Meet Gavin Larsen

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gavin Larsen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gavin, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I really didn’t find my purpose– it was there from the day I was born. I became aware of it gradually, as I began my discovery of ballet. The more I learned about the world of dance and theater, the more I was exposed to it, the deeper became my fascination with it. It was my world; I just knew it.

It was obvious to me, and to those around me, that dance was my purpose in life and there was no stopping me from fulfilling it.

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?
I divide my life between teaching and writing about dance. I was a professional ballet dancer from age 17 to 35, so I have a wealth of knowledge about my field. When I retired from performing, I immediately segued into teaching ballet, which is very common. What I think is uncommon about the way I teach, however, is that I am compelled to pass on much more than technique. I feel I have a mission to enlighten the world to the ways dance and art are within us all, and that art unites, elevates, and enriches the human condition.

I began writing about dance as another avenue through which to do that. I currently teach independently and at a ballet conservatory in North Carolina, and in addition to being a regular contributor to many dance media publications, I wrote a memoir, “Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life,” which was published by the University Press of Florida in 2021.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
To be a successful professional dancer, you have to have much more than physical talent or aptitude, though a natural gift for coordination, musicality, and a few basic physical attributes (what are not likely the ones you may think!) are essential.

If I had to narrow it down to the three most important qualities that enabled me to achieve a high level in ballet, I’d say sheer determination, sense of self-worth, and bravery.

Determination is probably innate in anyone who is driven to dance, but maintaining one’s sense of self is harder. I always felt I was both a dancer and a “regular” person, and those two identities are/were one and the same. But critique of my dancing didn’t hurt me personally– it made me analyze what I was doing and work to alter it, if and only if I came to agree with the critique. That process strengthened my self-worth, because I always felt I’d made myself what I was, and I was proud of it.

The bravery comes in on a daily, weekly, yearly basis. Every single time you dance, you have to be brave. Overcome fear of trying to do really hard steps, fear of failing at them and looking incompetent, fear of losing your ability, fear of losing your craft. Auditioning for jobs takes pure guts. But at the end of the day, or week, or year, you can look back and feel really proud that you did it.

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?
My parents were, and remain, my foundation. They did not know a thing about dance or ballet when I started showing signs of my own obsession with dance as a career, yet they saw my passion and learned that I had talent and potential. Although they must have had many doubts, fears, worries and late night discussions about whether to encourage me or not, they did– and I am forever indebted to them for that. They knew that my inner strength and drive would carry me through the roughest challenges and lowest points, and also that they would be there to buoy me up when I stumbled.

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was to not try to dissuade me from the path of life I wanted to follow. My mother often said to me and my sister, “Do something interesting. Don’t settle for a boring job. Whatever you do, make sure it’s interesting.” I think she spoke from her own years of less-than-interesting jobs, and from a place of regret that she did not follow her own many interests.

We can only soar from a solid launch pad, and my parents gave me that.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Ashby Baldock, Blaine Covert.

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