Daily Inspiration: Meet Marie Spieldenner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Spieldenner.

Hi Marie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 

Hey VoyageLA! Thank you for having me. I was born in Tokyo, Japan, where I lived for the first year of my life, and then moved to a little town called Kent near Seattle, Washington. I started dancing when I was 3 and hated it (I wasn’t a big fan of tutus and big bows in my hair), so I quit and explored other activities such as swimming, gymnastics, and violin. Around 7 years old I was at a school talent show and saw one of the older girls dancing a beautiful lyrical solo. I told my mom that if I was going to dance, I wanted to dance just like her, so my mom found out the name of the studio and signed me up for a couple of classes. Allegro Performing Arts Academy is a precision dance studio that trains their dancers like professional artists/athletes. I gained a lot of connections with choreographers from the dance industry in Los Angeles through Allegro and booked my first job at 17 years old. Once I had a taste of what the industry was like, I did everything in my power to persuade my parents to let me live in LA after high school. They were very hesitant at first, but eventually saw not only my talent but my love for the art and found a way to believe in my dream with me. So, I moved out here at 18 and have been working and training as a professional dancer ever since. These last 7 years have been evolutionary for me. I have failed many, many times, but I have slowly found my footing in where I want to be in the industry.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

God, I wish I could say my journey was easy. Being 18 years old in a city like Los Angeles was humbling to say the least. When I was in high school, I used to tell everyone that I had a 5-year plan; 7 years later, not a single part of that plan has come to fruition the way I envisioned. At first, I found it really difficult to fit in. I was very anxious and insecure and tried to play that off as if I didn’t care (thinking about Lil’ 18-year-old Marie makes me giggle). The beauty of growing up is the element of surprise… For better or for worse. I thought that if I moved out to LA, I would just start booking jobs; wrong. I thought I was able to rely on people who honestly already had too much on their own plates; that was a painful awakening for me. One time I booked a job with a huge artist and got released from the gig 3 hours before the first rehearsal. I was booked nonstop in 2019 and have only booked about one performance job per year since the pandemic. I have had so many dreams right at my fingertips and I have watched them disappear into thin air in a matter of seconds. But that’s just a part of the lifestyle. Once I was able to embrace that reality and find personal ways to process those moments, I stopped being scared of this industry. Obstacles are always going to be there, but they are there for a reason. If I had been booked throughout the pandemic, I probably wouldn’t have started therapy. I wouldn’t have started working for Fostering Dreams, a dance program in the LA School District, which would eventually lead me to be inspired to go back to school and study psychology. I am mentally and emotionally in such a healthier place in my life than I ever was before the pandemic, all thanks to the so-called “obstacles.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I am a professional dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. My performance resume is filled with movies, TV shows, commercials, award shows, and live performances. I teach dance to any kind of human: little kids, adults, professionals, novice movers. I am currently teaching locally in LA every Friday morning at Genesis Studios (a professional contemporary dance studio) as well as occasionally teaching pop-ups at Movement Lifestyle. I love performing with my whole soul. From being on stage and seeing an audience go crazy, to getting to watch the playback that everyone on set knows was the perfect shot. Moments like those remind me why I do what I do. One of my favorite performances was the 92nd Annual Oscars, where I performed in the opening number with Janelle Monae. Jemel McWilliams (choreographer) led such a beautiful rehearsal process, and Janelle was such a force to be present with both in rehearsals and onstage. The whole gig was a dream job for me. I recently had the opportunity to choreograph a show for popstar, Daya- an artist I’ve been obsessed with for years. This felt like a huge step in my career since I am used to just being one of the dancers. To take on the responsibility of how a rehearsal room is running (both as the choreographer or assistant), I take pride in providing safe places for everyone involved. Whether I am the dancer, the assistant, or the choreographer, my goal is to provide a state of flow, so each artist in the room has space to flourish!

Teaching has been in my blood since the beginning. My mom is an elementary special education teacher; my uncle is a dean; my grandma was a music teacher her whole life; and my grandpa (rip) was a teacher and principal and then became a huge voice on the Washington State Board of Education in his retirement. Even my great-grandmother (whom I am named after) was a piano teacher. I think for a while, I was avoiding this gift of mine because I only wanted to perform. I felt FOMO when I would be teaching at dance studios, and my friends were on stage with an artist. Once I finally started to indulge in teaching, I felt recharged in a way that performing rarely made me feel. I am super honored to be a part of the dance program Fostering Dreams. This organization was created by Melanie Buttarazzi, and its goal is to bring dance to children in foster care. It has been such an impactful, eye-opening experience to see kids in the program get excited to move and explore in their artistry. The way I teach for Fostering Dreams has changed the way I teach class completely. I was raised in a very disciplined studio and industry classes in LA also demand that same level of precision. However, in my classes, I create an environment where the perfectionist can let their guard down and actually study what’s available to them in the present moment. No matter what age I am teaching, I encourage the students to speak on what’s bubbling up in their bodies while they are moving. Dancers tend to struggle with speaking (I mean, we chose the one art form where we communicate our feelings through movement, so duh, we don’t wanna talk about them), but by the end of class, everyone is engaged and moved by what the others are saying around them. I always say to my students to look at themselves the way one would look at art in a museum. With unbiased support, zero assumptions, and pure curiosity. I try to make my class the one space where we don’t have to nitpick everything we are doing wrong because what does “wrong” really mean?

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?

When I was a kid, my dad would give me the option of either a bedtime story or a couple of songs he would sing with his guitar. Almost every time he asked, I would choose the bedtime songs. My dad loves artists such as Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Traveling Wilburys, John Denver, etc., and would sing me 3 (4 if I asked nicely) songs to help me fall asleep. Funny enough, I was so young that to this day I couldn’t tell you the titles of all the songs or even which artist wrote them, but randomly a bedtime song will pop into my life out of nowhere and it immediately takes me back to my childhood. “Annie’s Song,” by John Denver, always makes me misty-eyed to this day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariespieldenner?igsh=ZWI2YzEzYmMxYg==

Image Credits
Alissa Roseborough