We’re looking forward to introducing you to chelsea seward. Check out our conversation below.
chelsea, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Sit up in bed and stretch (needed), tidy up the condo, open all of the blinds, change from pj’s to sweatpants, freshen up, feed the dog, crack open my laptop to see what my to-do list is, and debrief with my boyfriend to see how our days are going to align.
After that we dive in!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Chelsea Seward, and I’m a professional dancer, choreographer, mentor, and teacher originally from Maple Ridge, BC. Over the past 25+ years, dance has taken me across Canada — I’ve lived, trained, performed, and taught in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, and now Montreal, working in major cities and connecting with dancers from coast to coast.
My career has allowed me to train with world-renowned choreographers, perform in national campaigns, dance for artists like Fifth Harmony, and tour across Canada and abroad. But what means the most to me is how all of those experiences have shaped who I am as a teacher, mentor and woman. I’ve spent 17+ years teaching adults and diving deep into the psychology behind confidence, expression, and movement, and my purpose is to help, heal, and heighten lives through dance. I leaned in to this because I too needed to heal through so many obstacles that I faced growing up.
For almost 10 years I have been the proud co-founder of Badass Babes Dance, an adult-only training and performance company now rooted in both BC and Montreal. While we’re known for creating empowering programs and high-energy showcases, at the core of it all is a community built on support, growth, and genuine connection.
Today, I’m continuing to expand my programs across Canada, develop new opportunities for adult dancers, and build spaces where people can feel powerful, expressive, and deeply seen through movement.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
In so few words….
The part of me that identified as a person who lost her mom. Once my mom died in 2020 her death became a part of me, a piece of my heavily exposed identity. I somehow managed to share with people no matter where I went that my mom had passed. Her death was both a superpower, and a poison, for me in a million ways. Perhaps I shared that info so that I could feel that others were proud of me for pushing through and rising above? Or maybe an excuse for why I wasn’t where I wanted to be?
Either way, after a few years I realized I wanted to release that event from my every day identity. I will always have a mom who has passed, but now the information is no longer part of my public identity. I move through my days only experiencing her loss when I choose to, and how I choose to.
A lot of healing and grieving had to be done, but I am much more at peace with how, when, why and were I share about my mom. Her lack of presence is no longer an excuse for me not living up to my potential. I can say a lot more but we’ll leave it there. <3
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
In my previous answer I spoke about my moms death, which has been the biggest wound I dealt with. However, I do remember a very defining moment where I questioned giving up, or at least just dancing for fun instead of a job.
I moved from Edmonton to Toronto at 26 years old, and for the first time ever I started training at a level I had not experienced before. I had taught, and performed professionally, for years before this moment but the caliber of dancers and training in Toronto were much greater than what I had previously experienced.
I remember taking a drop-in class at a popular studio downtown and I walked home in shock. On my walk home I had a tough conversation with myself. The class was so difficult, I felt like I had never danced before, and I felt so discouraged. I said to myself “I either quit now (and maybe move back), or I put in the work”. I remember thinking about how much work this career was going to take because I had a lot of hard training ahead of me, and I had to decided if I was going to attack, and go home. I honestly felt so defeated in this moment, I remember it soooo clearly!
Needless to say, I chose the hard work. Not one part of me wanted to give in, and I am so grateful that my love and passion for dancing pushed me through the hard times.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
I’ve actually had a few people tell me that I am the same in person, as the person I portray on social media, which I believe is an awesome compliment!
I honestly try to be authentic as I move through this world. Whether be online, or in person, I do try to be as open, honest, and REAL as I can be. However, I can say that I definitely don’t share all of my heartaches struggles or opinions with the public, which doesn’t necessarily make me inauthentic but human.
I believe I deserve a level of privacy that still allows me to connect with people in a genuine way, but still have parts of my life that remain private.
I am a chatty, goofy, energetic and straight forward person and I’m confident when I say that people definitely get this when they are with me in person, or see me online! 🙂
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
The story about me seeing, and believing, in them in ways they weren’t able to and because of that, they never gave upon themselves.
I hope they tell the stories about how I refused to let them give up on themselves, and encouraged them to do things in this life they never knew they could do.
How I always made them laugh and feel light, even when their world was dark and heavy.
How my insane passion for dance changed their life, and they learned to love themselves because of how much I loved on them.
How inspiring it was that no matter how big my dreams were, no matter where in the world they would take me, no matter how busy they would make me…. I always made time to remind them they’re seen, loved, appreciated and valued.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.badassbabesdance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelseaseward_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/chelseaseward
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/badassbabesdance
Image Credits
Tempest Ray Photo
Diana Rodriguez
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