One Thousand Gurus Podcast
Everyone has a compelling story to tell with insights we can all be inspired by. J.R. Yonocruz is a software project manager, self-improvement blogger, relationship coach, dancer, stand-up comedian, and serial hobbyist with a passion for learning. He interviews unique guests from various fields to distill the strategies, habits, and mindsets we can use in our own lives. Each “guru” has a chance to give the audience a peek into a new world.
One Thousand Gurus Podcast
#12: Alexa Woo - Dancing with KPOP Idols, Pursuing Your Passion, and Overcoming Depression
Join us on a captivating journey with Alexa Woo, the rising star in the world of K-pop cover dance, as she shares her remarkable story from growing up in Orange County to performing on the grand stage of KCON 2024. Alexa's passion for dance was ignited by her family's legacy and further fueled by her discovery of K-pop.
Alexa takes us behind the scenes of her Dream Stage adventure, revealing the rigorous process of auditions, online submissions, and the rehearsals that tested her limits. She opens up about the honor and challenge of being a backup dancer for K-pop idols, particularly the iconic Taemin. These experiences culminated in a viral moment that catapulted her into the spotlight.
But the journey doesn't end on stage; Alexa delves into her personal transformation through dance, highlighting the profound impact of self-love and awareness. She candidly discusses overcoming depression and purposelessness, using dance as a medium for self-discovery and artistic growth. Through shadow work and self-reflection, Alexa found a path to embracing imperfections and reigniting her passion. Her insights offer a valuable reminder of the power of following one's passions and learning from life's lessons, leaving listeners inspired by her resilience and commitment to growth.
Guest Bio:
Alexa Woo is a kpop cover dancer from Orange County, CA with about 340k followers across her social media accounts. Most recently known as the Taemin girl from kcon 2024 that went viral, katseye skelly crew dancer, or known from instagram/tiktok as a kpop cover dancer. She has danced with kpop dance cover teams like First Bite, Lalary, and Playground, and has also taught dance classes in SoCal at KPC dance studio in Buena Park, S1L in Irvine, and Movement Lifestyle in Burbank.
Socials:
IG: @oleggie
TikTok: @oleggie
YouTube: @oleggie
Links/resources:
- @official.firstbite
- @lalary.official
- @official_playground
- KCON 2024 - Taemin Dreamstage (Alexa fancam)
- KPC Dance Studio
- Movement Lifestyle (dance studio)
- S1L (dance studio)
One Thousand Gurus Podcast:
Everyone has a compelling story to tell with insights we can all be inspired by. J.R. Yonocruz is a self-improvement blogger, relationship coach, and serial hobbyist with a passion for learning. He interviews unique guests from various fields to distill the strategies, habits, and mindsets we can use in our own lives. Each “guru” has a chance to give the audience a peek into a new world.
www.onethousandgurus.com
Instagram: @OneThousandGurus
TikTok: @onethousandgurus
YouTube: One Thousand Gurus Podcast
Email: onethousandgurus@gmail.com
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of 1000 Gurus with me, your host, jr Yonacruz. So today's guest is Alexa Wu. Alexa is a K-pop cover dancer from Orange County, california, with about 340,000 followers across her social media accounts. Most recently, she's known as the Taemin girl from KCON 2024 Dream Stage that went viral. Cat's Eye's Skelly Crew dancer, or also known from Instagram and TikTok as a K-pop cover dancer. She has danced with K-pop dance cover teams like First Bite Lowry Playground and has also taught dance classes in SoCal, at KPC Dance Studio in Buena Park, s1l in Irvine and Movement Lifestyle in Burbank. So this was a really good episode that I enjoyed. And movement lifestyle in Burbank. So this was a really good episode that I enjoyed.
Speaker 1:Lex and I have been mutuals or acquaintances for a bit now, but this is my first time actually sitting down with her and chatting about various things. Of course, we talk about our common passion of K-pop and dance, but also we talk about her recent mindset shift while working on self-care and self-awareness in order to be happier. And, lastly, we talk about the importance of pursuing your passions, being wise in your communication and some hard-earned lessons she's learned over the years. Lex is the youngest guest actually I've had on the show so far, but she is not without a lot of deep insights beyond her years, which I really appreciated. So, without further ado, hope you enjoyed this episode with Alexa Wu, thanks Well. Hope you enjoyed this episode with Alexa Wu, thanks Well. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. You taking the time out of your day. So I will go into how I know you, as usual for my episodes.
Speaker 1:I remember first seeing you in the K-pop dance community because you danced with Eddie and Hope in First Buy back in like 2017. I went through the archives for these and you guys won first place in the K-pop cover dance festival and then you traveled to South Korea, right. And then after that, then you were in the group Lalary and it's like a dance music group which started in, I believe, 2019 around that time. That's when the post started. And then you also performed on stage with them in KCON for 2023. And then this past year, 2024 kcon, you were on the dream state tame and dream stage performance, which you went viral for, which I would have told the audience to, and there's a link to the video there as well in the show notes and then you're also in playground, which we're both in, and then you are, let's see, cover dance group yeah, another dance group in socal, and you also teach at kpc and you've taught at swanl and movement lifestyle. Right, any other clarifications of what you're up to? And I was like a huge like list?
Speaker 2:wow, this is a lot. I can't believe you went back to the archives it's my job, yeah yeah, basically first bite turned into laurie same people um, yeah, we're not very active anymore, so I'm starting to join new groups and more projects, so that's what I'm up to now.
Speaker 1:Nice, cool, so I just want to get right into it. So for our audience who may not know, you just wanted to ask what is Lex's origin story like? How did you get into dance and then specifically k-pop. So I guess first main question is you know what? Where did you grow up?
