Hi there, dance friends. Welcome to the second episode of The Dance Edit Extra! I’m Margaret Fuhrer, and my guest this week is such a delight: the dancer and activist Britt Stewart, who is the first Black female pro on “Dancing with the Stars,” and who is about to begin another season as a Pro on the show.

I actually talked to Britt before she knew whether she’d be back in the ballroom this round, which is why we don’t get into the upcoming season. But there’s still plenty of good “Dancing with the Stars” tea here—and, more importantly, Britt also talks about her great work as president of the nonprofit Share the Movement. 

A quick note before we get started: Britt has a beautiful cat named Hudson, and a few minutes into the interview he decided that he was very unhappy about something, so you might hear his little voice in the background occasionally. A little ambiance.

Anyway, thanks again for subscribing to the Edit Extra, and be sure to check back here for new episodes every other Saturday. Enjoy!

[pause]

Margaret Fuhrer:
I am thrilled to be here now with Britt Stewart. Hey! How are you, Britt?

Britt Stewart:
Good, how are you? Thank you so much for having me.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Oh, thank you so much for joining. Britt is probably best known for her work on “Dancing with the Stars.” She became the show’s first Black female Pro last year, which was a huge deal—she had a legendary run with partner Johnny Weir. But her resumé goes far beyond that top-line credit. She’s currently on the cover of Dance Magazine‘s September issue, which just came out, and which I’m bringing up because in the profile, Britt, your resumé is described as “a never-ending CVS receipt,” which I thought was so great.

Britt Stewart:
Oh, that’s fantastic! I love that!

Margaret Fuhrer:
So, Britt has done the High School Musical movies, she’s been on “Glee,” she’s danced at awards shows and on tour and at the Super Bowl, all of it. And now she’s also giving back as the president of Share The Movement, an organization supporting promising BIPOC dance students, which I’m really excited to learn more about today.

But first of all, Britt, after that sort of quick and dirty bio, can you start by telling our listeners what you think they should know about your dance story?

Britt Stewart:
Yeah! I mean, I guess the biggest thing is, dance is just … It’s so part of my life. It’s just a thread throughout my DNA. It runs through my veins. I’ve been dancing since I was three years old, and even when I was three, my parents just knew that I had this special little thing, this little gift, this raw talent that just needed to be nurtured. It was an interesting world for them, because they’re both business people. They’re both entrepreneurs, and neither of them … They’re both creative, but neither of them artists, so it was a whole different world stepping into the world of the arts, and specifically dance.

So, I guess the biggest thing with my dance story is that the things that have come into my career and into my life that I would say are the best or the most fulfilling have been the least expected. So, I think that can be something in life but also your career, is that just being open to anything can be really reassuring, and to keep that in mind, that everyone’s story is unique, everyone’s journey is unique. For me, it just happens to be I have these serendipitous moments that take me by surprise.

Yeah, openness to everything. You never know what the universe is about to send you.

Britt Stewart:
I know.

Margaret Fuhrer:
And actually, we’ll talk more about that later when we discuss the beginning of your “Dancing with the Stars” run, but first I want to start by talking about … I mean, you had this explosive start to your professional career with the High School Musical series, and then all those TV shows and tours. You were sort of living the dream. But in your Dance Magazine story, you talked about how, in your early 20s, you actually hit sort of a slow patch. I really appreciated your honesty about that, because usually we think of a dancer’s career as having to be this steady upward trajectory. There’s no pause, there’s no going back. But that’s so rarely the way it actually happens, even for the most successful—I mean, you are one of the most successful dancers out there, and even for you, that’s not always the way it happens. So, I’m wondering if you can talk about what that time was like for you, and how it sort of helped you grow as an artist and as a person.

Britt Stewart:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you’re right, I did … My career started and took me by surprise, and it’s like I didn’t even have time to think about it. I just completely dove right into it. And High School Musical was one of those serendipitous moments as well. I was at a dance competition. It was right time, right place. They were literally looking for one more dancer, and they asked me to do it. They had already had auditions for it. That was really the start of my dance career. From then on, it just really took off.

