We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eli Dewitz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eli below.
Eli, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I feel very fortunate that I found my passion at a young age, which then lead me to my purpose. Ever since I could remember I was always dancing and expressing myself. It’s safe to say I had a huge personality growing up. Whether it was dancing for hours in the living room, in the aisles of grocery stores or even giving half time performances at my older brothers basketball games. Creating and performing brought me so much joy!
As I got older this love for creation and expression grew into something that fueled me every day. I would spend late hours of the night creating dance pieces alone just for the fun of it, turning “play date’s” into choreography sessions and studying/memorizing every dance routine from “So You Think You Can Dance” and then obsessing over them with my dance friends later. When I turned fifteen I started choreographing my own solos and even was asked to choreograph several group dances at my studio. From that point on, it was all I wanted to do.
During my teenage years it started becoming more serious to me as I endeared more experiences through out my life. I started growing deeper in my faith and always found a love for human connection and healing. I also had some bad experiences with teachers whom I had looked up to that treated me poorly and in return it fired my purpose even further. I learned that I have the capability to create an environment for kids where they could feel seen, loved and safe. I was going to one day be the teacher that I wish I had.
Now it’s been over a decade later and that passion has not dwindled. Getting to teach and share this art with other human beings brings me so much joy. I will never stop trying to be the best teacher that I can be and to continue learning/pursing this art form. To me, this is my purpose.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Currently, I am living in Los Angeles, CA pursuing my dream as a professional dancer and choreographer. This year will mark a full decade of living in Los Angeles and I couldn’t be more proud of my nineteen year old self who chose to make the move alone in 2014. Being in California for the majority of my twenties has been so crucial and transformative to my development and growth as a young adult. I never had the dream of wanting the “college experience” or craved the typical young adult lifestyle. I just wanted to dance and see the world.
After moving to California I quickly found community and I honestly think that was my saving grace and why I’ve been able to survive in this wild city for so long. Even if you are pursuing any kind of career I think it’s important to enjoy life and not put it on the back burner. So throughout the years California really started feeling like home through the memories that were made. Whether that was camping in Big Sur, hiking in Joshua Tree, or driving up the Coast to San Francisco. I’m so grateful to have gotten these opportunities during this time of my life on top of doing what I love.
Now I am doing what I’ve dreamed about! After years of growing up as a comp kid in Kansas City and starting to choreograph professionally at the age of sixteen, I chose to continue my education in Los Angeles in order to be exposed artistically to more styles and opportunities in the dance world. This has opened up many doors to be able to dance/choreograph for music videos, live performances, films, commercials and more. This year I’ve started prepping to choreograph a scene in a pilot as well as for my own personal concept video project. On top of working on these projects I teach weekly at Genesis Studios and for theCREWdancers in LA. As well as tour with The Streetz Dance Convention. I am very thankful to constantly be surrounded by dance in many realms and am excited to continue this adventure!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I would start off by saying that from an early age, dance instilled a lot of confidence in me. As a dancer you’re presumably forced to take the stage in confidence to give your best performance and I think that this trait has been beneficial for me professionally and in my everyday life. As you get older and especially in the industry that I am as a free lance artist, it is important that you exert confidence so that others can take you seriously and put their trust in you.
Secondly, kindness is really important. Dance may be a competitive field but it’s brought me some of the best friendships and most of the jobs that I’ve booked have been through those relationships. When you’re kind it impacts the environment and people around you heavily and nobody wants to work with someone who doesn’t bring that to the table.
Lastly, the mindset of always being a student is very admirable. If you’re always a student then you’ll never stop growing. Being able to have this mindset also keeps us humble and even some of the most successful people in the dance industry are where they are from keeping this mindset. I do believe that if you feel you’ve surpassed the level of “student” your growth will stop there with it.
Most importantly, as you navigate your profession stay authentic to who you are!
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
It was simply to put me in dance class. Regardless of whether I pursued it or not, my life would not be the same without dance. I learned so many valuable characteristics/skills from a young age. It allowed me to experience vulnerability and self expression during my most impressionable years. The confidence that it gave me helped me find who I was early on in my childhood and I think that was very beneficial to so many different aspects of my life. I had the best of friends that I have made so many amazing memories with and it kept me busy, dedicated and instilled a hard work ethic in me. I am so grateful for all of the sacrifices that my parents made so that I could dance!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elidewitz.wixsite.com/elidewitz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elidewitz/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuiKfZbo_9s1joml9LD4_Zw
Image Credits
Katie Rich, Lexi Bradley & focuslexi
