Were discussing all things refreshing invigorating and restorative with Amari Marshall while exploring and stretching the word FITNESS. Listen below!
“I always have to put a lot of trust and faith in myself to know that I’m capable of this situation or this task at hand.”
02:08 The Concept of Fitness
“I was really out and about and I just love the confidence that 30 has given me sSo 31 I’m really looking forward to. It’s about to be blast.”
AMARI MARSHALL
Interviewers: Rashida Zagon, Bexx Francois
Rashida (04:46)
I wanted to ask you, can you share like how fitness has influenced your journey both personally and in your craft and how has it shaped your path and contributed to where you are today?
Amari Marshall (04:51)
For me, fitness, I really love that word because I pride myself on just my journey of starting off as a dancer and wanting to get into this field. The driving force really behind what I do and why I stuck it out was the lack of representation. It was the lack of seeing black girls, thick black girls like me and
the community in the industry, getting the work, knowing that we had the talent. And one of the biggest things that people put on us before you even see the dancing, are you fit enough? Can you do this choreography? So I really had to dig deep and work hard to keep myself conditioned to be able to be in these rooms and be put to the test and put my body to the test of doing.
difficult choreography that you wouldn't think that I would be able to do. And that's just the physical aspect of it. Now you have to see if you're fit even mentally and emotionally to be able to handle the capacity of these jobs. It was very complex and very, it not only challenged me physically, but mentally. And it made me really, I always have to put a lot of trust and faith in myself to know that I'm capable of this situation or this task at hand. And that's just in the dance, even outside of it. In my personal life, health is so important. I don't come from a line of super sickly people, but quite a few people in my family have passed away to health reasons.
29:56 Vision and Collaboration in Dance
Bexx (30:55)
I do have a question. Yeah.
It actually piggybacks perfectly into my question, because I did want to talk about vision. I had just finished watching the Luther Vandross documentary, Never Too Much, and something that stuck out that they kept repeating was he had a vision, he had a vision, he had a vision. And he executed it, because that's what he's known for. That's his legacy. So when it comes because I know you transitioned from dancing to choreography.
Amari Marshall (31:04)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Bexx (31:22)
In being a creative and then also working, being a manager in some sense and using the left and right side of your brain, how do you commit to your vision but also compromise because you're teaching people who aren't
How do you find the happy point between those two?
It's always, I've always just had this need and want to make sure I'm taking care of my body so I can just live a healthy life and live a long life to be able to experience as much as I can. And even with my relationship, making sure that I'm born into healthy relationships too, what happened with even us, sometimes you get these opportunities to work with amazing creatives.
but you realize that you're either not ready or not confident, you're not trusting your community of people that God has surrounded you with to where when you can call on them, you know it's gonna be the right people at the right time, at the right moment that's gonna be able to produce the work that you know is within you, that you know that everybody involved can create. And it takes time to water all those situations.
When I think of just fitness and what that word means to me and all these different dynamics is really just watering those different situations, just watering the need and the want to take care of my body. So one, I can be able to show up for myself in the workspace and I can just be able to show up for myself in day-to-day basis and for my peers so I can be in the best shape that they need me when they call.
Amari Marshall (31:40)
Mm-hmm.
that's a really good one because what collaboration it is, think collaboration is like, it's compromising. You're have those moments where you gotta trust the other person or let that person take up that space. That's been a really big test of just trust and really just having faith that, hey, this person is here because.
what they have to bring to the table really, you know, it's gonna work and it's gonna flow well. So it's just me taking a chance. really say it's really trust because you don't know until you know. That's how I feel and how I've had to be able to experience. But just trusting that whatever way it goes is gonna be okay. And that's just really been my thing and learning, I've learned through watching that. Like literally, I just really say one of my favorite things about working with B and her team is having a team. And it's difficult when sometimes one of the challenges, everybody has excellent ideas and everybody has their viewpoint on how this should go and how this should work. But it's just trusting whoever we do choose and whoever we do choose to follow, like knowing that that's the best one and just having that intuition, just really trusting your intuition, your gut on letting that person take the ropes and going with that idea. it usually, 90 % of the chance, it really does turn out even better than what you thought originally. So I would say me, it's just like trusting very much.
36:32 - Navigating Imposter Syndrome
Bexx (36:32)
Happy anniversary to 15 years in the game, but is there something that in the beginning or is still there in the passenger seat that you're constantly giving attention to so that it doesn't thwart your progress or success in your journey?
Amari Marshall (36:52)
Yes, the word imposter syndrome.
That one creeps up every once in a while. And depending on where I'm at, sometimes, unfortunately, let her live rent free in my mind. I wasn't being a confident person in knowing where I come from. When it does creep up, I'm just like, ooh. And it's something I do. I did push to the side. But like you said, it will just start bleeding into it and it's just so not me. And it started popping up a lot once I started getting like social media attention. And that'll really do it. That'll really do it because then you're feeling like you're constantly having to prove yourself and it makes you then just start second guessing everything and that's the worst feeling to have as a creative. And so that, I wasn't really expecting that because you feel once you are confident and have accomplished that, you won't have that anymore. And it's still like sometimes it'll piece up every now and then, but I know I now know what to do to immediately like not just push it to the side, but be able to overcome it.
Bexx (37:52)
Yeah. Yeah.
And what is that? What do you do?
Amari Marshall (38:16)
I go back to freestyling. I freestyle. I make sure I surround myself in communities or in places like that is not so much about Hollywood or the industry. something, it's in environments where people are really doing this because they just love it. Like art, it's just, again, the language, they're not doing it for the money. And happening to other parts of me too, where it's just for the love soul. I love interior design. So it's so crazy when I'm in interior design and in that realm and in that mode, I'm bringing back all those great things that I feel confident about in my dance, in this space. It's beautiful to see. And so when I do come back to dance, I feel very much myself.
“But it’s just trusting whoever we do choose to follow, like knowing that that’s the best one and just having that intuition, just really trusting your intuition, your gut on letting that person take the ropes and going with that idea.”
Amari Marshall (39:13)
I usually have to just step away from the politics and the industry and just around my things and dance that's just like hanging out with my girls, the councilwoman, hanging out with the clown dancers in their houses or just going to dance classes. Just really being in the community and just reminding myself of like, like me just seeing and being in and just remembering what that feels like and who I am.
When you're choreographing, Are there specific words or feelings or subjects that you want to leave the job with?
Amari Marshall (22:31)
Cool. I would say one, being intentional. I love a groove. Bucking.
rooted it.
Because bucking and raw, was going to say raw. Raw. Yes.
Definitely. Yes. Everything is very raw. like I'm super, super happy when people are like, I knew that was you. At first I'll be like, and I'm like, yes, babe, it's me. The style is perfect.
“Ooh, for me, sleep. Rest is so important and I think people treat it like it’s overrated, but it’s so needed. I had to learn that a lot this year. Now, not being on tour 24 seven, was last year what really brought me through was just pure passion. was pure just like, I gotta do this for my brother.”
CREW LIST
Creative Director & Photographer - Rashida Zagon (@rashidazagon)
Set Design & Creative Director - Atrice Cherie
Stylist - Kelly Augustine ( @kellyaugustine )
Lighting - Neriah Mcbain (@neriahmc )
MUA - Araria (@araria_sunshine)
Dress - @addictedtofits
Accessories- @trufacebygrace
Shot at @colabstudiosnyc
Interviewed by Rashida Zagon + Bexx Francois
Produced & Published by @fivethirtyonestudios