I do like to talk about the period where I was kind of at a standstill. It was a little bit slower. I was still working, but it just wasn’t like how my career had started, and if you were to just look at my resumé or if you were to look at … If someone would write a book about it, it would look like I just never stopped. But I went through this period where I kind of, I got burnt out, and at the time I felt like I had fallen out of love with dance, which was really hard. I was 23 and I didn’t really know what that meant for me. It was like, for 20 years it was my first love. Dance was my love. It was my passion. And then it had turned into my job, and I think what happened was … There was a bunch of things that happened. It was a mix of dance, and it was a mix of life.

First with the dance part, my passion had become my job, and I realized I was only dancing because I had to, and I had stopped dancing to fill my soul and to make my heart happy, and I was just doing it as my job. And even though I enjoyed my job, and I still enjoy my job, it had become that. It had become my job. And I put a lot of pressure on it. I was putting pressure on it to pay my rent, to live the lifestyle I wanted to live. I just put so much pressure on it.

Then, at the same time, when I was 23 … My parents, when I graduated high school, they had separated, but when I was 23 they finalized their divorce. And then at the same time is when I got diagnosed with my chronic health condition, called physical hives. So, it was just this moment in my life that was the perfect storm. I got burnt out of dance, my family life was going through a major shift and a major change, and I’m really close to my parents, so that took an emotional toll on me as well. And then at the same time, I was dealing with my health, and with my condition, with physical hives, you can have many different things that bring on the hives. For me, it was temperature. Any time my body would get hot or cold, my histamine levels in my body would go crazy and I would break out into hives. So, that meant every time I danced, I would break out into hives.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. You sweat, you break out.

Britt Stewart:
It was this culmination of these things that created the perfect storm for me to get burnt out, and I didn’t step away, but I just kind of told myself to take a step back. At first, I was like, “Maybe I just need to start figuring out what’s after dance.” Which is weird, because at 23, it’s like, “How can I already start be thinking about what’s after dance?” So, at that point, I started taking acting classes and thinking about what else could I do outside of dance to fulfill my passion for performing.

What was interesting is, when I started exploring different areas in the arts, I started to fall back in love with dance, and I kind of came to this understanding with myself that I need balance in all areas of my life. With my health condition, I need balance in my diet and the way that I take care of myself, really making sure that I make self care and self love a priority. And then with my family, really still staying connected with them, but learning how to emotionally deal with things that arise in life that are just bound to happen.

I grew up very religious, but at the same time I was incorporating meditation with prayer, so now that’s a huge aspect of my life as well. And then with dance, just finding other things outside of dance, too. I think a lot of dancers feel like dance is life, and it is.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Tunnel vision.

Britt Stewart:
It’s tunnel vision. But sometimes if you open up your windows a little bit and let the air in and think of other ways of what other things can inspire your art form and your passion, I think it creates just more balance in your life.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. It only makes you a better artist. Thank you so much for talking about all of this. We need more dancers to talk about this, because I think, first of all, a lot of dancers feel like, when they do get burned out, like, “I’m living my dream. I have no right to be unhappy.”

Britt Stewart:
Yes.

Margaret Fuhrer:
And that is such an … I mean, it’s ingrained in us. That pattern of thinking makes sense, that our heads would go there, but it’s not a healthy way of being.

Britt Stewart:
No. You know, I think dance, it’s such a big community, but it’s also very small. So I do think, too, when you are working a lot, you kind of have this guilty mindset of like, “Well, there are so many dancers that wish that they were in my position,” which is true. But that doesn’t demean that you have to take care of yourself and go with your truth and what you need to do for you as well.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Yeah. The fact that there, as everybody always says, “There are five girls who would kill for your spot.” Like, “Okay, great, but I might actually die if I continue on in this spot.”

Britt Stewart:
Yeah!

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. So, let’s start talking about “Dancing with the Stars,” which is where most people know you from. Your run on the show is even more impressive considering you didn’t have any ballroom training when you first started on it. Can you talk about the beginning of that journey, and how you first came on board the “Dancing with the Stars” train?

