Meet Desirae Woltz

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

Hi Desirae, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
This is something I’m still battling. I am currently on a hiatus recovering from an injury and burnout. From where I am right now, I don’t think burnout is an avoidable step in the process of being creative. I personally think it’s imperative to the process of knowing your limits as a human being. As a dancer, I sacrifice my time, money and body, pushing myself to the limit. There is no showing up half-ass, it’s either all or nothing and for me that was a lot of pressure. Outside of personal issues I had going on, I was constantly comparing myself, calling it “constructive criticism”, money was acting funny, cars kept going down, jobs were up and down. I had no consistency. I had no balance. Artistically my passion started to die. And if you know me, you know I’m PASSIONATE. I started working with any and everyone trying to get that spark back, but the more I tried to force it, the more that light started to get dim until one day it just went out. I still don’t know how to get that light all the way back on, but I do know the light gets a little brighter the more I work with God on myself and my mental. The more I listen to him and what my spirit man needs, the more the chatter seems to fade into the background. It’s harder said than done, but it’s necessary. My best advice is 3 pieces of advice to anyone to help with burnout is:

1. Take a break from your craft when needed and learn your limits. Those gigs, producers and agents will be there when you get back. The more time you spend learning who you are first, and believing in what you do, the more you’ll feel yourself tap in creatively.
2. Establish a village of people who all share a mutual love and respect for each other, a place where someone can hold a mirror to you and it’s not to shame you, but show you who you are and what you can be if you just be real with yourself.
3. HEALTH IS WEALTH. Aside from the mental part, if you have bad oral or gut health, that can affect your mental state tremendously . Always keep a clean gut, do a parasite and heavy metal cleans, go to the dermatologist, take you behind to the chiropractor and get rid of all tension up your body. You have to put yourself first in every way

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I like to think of myself as a jack of many trades. I sing, dance, act, choreograph, host a solo podcast and I’m an optician. I am the founder and choreographer of the Detroit native contemporary hip-hop dance crew, “Eve’s Ensemble” and podcast “Just Ask Rae”. Right now I am working on the new season of the “Just Ask Rae ” podcast, which will launch in October of this year (2023). New episodes will drop every Sunday at 7:00 PM, EST. You can click the link or follow the Facebook/ Instagram page: @justaskraepod to stay up to date with everything that’s coming up. For all my dancers in Detroit, if you are over 16+ and you’re looking for a dance team to be a part of, Eve’s Ensemble is always looking for new people to grove with. Just hit us up on Instagram/Facebook: @evesensemble. Outside of the entertainment part of myself, I work a regular corporate job. I love being an artist, but I don’t believe in being a “starving artist”. Take my advice and KEEP YOUR DAY JOB HUNNY! Yes, we are artists but we are also grown adults with real bills, find something that can help you financially and not steal from your creativity.

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?
Adaptability is the most important out of the three to have longevity. You can be booked for the number one tv show in the country for 3 years, then after the contract is up, not be able to book another big job for months, even years. You gotta be able to not let that get to your ego and stop you from branching out to other areas of creativity to make some money. It’s easy to stay stuck in what’s familiar and what’s comfortable, but you’ll never truly see all you can do, if you stay stagnant. Don’t be a one trick pony, have different things to pull out of your creative tool box, so when you go to these auditions your headshot is not just shoved into a pile when the rest of the people who think just having talent is enough. Talent gets you through the door, hard work keeps you in the room. Humility goes hand and hand with adaptability for me. Most people who can adapt easily are pretty down to earth. Ego is a big killer to peoples career. Alot of great things came out of collaborations, don’t that person people don’t wanna work with cause you feel like yo ish don’t stank. Make sure you’re doing your mental and spiritual work on the daily to be a better person for yourself and the people around you.
Last but definitely not least, be prepared. I feel like this bare minimum in this industry. You could have the nastiest attitude, but if you prepared people still gone rock with you cause AT LEAST you’re prepared. Learn all the lines, every part of the dance, know all the stage directions. Know your stuff, all people can do is respect it. Best way to stay prepared is to study hard and pack everything and then some. Keep you a solid dancer bag with all the essentials, with a detailed checklist for show days. ALWAYS pack extras and add your initials in the tag of your clothes.

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 kept me in church. If it wasn’t us going to church it was me and my granny. Church was the first place I experienced the arts, friends and even relationships. As I got older church stopped being the hangout spot and it really turned into me finding myself in who God says I am. When you invite God into your life and let him control the space, your heart changes. You’re able to have more compassion and empathy for others journey’s and I feel like that’s the one thing the world needs again, a little bit more empathy.

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