Meet Alexandra Shadle

 

We were lucky to catch up with Alexandra Shadle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alexandra , thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

I would say that my generosity comes from years of watching both of my parents modeling generosity. Throughout my childhood, I witnessed my parents being generous with my sister and I, but also with extended family, friends, and many many complete strangers. From leaving a tip at a restaurant or buying food for someone in need, buying Christmas presents from the angel tree at the mall, or visiting the sick/elderly, my parents always filled their lives and ours with service. In fact, my mom has shared that their goal is to do at least one kind deed for someone else each day! It’s so cute to me how they are partners in service. My dad especially loves good deals, and there was a “not to be missed” sale at a local suit shop. Although my dad didn’t need a new suit, he know there had to be someone who did. My mom called her local church leader to tell him that they would be happy to provide a suit if there was someone who needed it, and he said that he knew of a man who said the day before that if he could just get a suit it would help him get a better job. So my parents arranged to anonymously purchase a suit for this man whose name they didn’t know through their church leader. Months later, a man who they didn’t spoke at the pulpit at church and thanked the person who anonymously purchased his suit that helped him get a better job and change his life. My parents sat quietly in the back with tears in their eyes. This is just one tiny example of the types of service I witnessed growing up. They taught us through their examples not to operate from a scarcity mindset, but to operate from an abundance mindset. I think my parents’ examples of service really influenced my desire to use my talents to better my community, which ultimately led me to start a nonprofit.

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?

I started International Dance Arts Collective with a dream of using cultural arts as a medium to build peace and understanding in my local community and in our world community. I studied cultural dance in college, and the experiences I had interacting with dancers and choreographers from around the globe changed who I am as a person. Those experiences helped me to be more curious, less judgemental, more open minded, and more empathetic. In my job now, I get to teach youth about the the USA and the world through dance. We study not only the movement, but also the cultural and historical contexts of the dance and in many cases traditions associated with each dance. We bring in guest choreographers teaching from their own cultures where ever possible. This helps the students understand that there are so many people out there with different thoughts, traditions, foods, clothing, etc, and see the beauty in that diversity. I hope this helps them to think outside themselves, be critical thinkers, and be peace builders in their communities. I also love that we are truly preserving dying art forms. Cultural arts isn’t thought of as cutting edge or “sexy”, but it is so beautiful and it is a living, growing, evolving art form. So we are happy and grateful to be able to preserve these beautiful folk music and dance traditions by teaching them to youth who hopefully will care about them enough to keep the traditions going.

We are over the moon because we just became recognized as CIOFF USA and CIOFF USA Youth affiliated. CIOFF is the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts and is associated with UNESCO. CIOFF’s mission is to preserve and safeguard intangible cultural heritage. Being part of CIOFF means we are culture bearers for the USA at international folk festivals. This year, we have been invited to perform in Romania at a international folk festival in Vatra Dornei. We hope that we can be peace builders and give a warm, open, and positive impression of the USA despite what media or political leaders portray.

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

This question is difficult. I know this isn’t the same for most people, but for me, my college education gave me so many skills as a teacher and choreographer that really prepared me from the artistic side to do this work. Another thing that has been helpful to me is leaning on mentors. I have director mentors and mentors in business/nonprofit world who help me think about things in different ways and impart knowledge. The last thing would be practicing flexibility/improvisation skills. We learn those two concepts physically in dance, but in life and business we need to be mentally flexible and able to improvise and change directions when there are barriers or other things we can’t control. Being able to be flexible and improvise allows us to creatively problem solve.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I think the book that most recently has helped me is Atomic Habits. As a mom of 5 and a nonprofit director/artistic director, I wear a lot of hats. And life can get chaotic. I have not mastered all of the principles in the book, but reading the book has really helped me examine how I used my time and how to create habits that help the success of my day, my week, and my family. I love how in the book, he talks about how we view and identify ourselves and how that can reinforce our habits. I have started saying things to myself (even sometimes outloud to my kids or husband!) like, “I am someone who cares about my health so I am going to lift weights today even though I don’t want to.” Focusing on tiny shifts and micro habits has helped me physically, mentally, and spiritually.

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Image Credits

Ben & Elizabeth Carlston

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