Britt Stewart:
Absolutely. It was that serendipitous moment. I was in a rehearsal with Mandy Moore, and Derek Hough happened to be the host of the show, but then also he was the lead performer of this specific dance that we were doing, and his partner happened to be on her honeymoon for the rehearsal process. So, it was the end of the rehearsal and Mandy Moore had to film it, the whole piece, to send to the network, which is ABC, and Disney and the producers of “Dancing with the Stars” and the director, so everybody can sign off on approval. So, she’s standing there with her camera ready. We’re all in our opening positions getting ready to go, and she goes, “Britt! The last dance section, go dance with Derek.” I was like, I’ve never danced with this man before, and this is about to be put on film to be sent to all of like…

Margaret Fuhrer:
To literally everybody!

Britt Stewart:
…the bigwigs, literally everybody. But my body just took over at that point. I had to release all the anxiety, all the nerves, and then I danced with him and I think I did pretty good, because that’s how I got my audition for “Dancing with the Stars.” So, really, I’m so grateful I have these fairy godmothers and fathers in my dance career that have really cultivated these moments for me.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Mandy Moore is fairy godmother to so many dancers, too.

Britt Stewart:
To so many people. Yes. She has created so many amazing opportunities for so many dancers. She just has the biggest heart. And the audition went well, and she called me after that, and I thought I was going to be on troupe that spring, which I believe was season 22. And you know, there are so many different pieces of the puzzle that work into it, like who was a Pro, who was already on troupe, what was the budget like that season. So, she called me and she was like, “I think there’s a 99.9% chance that you’ll be on troupe this season. Are you interested? Tell me what you think.” I was like, “Yes. Absolutely.” So, she’s like, “Okay. Give me a couple days and I’ll get back to you.”

A couple of days go by and she calls me, and she’s like, “Okay. You know that .1% chance…”

Margaret Fuhrer:
Aww!

Britt Stewart:
“…that it wasn’t going to work out?” I was like, “Yeah, Mandy.” She was like, “But it’s okay. They still love you, and we’ll see.” So, I kind of felt like … I think I came on that season maybe once or twice as just an extra dancer … I think it was maybe once … like an extra dancer, and then I kind of thought that maybe my journey for and with “Dancing with the Stars was over.

Six months later, the next season in the fall, I got a call to be on troupe, and I was signing my contract on the way to the first rehearsal. It happened so quickly.

Margaret Fuhrer:
That fast!

Britt Stewart:
Uh-huh. And actually, it happened because Jenna Johnson last minute got promoted to be a pro, and so then another space … And that’s kind of what happens, is as people get promoted, then…well, when troupe used to exist, more opportunities were available for new people to come into place. So, thanks, Jenna, for becoming a pro!

Margaret Fuhrer:
I did not know that part of the behind-the-scenes.

Britt Stewart:
Yeah! So, yeah, they hired me knowing that I did not have any formal ballroom training. And then when I got there, I just completely dove into the world of ballroom dance. I got there, started learning the choreography, and it just so happens that one of my longtime friends … who I met during High School Musical, actually … is a ballroom dancer, and he’s a ballroom teacher.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Oh, who?

Britt Stewart:
Italo Elgueta. He’s from Utah, and he was in High School Musical 2 and 3. So, immediately during my first season, I started training with him, and then after my first season, I started competing Pro-Am with him. I just really felt like if I was going to do this, that I wanted to completely immerse myself into the world of ballroom dance, because I didn’t know it and I was surrounded by my now peers who had been doing it their whole lives, and I had to be respectful of that; and I also wanted to do that.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. So, as you immersed yourself in this world, what about it sort of surprised and challenged you, and what about it just made you fall for it?

