EP 09: Nobody's Angel with Sarah Christine Smith

“It’s about making the audience feel something. What joy are we bringing to the world?” Sarah Christine Smith brought joy to a generation with her dancing, singing and acting. Part of the New Millennium pop craze, she was there for Britney Spears’ rise to fame, performing as a backup dancer on Britney’s early tour and in the iconic video for…Baby One More Time. Sarah later scored her own hits as a member of the girl group sensation Nobody’s Angel, and while guest starring with the group on the beloved television series Boy Meets World, she fell in love with acting. As today’s guest on this episode of Dance Dad, she and host John Corella discuss it all—her deep passion for teaching, raising her family in small-town Canada, and what she would tell her younger self if she could do it all over again.

 

At the heart of both dancing and acting is storytelling, which requires a great deal of curiosity. Sarah discusses the introspection and emotional unpacking required to get inside character, as well as the joy she takes in helping each of her dance students find and build upon the unique roles they each have to play. She reveals the best advice she ever got from her own dance teacher, the jealousy she experienced from other dancers, and why pop stardom wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

 

Learning about oneself is a lifelong journey, and to help others cultivate their own self-knowledge Sarah has created MyDanceJournal to help dancers—and everyone else—create their reality by turning thoughts into action. Join the conversation to hear her discuss her latest projects, the power of intuition, and the importance of a strong community.

 

Quotes

• “I think with dance, we’re emulating the choreographer, we’re being molded into something, whereas, I think—not always, that’s such a generalization—but I think with acting, you’re a single person who needs to grab onto a role in your own unique way.” (14:33 | Sarah Christine Smith) 
• “When it feels good, it feels good. You get into that flow and you kind of get that performance high and almost ask yourself when it’s done, ‘What the hell just happened?’ because you were so in the moment. And that’s when I fell in love with acting.” (18:43 | Sarah Christine Smith) 
• “I still question who I am and what I’m all about and what my values are. And I hope that I’m always questioning that; I hope I never am content with who I am.” (22:02 | Sarah Christine Smith)
• “When you’re on set, be curious. When you’re in the studio, be curious. I think if I had to go back in time, I would tell myself to be more curious when I was younger.” (32:18 | Sarah Christine Smith) 
• “I took a hiatus when I had my kids and when I started auditioning again, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I feel like I have PTSD.’ All of a sudden, these doubts about myself started creeping in after years, they hadn’t shown up. A sense of depression when I didn’t get a job started setting in that I hadn’t experienced in years.” (37:40 | Sarah Christine Smith)
• “I love it! I love building confidence in young dancers, knowing what their strengths are and building off of that. Giving them a role, giving them a purpose.” (57:39 | Sarah Christine Smith)
• “Take the pressure off of ourselves and say, ‘Why are we doing this? What joy are we bringing to the world? What joy are we bringing to our audience?’” (1:21:23 | Sarah Christine Smith)

 

Links

Connect with Sarah Christine Smith:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809882/

https://www.instagram.com/sarah_christine_smith/?hl=en

https://mydance.ca/

Dance Dad with John Corella on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancedadwithjohncorella/

John on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_corella/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm