We recently connected with Amanda LaCount and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amanda, 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?
I think I get my resilience, specifically when talking about my career, from the passion and love I have for what I do. No matter how many struggles I go through in my profession the immense love I have for dance never waivers and that keeps me going 🙂
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Amanda LaCount and I am a 22 year old professional dancer and body positivity activist living in Los Angeles, CA. I was born in Colorado and I started dancing when I was only 2 years old. From the moment I took my first dance class I loved it and wanted to do it all day every day. As I got older I became aware of the fact that to some people I don’t have the “right body” for dance. I am a plus size dancer and people have a lot of opinions about that. I grew up having people tell me to diet, to give up, and I was even kicked out of a studio because “my body type didn’t fit his vision.” Despite these struggles, I am still going strong today. I never quit. I know I was put on this Earth to dance and no matter how many people try to tear me down, I will never give up on what I love. After moving to LA at the age of 13, I started talking a lot about my experience being a plus size artist/person and started building this beautiful community of people who can relate to me and my story. I started a hashtag #breakingthestereotypeTM that means so much to me. It represents what I stand for and what my goal with my career and life is…to break the stereotypes society has pressured us to fit in to. With this hashtag I have been able to travel the world and connect with people who have similar experiences as me and to inspire them to do what they love despite what other people might think. I also have been able to accomplish some life long dreams of mine including dancing for artists such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Meghan Trainor & Katy Perry, doing campaigns with Nike, Athleta, American Eagle, & Dove, and even being on the cover of the magazine I read every month growing up, Dance Spirit Magazine! I am so thankful for the people who support me and every opportunity I have been given. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three things that were most impactful on my journey were confidence in who I am and what I do, authenticity, and my work ethic. There are a lot more things that were crucial in my journey, but these 3 things helped me so much. Advice I have for people early in their journey is to stay true to yourself! It’s easy to listen to other people’s opinions and follow that, but what makes us special is the fact that there isn’t one other person in this world that’s like us so embrace it!! When I started embracing everything about me is when doors started to open and people started to see me and love me for me! That also goes for authenticity. The more authentic I was the better my life and career became. Authenticity is sometimes hard to find and people value authentic people so much. Lastly, of course is work ethic. I got my work ethic from my mom who never quits on anything and fights for what she wants and deserves. If you have a goal, fight for it! It is possible, but you have to work hard for it 🙂
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my mother did for me was believing in me even more than I believed in myself sometimes. I owe so much to my mom. She has never ever doubted me and I owe a lot of my self confidence to her and how she supported me. She even moved from Colorado to California when I was only 13 so I could chase my dreams. Without her and her constant support I would definitely not be where I am today. So grateful for her always 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AmandaLaCount.com
- Instagram: @amandalacount
- Facebook: Amanda LaCount
- Youtube: Amanda LaCount Dance
- Other: Tik Tok: @amanda_lacount
Image Credits
Lee Gumbs