Britt Stewart:
So many things. First of all, it’s very difficult. It’s harder than it looks. Ballroom dancers make it look very easy, and when you actually break down the technique, it’s very intricate and very technical. So, “Dancing with the Stars” and ballroom dance also came into my life where I had just gotten off of tour with Katy Perry. I was with her for three years, and I was turning 27 and I really felt like I had met a lot of my goals in my dance career so far. I was like, “I don’t know what’s next. I just know I want a challenge. I just want to do something different, but I’m not finished dancing,” and boy did I get…

Margaret Fuhrer:
And the universe said, “Okay.” [laughter]

Britt Stewart:
“Okay,” like, dropped it, exactly! And I didn’t know what I was expecting when I was putting it out there, but it literally gave me exactly what I asked for. And then I would say I fell in love with it, because it is so expressive, and even as a young kid, I was the girl that was so full out with way too much emotion, doing the most. I always won because of my heart, not necessarily because of my technique. And people were like, “Why is she winning? Her technique is not that great!” So, I almost felt like ballroom kind of ignited that inner child in me again, that really expressive and dramatic and … That’s my place where I can be like that, because I’m actually quite introverted in real life, so I just fell in love with it.

Margaret Fuhrer:
I know. There’s such an overlap now between comp kids and ballroom kids, and I totally get it, because it’s totally the same performance value. That’s exactly what they’re going for, is that you can’t even believe there’s so much energy coming at you kind of performance.

Britt Stewart:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I’ve also loved to see the ballroom world translate and kind of immerse itself, and get intertwined into the convention world and competition world. It’s been really nice to see.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah, totally. Everything is hybridizing now.

Britt Stewart:
Everything.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. So, you started in the show as ensemble, you started in the troupe, and then there was this incredible fan-driven push to get ABC to promote you to Pro. There was a change.org petition and everything. Which, from the outside, that was incredible to witness, but what was it like from the inside, for you experiencing that?

Britt Stewart:
It was amazing. It was really humbling. I wasn’t expecting it and I was shocked, and I think it came at the time when we were all home quarantined in 2020, and I don’t think I even saw it for a long time. I think maybe it was my mom or someone that…or someone finally Tweeted me and was like, “You have a petition going on to be the next Pro on Dancing With The Stars.” And a lot of it, too, was…I think it was after the announcement of Matt James, who was going to be the first Black Bachelor, and so it was like, “Okay, ABC. You’re doing it for ‘The Bachelor.’ Let’s now do it for ‘Dancing with the Stars.'”

Margaret Fuhrer:
Step up. Yeah.

Britt Stewart:
So, the girls, they know, that started the petition. I’ve said my thank yous to them, and they just have been such a huge support as far as the Twitter fandom goes. I mean, you never really know what could’ve happened if they wouldn’t have started the petition, but I’m very grateful for it.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Can you talk a little about what your conversations were like with ABC when you were being promoted, and what the reaction was to that as it was happening?

Britt Stewart:
Yeah, absolutely. When I first got hired … And we have an amazing show publicist, so she kind of briefs us on everything that we could be expecting to get asked or anything like that, so it was also nice that I’ve been a part of the show for a while, because I already have that relationship with our publicist and the show’s producers and everything, so it was a very open conversation of, “Just be aware that this is something that you might get asked,” and we were able to really have a candid conversation between us. I really respect them because they really allowed me to just be me, and to talk about how I wanted to talk about it, and be very in touch with my truth surrounding it, so there was no sort of filter in between us and them, and that being the topic.

And that’s not a huge surprise to me, because even though I am the first and I know it’s been a lot of seasons and a lot of seasons coming for that, the show has always celebrated diversity. Even when I was on troupe, I never felt uncomfortable. I never felt anything that didn’t allow me to feel celebrated as a Black woman, but also a dancer, even down to the little nitty-gritty as far as hair and makeup and costuming. There’s never a question that I will not be taken care of for what I need as a Black woman, so it’s not a surprise that I was able to just be very truthful about how I feel. I respect them for that a lot.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I mean, that promotion, it was a huge moment for representation in the ballroom community and the dance community as a whole. It also, it made you a role model on a really large scale. I feel like there’s no way to prepare for that, in a sense, so can you talk about both the joys, the happy stuff, and then also the pressures that come with being that kind of trailblazer?

