Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Rogers.
Hi Erika, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started dancing at the age of 4. My mom says it was like love at first sight! I always wanted to go to class and be at the studio. One ballet class at the age of 4 quickly turned into spending the rest of my years at a dance studio. I started competing competitively at 6 and continued that path until I graduated high school in 2016. After high school, I went to college and studied children’s psychology. However, after a few years of trying a different path without dance, I realized I didn’t need a different path. I needed dance in my life! So, I started paying for bus tickets to take me to other cities to audition for professional dance jobs. One of these auditions was for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I got a call 3 months later that I got the job! Within 2 months, my bags were packed, and I headed to Miami to start rehearsals for a cruise ship that would take me all around Europe and the Middle East! I spent about 5 months traveling the world and performing daily until Covid hit in 2020. Once covid hit, this started my journey back to the States. From there, I dove into teaching and choreographing at local studios and started growing my network of studios, dancers, and people. Once the world slowly opened up, I started booking other professional dance gigs, filming or performing locally. (Ex, music videos, halftime shows, concert openers, etc). Flash forward to today; I proudly travel all around to teach/choreograph at all kinds of different studios while also still training and performing for any gigs that come my way!
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
No road is always smooth! My journey was full of many lessons. Whether staying in college to get a degree or taking the risk of traveling the world, add to a worldwide pandemic while being around the globe! Taking significant risks with your life can be challenging, especially when walking straight toward the unknown. No ride is ever smooth sailing, but that’s the beauty of it! You are always learning and constantly evolving. Each path offers something and a lot of the time; it turns out beautiful!
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a dance teacher, choreographer, and performer. I specialize in many areas of dance, so I always say more than one! One of my goals my whole life as a creative has always been to venture out and keep learning. I always wanted to contain myself in more than one specific box. So I went out to know everything. I studied every style that I could. Seeing as that my body and knowledge are my career, I did not want to put a cap on what I was capable of doing. This is what sets me apart from many other dancers/teachers. I am trained in almost every style and have studied how to teach each. This leads me to what I’m most proud of – I have always been very motivated to learn more, to keep advancing, and to keep rising. I’ve never given up on those motivations, even when I was 4 years old in that ballet class.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Can you share something that might surprise us?
This is a hard one! Probably, I endured quite a significant injury to my left side in the middle of my training. When I was in middle school, I broke the left side of my pelvis in a dance audition. To this day, that injury hinders my mobility and flexibility in my left leg. The doctors initially told me that I most likely wouldn’t regain any flexibility back to be able to dance the same again. I never let that stop me!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: erika.rogers_
- Facebook: Erika Rogers
Image Credits
(Red Headshot) Howard Bruce – Bruce Vision
