland, Sweden and China teaching dance and vocal music to students of all ages. I teach for a number of Los Angeles-based dance studios and LA’s Best ASAP, an LAUSD After School Arts Program that brings arts education to Title 1 schools through residency programs led by artists in the community. I also dance for a professional, all-female company, MashUp Contemporary Dance (https://www.mashupdance.com) where I’m entering my 7th season. I’ve been teaching dance for over ten years and have grown a deep love and passion for educating young dancers and helping them cultivate their own unique sense of creativity and artistry. Currently, I teach Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary, Beginning/Intermediate Jazz, Lyrical and Ballet. My teaching style is challenging but non-threatening and focuses on empowering the dancer, skill mastery, improvisation, musicality and the fusion of different dance styles. I’ve always been in love with the creative process and choreographing. There’s something about creating works in the dance medium that feels especially sacred to me.

Earlier this year my choreography was presented at Club Jeté, a choreographer showcase held in West Hollywood, and MashUp’s 2020 International Women’s Day Showcase. These were really exciting performances because I had complete artistic freedom and was able to create without any limitations. I also was able to stretch my creative legs through costuming the dancers and found that I might have a knack for styling as well. The intention of my work is to make the dancer look like the music sounds. I call myself a tune-junkie because I have an overwhelming obsession with music. Song choice is one of the most integral parts of my work. Choreographers don’t get to sign a canvas when a piece is complete, they create their own signature through movement. I think my choreography has my name written all over it. My hope is that when people watch my work they hear something they haven’t heard before and feel a rush of energy in their bones.

What matters most to you? Why?
About two years ago, I was asked to make a list of my values to reflect on when I’m doubting myself. The list serves as a reminder of what makes me valuable when I’m feeling less than. My list is long and sometimes it changes, but being of service to others is irrevocably always at the top. I strongly believe that we must give to the world we exist in, in order to receive from it as well. Serving my community, family, friends and the environment is the way I connect with my reality and cultivate strong bonds with the world. For me, this is nurturing my students in dance class, hosting and cooking for loved ones, creating works that encourage mindful and healthy reflection for the dancers performing them, bringing care packages and food to houseless neighbors at the park nearby, taking time to appreciate the worlds natural beauty and doing my part to keep it clean, staying late at work to help clean up and showing up for my partner, family, students and friends. I’m guilty of getting caught up in the materialistic and superficial sometimes. It’s so easy to do, isn’t it? But when I take a moment and remind myself of what truly matters, serving others is the best way for me to get grounded and in touch with myself again. When I take the focus off of myself and put it on others, I feel I am whole with the world instead of just a part of it. Serving others has enriched my life and my relationships and I’m grateful that it’s my highest calling.

Contact Info:

• Email: sghmovement@gmail.com
• Instagram: @stephgevone
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5byKD509W3JLIcFIvyJCcg

Image Credits
Kelly Mustapha-Kellet @kellymustaphaphotography MashUp Contemporary Dance Company @mashupdance Ash Rentfro @ash.rentfro