Britt Stewart:
Absolutely. I mean, I do want to say too that the ballroom dance community just struggles with diversity in general, and I think there’s a lot of reasons for that. I think, yes, it has to do with access and opportunity and finances. Dance, and also ballroom dance, it’s very expensive, so when you talk about it from a systemic point of view and the way that our nation is really set up, it’s just…It’s really hard for ballroom to be diverse. But we’ll get into that later, because we’re going to do something about that!

And as far as being a role model, the highs are, it’s just an honor. And you are right, there’s no one that prepares you for it, and it is unexpected, but I’m so happy to take on that responsibility. And also, knowing that it’s a responsibility, that I am a reflection of my community and how and what I can do to create more representation is a huge deal for me. When it first happened last fall, I did talk about, I was like, “This is amazing! I’m so honored,” and all of this stuff, but there was also a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress and a lot of pressure to feel like I had to be amazing because of that extra pressure, because of that extra thing that was associated to this huge and massive career shift for me, and career moment for me.

There’s also… You can’t always win. There were also things behind the scenes, like DMs in my Instagram and Tweets, that I probably should’ve never seen, but you know, it is what it is. I saw them a few times, and then I kind of had to just step away from that and not look at every single comment, and not look at every single message, because at the end of the day I didn’t want that negativity to infiltrate the positivity that I was trying to put out, and to be that positive role model and representation in the space and arena that I was stepping into.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. At a certain point you just have to turn down the noise, because in the end, that’s what it is, and you’re the one out there being a positive role model.

Britt Stewart:
Yeah.

Margaret Fuhrer:
I remember thinking, when I heard that you were getting paired with Johnny Weir, I was like, “Oh. It’s on. This is going to be major.” Because he’s so incredible, and he also has the kind of background that you’re like, “He’s going to be a good contestant on the show!” Can you talk a little bit about what some of your favorite moments were from your time together on the show?

Britt Stewart:
Absolutely. I mean, first of all, just as humans, outside of the show, outside of being performers, we connected on a level that is really rare, even outside of “Dancing with the Stars.” I do think that “Dancing with the Stars” helped cultivate that, because… Because it was COVID, we were really in a bubble together, but also, it just felt like when I met him, it felt like, “Why haven’t I been friends with him? Why haven’t I known him for my whole life?” It was just one of those moments. So, he was absolutely amazing, and I would say we had so much fun in rehearsals. I joke with him now, I’m like, “You were my muse for three months!” Just being able to create choreography for him, or if I created choreography and it didn’t work out when I started teaching him, being able to mold that choreography to him was just so amazing and fantastic.

And specifically for Johnny, unless you’ve followed Johnny on Instagram or somewhere else, how people see him is the hair and the blazers, and he’s the guy on NBC that commentates. He was the trailblazer as far as figure skating goes, and he had this massive career. But what I really enjoyed about our season is, I was able to help America see a different side of him, and he wanted to do that, and to be able to be on that journey with him and help him through that was really, really cool.

Margaret Fuhrer:
When you were talking about him as your muse, something that I think a lot of people don’t realize about “Dancing with the Stars is that, yeah, the Pros are choreographing! You all are doing that. Can you talk about some of your favorite creations for your muse? Which of the routines really were especially special to you?

Britt Stewart:
I really loved our contemporary. It was for ’80s night and I loved it. Anything that was slow was up Johnny’s alley. Like, he says the Viennese waltz is his heart song because he’s able to express in a way, and also the Viennese waltz was one of my favorites…

Margaret Fuhrer:
The vampire Viennese waltz?

Britt Stewart:
The vampire one, yeah. It’s a song that he loves. “Creep” is one of his most iconic numbers on the ice, and to be able to recreate that into something that was specific for “Dancing with the Stars” was really awesome. Viennese waltz also felt the most natural to him, because we were able to just glide around the ballroom floor, which is a lot more in his arena. We joke about it now. He’s like, “If you ever make me salsa again, this friendship is over.” It’s, of course, all jokes. But, the quickstep, that was really fun too.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Amy Winehouse? Yeah.

Britt Stewart:
Yeah.

Margaret Fuhrer:
I know—Viennese waltz! I didn’t even think about it. It’s so similar to… It feels like figure skating. It feels like you’re trying to skate on the floor for so much of the time.

