Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Anastasia Muravyeva of Dance n Dazzle Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

I think the most important is to develop a champion’s mindset. You will have many hours of strenuous physical activity that will leave you stronger than the competition. Remember that pain is temporary, but your championship is permanent. No matter how strong your body is, your mind will still be your greatest asset.

As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Anastasia Muravyeva

Anastasia is a former US and international ballroom dancing champion.

She has won the ballroom dancing World Cup four times and won first place at the prestigious Blackpool dance festival. Today, she is focused on her entrepreneurial activities, including serving as co-producer of Kinky Boots, as CEO of Dance n Dazzle, an entertainment agency, and as founder of Dancing Hearts, a non-profit foundation dedicated to bringing dance to underprivileged children.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born in St. Petersburg, and, shortly after, my family moved to a restricted city that doesn’t exist on a map. My father at that time was a captain of a nuclear submarine. I grew up near the submarine base in an area very far north where the sun shines at night and it’s dark during the day. As long as I can remember, I have danced.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I began dancing at the age of three when it was discovered that I had a hernia, and my mother thought dancing would be beneficial. She had actually met my father at a dance studio, and both were very supportive of my interest in dancing.

I began seriously competing in international events at the age of 11. My parents and coaches recognized my talent and anticipated a successful career. I began traveling extensively when I turned pro at 18. I’ve traveled to over 30 countries on five continents. I’ve lived in Russia, Ukraine, Japan, England, and the US. My career not only gave me success in dancing but also exposed me to many cultures and languages.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Moving to America was a big step as a young and independent adult. I have been blessed with success, and I consider myself lucky to often be in the right place at the right time. After moving to New York, I was asked to participate in a discussion about possibly launching a new ballroom dancing program on television. I gladly agreed, although my English was not that great, and presented myself as instructed at an impressive building downtown. I joined other famous championship dancers in the meeting in an opulent office with a spectacular view and met a tall, talkative man with a large presence. I learned that he was a powerful, successful man, but now I can say that I have met Donald Trump, the former US president.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My partner and I won a prestigious international championship at Albert Hall in London. It was a physically and emotionally demanding competition, and we were both extremely happy but exhausted at the end of the event. The very next day, we had a show at another event. We both were tired, happy, and maybe a little too relaxed. At the end of one of our show numbers, we had planned an impressive final finish with a lift, requiring me to swing my leg over my partner’s shoulder. When our moment came, I didn’t lift my leg high enough, and my partner didn’t lower himself sufficiently, and I ended up pushing him off balance. As a result, instead of finishing with a grand flourish with me on his shoulders high in the air in triumph, we ended up sprawled on the dance floor when the music came to a close. It was highly embarrassing. Lesson learned.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’ve been blessed to have a mentor and role model in Richard Gleave CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the highest-ranking order of the British Empire awards). I’m grateful for his wisdom and his guidance. He recognized my talent long before anyone else did and always inspired and motivated me. He was an eight-time World professional champion, and, after his retirement, he continued to support dancing through education and be a positive force in the industry.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

I believe you need a champion’s mindset for anything you decide to do. You have to remember that to be successful, you will never stop pushing yourself. The moment you are happy and satisfied is the moment that you will go down. The more successful you are, the more stress you will feel because the only way is down. But, you can learn from your failures and learn to use stress to your advantage. Stress can be very useful if you use it as a source of energy and motivation. Sometimes it’s easier to go and prove yourself, rather than staying on the top and making sure you are perfect and above the competition.

Every industry iterates and seeks improvement. What changes would you like to see in the industry going forward?

Ballroom dancing historically has been always, not just a sport, but also an art form. As much progress as has been made in including ballroom dancing into the Olympics, I feel it is important to preserve the authenticity of a man and a woman dancing together and move too far into the realm of gymnastics. In preserving the artistry, we can continue to improve the mechanics with new techniques and find new approaches for styling, so we stay innovative but true to the art form.

I would also like to see the use of new technology, especially new immersive digital technologies. Innovative tools would allow us to share information and our passion for ballroom dancing around the world. I’m hoping that in the near future, we can develop a type of hydro suit that is programmed with the movements of champions through artificial intelligence. Using pressure points, such a suit could teach any dancer in any country what it feels like to dance like a champion.

You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?

Following my retirement, I was frequently asked to put on choreographed events for different occasions. I had already had experience with creating show numbers for Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. So creating Dance n Dazzle was a natural outcome of that. It is an entertainment agency that puts on choreographed dance shows for events, such as weddings, charity balls, corporate events, and TV and Broadway shows, as well as movie productions. Another recent project is co-producing a Broadway show, Kinky Boots. In addition, I am just beginning an Executive MBA program at USC. I feel all of these projects are synergistic and enhance each other. A common challenge post-retirement, especially for champions, is to find and re-define yourself. I am excited about these projects and feel very fortunate to be part of such a variety of activities.

We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?

