Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Tsolis.
Hi Cassandra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I knew at a young age I wanted to dance, but it wasn’t until many years later that I would give myself permission to. Dance has been and was my lifeline. It started with living room sessions, watching my Yia Yia explaining our cultural Greek dances. Little did I know that my Yia Yia was teaching me more than just dance, she was teaching me how to hold onto joy in the midst of life’s circumstances. As I journeyed through life with a single mom and the adversity that comes with that, dance was where I felt alive. I attended college as the first in my family, where I pursued Dance at first. After one year, I told myself it wasn’t a steady career and focused on psychology in hopes to be a college counselor. My first thought of a career was to give resources back to students whose parents weren’t able to by being a college counselor, just like the counselor who gave me a chance to go to school.
While I had this in mind, I experienced a spiritual awakening that led me to pursue the non-profit world four years after. InterVarsity was the non-profit I was on staff with at a local community college in Santa Rosa. I walked with students in gaining skills in leadership, community development and dialoguing about faith. I started to notice this wasn’t all that I wanted. Something about dance was still left unfinished, but I had put it aside thinking it wasn’t stable enough or I wasn’t worth it enough to pursue. All in one year, I decided to leave it all, the non-profit world, the community I had been a part of for seven years, to come to LA and give myself a chance. I am in Los Angeles now and have slowly pieced my passion together. I spent a few years working with after school programs such as ZULU Dance Foundation and STAR Education that created space for students to learn about movement and express themselves through difference styles of dance. I also worked with Conga Kids, that really brought together passions of mine, which was a social-emotional program creating space for students to grow in self-awareness, self-confidence and teamwork while learning a variety of partner dances.
While I was teaching for work, I started to pursue Krump, a street style of dance. Krump was introduced to me at a local church in Los Angeles. I was attending this church, where the Pastors themselves were dancers in the dance industry and someone told me “did you know what you are doing is Krump?” From there, I started the journey of learning about this sacred movement that originated here in South Central Los Angeles. Krump was much more than just dance, but a gift that helped me uncover myself and a tool to face trauma that was buried in me. Through working with children, teenagers and adults, I noticed I became most alive when teaching not only dance but dance that created space for healing. Some of the work I have focus on now is creating workshops that can facilitate a sense of deeper healing and awareness of ourselves. I recently launched a workshop called “Contemplation and Creativity,” where people listen to a story, connect to the story and move from a meditative place. In the last couple of years, I have been diving into facing trauma through movement and letting our body share its story. I have been learning more of my own story and as I heal, I proceed in wanting to create space for others to let their body release and share its story as well. I am a professional dancer, I am a facilitator, I am a teacher and a constant learner. I want people to see that their story is sacred, and sometimes finding ourselves comes to listening to our full story through movement.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think everyone has external and internal challenges. For me, growing up, I was blessed to have a home, food and an education. I did grow up with a single mom, and there were definitely financial and emotional challenges that we faced. My mom taught us there is always a way, and watching her navigate life gave me a sense of faith. Coming into my adult years, the challenges became more internal. It was the intrusive thoughts, low self-esteem, lack of confidence that I think many can relate to. For a long period of time, I let my childhood influence my thinking, however when I started to address and change my mindset, I started to see a new version of me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart from each other is our story and I am letting mine slowly be told. The last few years, I have been finding my passion through my own story and connection to myself. Recently I have been learning about Dance Movement Therapy, trauma work and inner healing. I’ve attended many workshops and I have slowly started to create my own. I am not a certified therapist, but I have created workshops that come from my own experience and trainings. In the last year, I started with two groups of people, where I incorporated movement with healing. In these groups, I get to use the tools I’ve learned as well as the ideas I’ve created through walking out my own story. I would have to say, this is what I am proud of, seeing others experience a deeper connection to themselves and a deeper connection to life.
What does success mean to you?
I see success as becoming the best version of yourself. It is in finding what makes you come alive and going after that passion. In knowing yourself and letting yourself live fully, that is where you experience the most of life.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @cassandratsolis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassie.tsolis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK8OwRJ7LZJw_2S2dFr5Lw
Image Credits
Brittany Smith