Britt Stewart:
Absolutely. And he’s able to use that beautiful port de bras that he already naturally has on the ice, so…

Margaret Fuhrer:
And I also love that you incorporated music that he had skated to before. That was so great.

All right, so, let’s talk about this incredibly important work that you’re doing with Share The Movement. Can you talk about the organization’s central mission, and how it came to be?

Britt Stewart:
Absolutely. Share The Movement’s mission is to increase diversity in the professional dance industry by providing financial, educational, and inspirational support to young BIPOC dancers. It came about all in 2020, all over Zoom. If you can believe it or not, we’ve been having board meetings for a full year and we have never, ever had a meeting in person.

Margaret Fuhrer:
That’s very 2020. #2020.

Britt Stewart:
Very 2020. Right? So, it came about, it’s really our executive director Kate Harpootlian, it’s really her thought baby. A year ago she was in this place in her life where she really feels like sometimes dance can be very selfish, and that we dance because we love it, and even though, yes, people can be touched by our art form, but a lot of people in the dance community aren’t always looking to get that. So, she went back to her childhood. She grew up at a nonprofit dance studio. They were a dance competition studio. And one of our other founding board members, Daniel Gaymon, went to the studio and he was discovered, and Kate was there. He was discovered at an after-school dance program, and he was brought into this dance studio, this nonprofit dance studio, and his whole training was taken care of. Now he’s on Broadway; little shows like Hamilton and Cats—

Margaret Fuhrer:
Minor. Small stuff.

Britt Stewart:
Just minor. Just minor Broadway shows. So, Kate really saw that if it wasn’t for this nonprofit dance studio, and for them giving access to kids in these after-school programs, and then communities that didn’t have access to that sort of training, that maybe Daniel might not have ever been on Broadway and had this amazing Broadway career.

Margaret Fuhrer:
I have to pause you for a minute, because “nonprofit competition studio” is not a phrase you hear a lot.

Britt Stewart:
No. Not at all.

Margaret Fuhrer:
That is not a thing. That is so rare.

Britt Stewart:
It’s not a thing. It’s very rare. It’s in South Carolina. It’s fantastic, and it’s amazing that she grew up in that community. She also knows that because she went to a nonprofit dance studio, it was diverse. She grew up around diversity, which is beautiful because that’s actually very rare. Even myself growing up, I was one of the few, I’ll say. In my company there was two of us, in my actual company, and then when we would go to conventions in Colorado, I was one of the few.

So, from there, Kate started just having open conversations with her community, with people that she knows, about their thoughts about diversity in dance, and about her upbringing, and then slowly and surely each of us… Now there’s eight of us on the board. We were in those Zoom meetings, and we started building our board. And then through there, as a group, we found our mission and we discovered what it is that we want to do with our mission. And then we launched in April.

Margaret Fuhrer:
So, you are president of Share The Movement, so can you talk about what does that role entail?

Britt Stewart:
Absolutely. I think me being president has… First of all, it was Kate’s decision, and I was like, “Kate! Are you sure?” I was like, “I just wanted to be involved.” I was like, “I was just happy to be here,” and she was like, “100%.” So, me as the president, I also think it’s part of my role in the dance community as well. I’m already acting as that representation in what I do from day to day, so I’ll just say that me being president, it’s how I live the mission. So, I just try and represent our organization as much as I can.

Also, as the president, I am working very closely with Kate. We kind of do the day-to-day, week-to-week work that it takes to run a nonprofit organization. And then also, I will speak on behalf…moments like this. I also spoke at the American School Counselor Association a few weeks ago in Vegas on behalf, as a keynote speaker, talking about diversity in dance on behalf of Share The Movement. So, I do the day-to-day work, but I’m also the living representation of our organization.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. The face. The face of Share The Movement. So, you did a first wave of funding this year, and that allowed young BIPOC students to attend their preferred summer programs, which is fantastic. What’s now on the agenda for next year? And how about five or 10 years down the line? What are your dreams for Share The Movement?