Because I’ve traveled all over the world and feel as though I have been part of different cultures, I personally have embraced diversity and feel it contributes to making our industry more interesting and benefits from recognizing people’s uniqueness. I personally grew from encountering many different kinds of people and feel as though I myself am not from a specific place but am a combination of the many places I lived and worked. Having a variety of faces who participate in ballroom dancing, especially on televised competitions, will make the activity appeal to a broad spectrum of people, including youngsters who may have not previously considered participating because they thought it wasn’t for them.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

I am blessed to have reached all my goals and dreams. I had a lot of challenges, but they all contributed to who I am today. I had a very successful career but not the easiest, and I am grateful for those lessons as I can share them with dancers who are starting out.

First, I think the most important is to develop a champion’s mindset. You will have many hours of strenuous physical activity that will leave you stronger than the competition. Remember that pain is temporary, but your championship is permanent. No matter how strong your body is, your mind will still be your greatest asset.

Second, discipline is key. Of course, we all want to feel motivated and inspired by what we do, but we won’t feel that way every day and that is where discipline comes in. No champion every became on overnight. To the spectators, you may appear out of nowhere, but you and your coach will know the thousands of hours you put in to achieve your success. Every day, every week, every month, year after after, sometimes through decades, it is discipline that will allow you to persevere.

Third, don’t be fooled by the glamour of ballroom dancing; it becomes a grind over time. Ballroom dancing is a glamorous activity. You will see ladies in expensive, spectacular gowns, full of Swarovski crystals, and gentlemen in tuxedos. You will see beautiful satin shoes, elegant hair and stage makeup, spotlights, live orchestras, adoring crowds, and red-carpet treatment. But I have to tell you the truth. This is only 5 percent of what the ballroom dancing champion life consists of. The other 95 percent is the daily grind of getting to be a champion. Besides daily training, it’s a lot of traveling, and, when I say traveling, I don’t mean sight seeing — I mean long exhausting flights, living out of a suitcase, endless hotels, and jet lag. It really is a grind.

Four, accept that you will fail. Some people fail in public, and others fail in private. This is what will give you a lot of stress. When you fail in front of 10,000 people, it has a different impact on your mental stress compared with failing in the stock market, for example, when no one besides you is aware. Failure in ballroom dancing can look like coming in second or can look like a bad performance. It’s very painful to lose a world championship, but it is also very painful to fall on the floor in front of 10,000 people when the floor is too slippery. And that will happen, but the most important thing is to get back up, winning back the championship, performing your very best, and winning back the hearts and admiration of your supporters and the audience. As William Arthur Ward said, “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”

Five, know who your friends are. When you are on top,

When you are on the top and you are a champion, you will have a lot of people around you because everyone will want to be a part of your life and have a brush with success. But you may not be aware of how many people are privately hoping that you fail. There is always jealousy and competitiveness. When the spotlight moves on to someone else, you will see and be surprised by how quiet it gets around you.

Your true friends will always be your professional team, your partner and your coach. Your family will always be there, win or lose. They love you for who are you. For others, you may appear as a persona or a champion, but not as a real person. They will have an image of you that is not really you. You will have to portray that image as an example and role model for younger dancers, but always stay true to who you are and keep your trusted circle small. Appreciate your family and your true friends, and cry with them and celebrate with them.

Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.

Because ballroom dancing is such a physical strenuous activity, it is always important to give our bodies to chance to recover. I have a few practices that I like to use to replenish my energy, physically and mentally. One is meditation. I live in Southern California, so I can visit the ocean often. I feel that the sound of the waves is the best meditation and relaxation practice as it takes me away from stress and my daily routine. I also enjoy yoga, and especially the Nauli practice. It serves to clean the abdominal region by internal massage. Also, Nauli employs a lot of breathing exercises which always stimulate circulation, expels negative energy, and refreshes our mind.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

As Roy Bennet said: “Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.”

Recently, I experienced a very serious health issue that baffled the doctors and appeared to have no treatment. I couldn’t walk for several weeks and appeared to be degrading very fast. During that crisis, I realized that the most beneficial attitude I could adopt was to believe that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and that things will work out. I believe this approach was instrumental in my recovery and the boost to continue growing.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Ballroom dancing is a very glamours activity. We have beautiful gowns, elaborate hair styles, and stage makeup, so I’m not a stranger to the efforts we make to present ourselves in the best possible light. However, I believe that everyone is unique and special in their own. I would encourage everyone to move away from socially acceptable standards of beauty and to embrace their own differences and characteristics. Especially for young girls, comparing ourselves to photoshopped cover models can be very damaging and depressing. I think a movement that acknowledges people as individuals would go a long way to reducing depression, mental illness, and suicides.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

If I ever had the chance, I would love to have lunch with Warren Buffett. It’s not just because he is one of the most influential and successful investors, but because of his personal characteristics. I believe he has a brilliant mind and very independent approach to life. Also, he appears to be a very friendly, down-to-earth person.

Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?

Yes, and I will be happy to respond to any questions your readers may have Please contact me on my Instagram page or on LinkedIn.

This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!