Meet Hannah Mettler

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

Hi Hannah , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Deeply driven by the pursuit of human connection, artistic excellence, and the power of education, my resilience is motivated by a desire to serve those around me through the art of dance.

I am a dance artist, educator, and creative that truly believes creativity will help connect and save the world. From impoverished communities in Guatemala, to partnering with non-profits that serve the United States prison population, I have had the honor and privilege of teaching dance workshops that not only teach a creative skill, but bring the richness of the arts into communities that rarely experience joyful connection to the “outside” world.

My fulltime job is balanced in dance studio education where I teach dance lessons in a variety of styles to children of all ages, while also maintaining professional connections by bringing dance choreography to concert performances. I have been featured at both national and international festivals as both a performance artist and choreographer, and enjoy connecting with audience members and art patrons about how dance might inspire their own creativity.

My hearts goal is three fold: to continue to feed the professional dance community, where technical excellence and the preservation of the art of dance continues to thrive; to educate the next generation of young dancers and encourage them in their training; and to always remain connected to populations that have extremely limited access to dance education.

Currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance at Sam Houston State University, my lifelong resolve to pursue dance is motivated by how I have seen it change my own life and the lives of others through communal connection bringing forth joy, beauty, and ultimately hope.

I would not be where I am without the support of my husband, parents, mentors, and friends. Although I have been self driven to accomplish certain achievements in my dance journey, I would not have had the success or the ability to pursue opportunities without the presence of community in my life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Currently I am a freelance dance artist and choreographer pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance at Sam Houston State University. As a masters candidate, I have had the opportunity to teach undergraduate courses while preparing original research that will be presented through a thesis dance concert.

I love the college population and being able to work with undergraduate students is the most rewarding part of my job! Some of the most special parts my graduate career have been touring original choreography at multiple festivals and producing my first dance film.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three qualities that impacted my journey were perseverance, graciousness, and humility.

Perseverance helped me pace myself by learning to set day by day goals that would help me reach my long term career goals. There are peers I know in the industry that gave up before allowing enough time for true success to happen. It’s important to realize there will be days the only person cheering you on will be yourself, and staying consistent with pursuing your goals will be one of your greatest strengths.

Graciousness with myself and others. Failure happens at some point and being able to be gracious with yourself is an important practice. Graciousness produces generosity with others, and that builds strong relationships. Support and celebrate others success, help people when you can, and invest in people’s projects when you are able! That makes a world of difference.

Humility assisted me more than anything else honestly. Admitting I could not do things on my own and asking for help and advice by people I admired in the industry were the things that produced the most growth in me. Realizing that asking for help is brave and not a sign of weakness!

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I genuinely love working with other artists such as actors, photographers, musicians, filmmakers, and visual artists and always enjoy seeing how dance might bring someone’s creative visions to life.

I am interested in expanding to create site specific dance work in museums, art galleries, office buildings or other spaces outside of the traditional theater.

I have worked with several non profits with diverse mission statements and needs, and am open to unique collaborative projects that could be based in performance or education.

The best way to contact me is by email or instagram @hannahjoymettler

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hannahjoymettlerdance.com
• Instagram: @hannahjoymettler
• Linkedin: Hannah Mettler

Image Credits

Anna Sneed – Personal Dance Photo
Mary Lock – In Studio Photos
Rachel Redding – Performance Photos