Britt Stewart:
We have a very exciting year coming up. We are launching our full program, which we’re really excited about. In our full program, our goal is to walk alongside a young BIPOC dancer’s journey from 6th grade all the way through their transition year after they graduate high school. That is a 13-year journey. What that means, what our full program entails is, going back to our mission, financially, everything will be covered. We will partner with a dance studio in their community that we’ve pre-vetted for them to receive additional training. So, if they still want to attend their after-school program or if they still want to go to their performing arts school, we in no way want to take them out of their community; we just want to provide more access and opportunity to the sort of training that you might need to become a professional dancer. Also, if they want to compete or go to summer programs, that will also be funded through our organization.

Educationally, just giving them access to that studio, access to summer programs that maybe they weren’t aware of, access to master teachers that may not be coming in and out of the studio that we can provide. And then inspirationally, we have built this Share The Movement community of professional dancers, choreographers, educators that are already in the community, in the industry. They’re basically a direct reflection of the children that we hope to be a part of our full program. So, they will be teaching master classes, but they will also be available for a mentorship program. We want to make sure that each kid that is part of our program also has a mentor. That could be someone that looks like them. It could be someone that they just look up to, or something that is an expert in their favorite style. Whatever it is, they can choose that mentor.

So, really, our program is creating this full hug of support around the child and their community. Dance is very expensive, so really our goal for the first year is to partner with one studio, and so that will be two kids. In having conversations with a lot of studio owners, we found that they absolutely want to bring diversity into their studios, but most of them already have diverse children in their programs that are struggling to maintain their dance training. So, as we bring a child into their studio, we will also do one-for-one funding—so, we will also provide our program to someone that’s already in their studio.

Looking five and 10 years down the line, we just hope to expand. We hope to partner with other studios. Also, part of our vision is providing free dance days to underserved communities, providing dance history and how many dance forms are rooted in Black and brown cultures, to studios, and to all kinds of dancers. Dance education, really offering… Even in the convention world, there’s a lack of diversity, and there are so many amazing BIPOC educators that just don’t have the exposure, so we hope to just also bring light to that.

And then, of course, as far as funding goes, our hopes is to get big company, big brand sponsorships and grants so we can just continue our work. When I think about 10 years down the line, we will still be in the journey of our first funded child.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. 13 years.

Britt Stewart:
Yeah! So, it’s just, our goal is to create foundational change. We know that creating diversity doesn’t happen overnight, and we’re not the organization to call out or to ask for immediate change. We are going right to the foundation of dance education. I’m hoping that we can start there, and that maybe in 10 years, in 15 years, in 20 years, the dance industry can look a little bit more colorful.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Oh my gosh, that’s so much! I mean, just the—

Britt Stewart:
It’s a lot!

Margaret Fuhrer:
No, that’s … The idea of the full hug of support, and starting small and giving that smaller group that full hug so they really feel fully supported for those full 13 years—you’re not just slapping a Band-Aid on something; you’re creating a pipeline. That is so critical, and that’s also… I mean, there are a lot of efforts sort of along these lines in the arts world, but sometimes that’s a problem that you see, is that it’s not a continuous form of support.

Britt Stewart:
Yeah.

Margaret Fuhrer:
So, zooming out a little bit now—and you started to answer this question a bit already—but when it comes to inclusion and representation, where have you seen meaningful progress in the dance world, and how is this community still failing its BIPOC members?

Britt Stewart:
I have seen, especially in the past year, some hints and glimpses of it, you know, even like my position in being that representation on “Dancing with the Stars.” I’ve seen it in even some dance work companies, especially in the ballet world, offering different colors of tights and shoes.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Finally!

Britt Stewart:
Finally! Small steps like that is what helps lead to the next step. I even remember, I was like, in ballet class I hated pink tights, because I was like, “This doesn’t look right on my—it actually makes my lines look horrible!” So, now that kids are being… and professionals, can have that opportunity to be able to have that, is amazing.

I’m also seeing, even in the choreographic standpoint, I just worked on a movie with Chloe Arnold. The choreography team is Chloe Arnold, Ava Bernstein, and Martha Nichols, and I have never—

Margaret Fuhrer:
Oh my gosh, superstars! Superstars!

