An Inspired Chat with Lucy Peru

We recently had the chance to connect with Lucy Peru and have shared our conversation below.

Lucy , it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: When was the last time you felt true joy?
Today! I spent time with dear friends today. The people in my life fill my heart with joy.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! I’m Lucy Peru. I’m a songwriter, singer, and recording artist. Most recently my recordings have been a combination of electronic and acoustic sounds. The choices are dependent upon what the song needs. Most of my influences are visual and/or related to motion, but so much in life finds its way into songs and other creative work : airplanes, trains, mid-century and Brutalist architecture, modern dance, horses, Rothko, Jan van Eyck (and a million other paintings by different painters that I love), cities, rain, freeways, driving, forests, Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports”, Japanese minimalism, dark comedy, Martha Graham, Noh dance, Batsheva Dance Company, the desert, fire, the music of Aaron Copland, the sky, opera, balloons, candy, movie theaters, cactus, clouds… I also created, wrote, and am featured in the *lucy peru’s arts & leisure* comedy series. These comedy vignettes are about the arts, and leisure time. They’re very silly. My music can be found on all streaming platforms, and the *arts & leisure* series can be found on my YouTube channel @lucyperu. Thanks, everyone! x

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
My parents were my first teachers. They wisely said, “Go after your dreams, but be prepared to work very hard.” My next teachers were all the amazing artists who taught me in conservatory during my college years. They taught me to work through dance injuries, exhaustion, doubt, fear- everything. The next teacher was my college curriculum. As a modern dance and ballet major, each day was comprised of a two-hour modern dance technique class, a two-hour ballet class, anatomy/kinesiology, Laban movement analysis, improvisation, and composition class. Music, the Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, world dance, partnering, art history, dance history, linguistics, and other academic classes were sprinkled in between. I loved what I was studying, but the environment was very high pressure, incredibly competitive, and the physical demands were so great it made regular academic studies seem more intense because we were so worn out. At night we’d rehearse/work for hours, and then fall into bed and repeat it all the next day. I remember hearing people talk about how much fun college was and I remember thinking, “Um, I don’t know what they’re talking about. This is not fun.” But it was invaluable! I was taught how to show up, no matter what. To focus on my task at hand. To bring the body and everything else will follow. I’m so grateful for all my teachers. They changed my life.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I would actually reframe the question: what did failure teach you that success never could? Failure has taught me to listen to my instincts and follow them, to learn to forgive myself for falling short and to learn to congratulate myself for trying, to strive for humility (which, to me, is sometimes just the willingness to try something someone else’s way), to be open yet remain true to myself, to listen to my heart and not my head, to keep my eyes on my goal, to be optimistic, to let go and have faith (and when I don’t have faith to act as if I have faith), to remain curious, to ask questions, take risks, be honest with myself, to not release something if it needs more work (unless there’s a deadline!), to remember that I love what I do, to take what I do seriously but to not take myself seriously, to have fun, and to remember that as long as I’m alive I can try again. As Samuel Beckett said, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Oh, yes, the public version is the real me, for better and worse! I love having a private life, but the real me is out there in all its silliness and humanity.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Thankfully, I’m doing what I was born to do. I think we’re so lucky if we find what it is that we love and then devote our time to it. I was born to make things. I feel very grateful that this is my life.

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Image Credits
Austin Young

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