Britt Stewart:
Superstars. Yes. It’s a major musical that’s coming out in 2022. And I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of a dance department that was led by three Black women. So, it’s little things like that where I’m seeing positive change. I really am. I’m seeing positive evolution. But we do have a long way to go.

I think a lot of times there’ll be one Black girl, and one this, and one that. And I think we need to start looking at just, who is right for the job, and just thinking broader. It’s okay to have more than one. Everybody was so forward-thinking a year ago, and I just want that to continue. I don’t want it to fade into the background as just another social issue that came up, and then now it’s being forgotten about again. I just want it to stay at the forefront and to continue to evolve.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Britt, thank you so much for your candor about all of this, for taking the time today. I really appreciate it, and all the work that you’re doing with Share The Movement. I’m wondering if we can end with you talking a little bit about what’s on your immediate horizon, what’s coming up for you that we should keep an eye out for, and then also where we can go to keep up with you, to stalk you.

Britt Stewart:
Yes, stalk me! Absolutely. Immediate horizon, “Dancing with the Stars”! But I, on the movie that I was talking about, I was Octavia Spencer’s dance instructor, so I was really… It was amazing. Amazing. And Chloe, Ava, and Martha gave me that beautiful opportunity, and I’m so grateful. So, that’s really exciting, but we won’t see the fruits of our labor until next winter, until winter 2022.

Margaret Fuhrer:
The movie world: the opposite of reality TV world.

Britt Stewart:
The exact opposite. And you know, also, I’m still also thinking about what’s next after dance. I’m still doing “Dancing with the Stars” and I absolutely love it, but I am in also the place in my career where I’m starting to cultivate what’s next and exploring choreography, exploring hosting. I just did my first hosting job, and the keynote speaking for on behalf of Share The Movement. So, for me, next I’m using different ways of how I’m expressing my voice. For so long, it’s been through dance and through my body, so now I’m starting to explore what that means as far as my voice in choreography, and my actual voice of speaking and hosting and cultivating and creating positivity for the next generation of dancers. And also outside of dance, too.

Okay! You can stalk me on Instagram, and it’s @brittbenae. On Twitter, I’m @brittbstewart, and I’m also giving this TikTok thing a try.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Yes, do it!

Britt Stewart:
So, we’ll see. I’m giving it a try, and that’s also the same as my Instagram. It’s @brittbenae. And then, for Share The Movement on Instagram, we are @ShareTheMovementNow. Our website is sharethemovementnow.org, and there you can find information about our story, our board, our community members. Even though our scholarship application is closed for the summer, there are also resources for scholarships there. And also, I have to mention there’s also a donation page. Our kids this summer were fully funded by personal donations, which is amazing and we are so grateful to our donors, but we have really big plans, so we are looking for donations as well. You can find all that information on our website.

Margaret Fuhrer:
Listeners, we will link all of that up in the show notes. Please go check all of those out. I also, I just had a vision as you were talking about cultivating your voice—I mean your actual voice, as well as your voice as a choreographer—a vision of you going from being the first Black female pro on “Dancing with the Stars” to the first dancer-turned-host of “Dancing with the Stars.

Britt Stewart:
Oh! Oh my gosh, will you put that out there?

Margaret Fuhrer:
I’m putting that into the universe. Let’s just put those vibes out.

Britt Stewart:
Okay, let’s do it! Oh my gosh, that could be amazing! I would totally do that! I’m going to manifest it in my journal later. [laughter]

Margaret Fuhrer:
Well, thank you so much, Britt. It was really great talking with you and getting to know you a little bit.

Britt Stewart:
Thank you so much.

[pause]

A big thanks again to Britt. She is so busy, really appreciate her making time for that conversation. You can catch her on “Dancing with the Stars” this season, which begins in just a couple of days—the premiere is Monday, September 20, exciting stuff. And please make sure to follow not just Britt but also Share the Movement on Instagram, and to check out the Share the Movement website. As promised, we’ve included all those links in the show notes.

Thanks for listening, everyone! Have a great weekend.