Speaker 2:what was your family dynamic like and all that stuff okay, so back in the day my mom was a modern dance. Uh, she was touring around the world with a contemporary dance company and that's how my whole family got into dance. Basically, she had my sister, which is older than me. She went on to be a professional ballerina. We were trained in ballet from a young age and I feel like I just followed in the sort of family footsteps in a way. But growing up I was not really into ballet that much, so I was like sort of hating it and being like when can I quit? I would always make up excuses like.
Speaker 2:I have an injury or like I have something to do at school. But since ballet is so committed and you have to be there every single day, I would always hate just like the commitment to being there. After a long time of training, I eventually discovered K-pop through my sister. We were like big fans of K-dramas and stuff and then eventually that led to K-pop and then I started seeing the dances that went with it. So I learned it on YouTube, mirrored and that's when my K-pop journey began.
Speaker 2:I was about 12 years old and then I was like maybe I should start posting instagram covers because I saw a few online, but not too many. You know, it wasn't that big back then, but it was more like a niche hobby that if I brought it up to anyone at school they'd be like what's that? What k-pop? What I? I don't, I have no idea what that is. I was into YouTube, like learning from YouTube, for a long time and then I went to KCON for the first time in 2016 and I saw Eddie there.
Speaker 2:He was like the star of the random play dance and I was watching him on YouTube for the first time, being like who is that boy? Like I've never seen someone so confident, so like enjoying his time so much and being so himself. So I really admired him a year before he contacted me, and when he did on instagram, he was like, oh, my group is preparing this five member group and we need we have four members right now and we need one more just for this random competition I was like, oh yeah, I'm down. I it was like getting a message from like your biggest idol and I was like, wow, this is gonna be great, but I didn't think it was gonna last that long. So I was super excited to come into practice. I was like the maknae of the group so I was, um, very nervous.
Speaker 2:I remember going into the practice for the first time and meeting some of my best friends right now and they're so nice and being like sort of my moms and being like, oh like, very welcoming and making me comfortable. So I was so grateful that I had found a group that I yeah. So this competition this was the first competition that we did. We were not prepared. We only had three practices in a few weeks to prepare. We go to the semi-finals at the source. This is like the first time I went to the source. We won. I was like hello, like I'm 14, I have never traveled. This is just so random. So then we went to korea and it was this whole experience of like tourism, flash mobs performing on stage, performing in a concert, and it was just like I was starstruck the whole time. We saw even brave girls backstage which we were covering roin'. I can't believe we found that song before it went viral, but yes, that was very lucky and we actually saw them backstage. So I was even more like we saw the artists of the group that we're covering. It was huge for me and that was like the start of me wanting to become something more.
Speaker 2:I'd always thought, oh, k-pop covers is just a hobby and I don't think it'll turn into anything. You know, it's just something that I do on the side and I'll find my career eventually. So we came back home, we started to do more covers, fast forward. They wanted to become a music group, which I personally was not a part of until later on, when they were like oh, we need more members, can you join? But they started to make big waves in like the k-pop community.
Speaker 2:It was like kind of controversial actually, but yeah, it was a whole experience of them like going to kore, recording, making the music video, everything. And then I was watching them like, yeah, you're going to be huge. And I don't think there was a lot of K-pop cover groups that made songs. Even until now, I don't see a lot like producing their own well, not producing, but releasing their own songs. So, yeah, I feel like, even until now, it was super special to be a part of it and we got the chance to perform on KCON the concert stage, which was I still can't believe that happened, since we had gone to KCON so many years before it was like we just knew these people, like over and over again, seeing them every year and being like, oh, we'll get you on the concert stage next year and it's yeah right, that's never gonna happen.
Speaker 2:You know we're just a cover group, we don't have any idol training. You know it's just, but know we're just a cover group, we don't have any idol training, you know it's just. But somehow it happened. And then that's when I felt like that was my highest achievement. I was like, okay, I can die. Happy.
Speaker 1:Now I'm like I'm good did you ever imagine yourself being on stage, or was it more just, yeah, we're always here at kcon like this is our home. And then, randomly, you found it and you're like, wow, this is surreal. Did you ever imagine like maybe being on stage one day?
Speaker 2:no, no not at all. I mean, it was always like a goal of mine, like in the back of my head, just being like, oh, that'd be nice. I never knew that circumstances could line up so perfectly that we would just be asked to do it just four of us. Yeah, it's crazy to me still.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy. How did it come about? Did one of the organizers reach out to you, or did you guys reach out to them, or how did that work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so basically a lot of people know Eddie through his TV program that he did in Korea. So after that he knew a lot of people that were like making KCON, I think.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure Like involved with organizing yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, organizers, and yeah, the year before we prepared this huge set of doing it at the convention stage and then unfortunately it was like full that year, so then we just ended up doing nothing and then, I think, as like reparations, they were like, oh, you can perform on the concert stage next year, but that's like still huge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, even consider that's a very big like consolation sort of thing it's oh, you can perform on stage, which not a lot of people do except idols.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I was getting sort of like imposter syndrome, like am I actually prepared for this, even though I've been training my entire life for dancing. I feel like on stage I'm gonna forget it all. But yeah, it happened, we pulled through.
Speaker 1:We're still alive how was it like? Was that like the biggest stage you've ever performed on, or have you performed in bigger, or was it? I imagine it was like you said. It was like a dream come true, very surreal or maybe intimidating. But how was it like?
Speaker 2:I mean I got on stage. I just saw this huge wave of like this arena you know people I noticed the air was really dry for some reason yeah I was like I'm gonna choke on stage. I'm like, yeah, I felt kind of dizzy, like I was gonna lose my balance. I was wearing like these six inch heels. It was not smart, but you know, it was iconic, yeah. And the set went by like that. I was okay, it's over, but I don't really remember it happening. But, yeah, I guess muscle memory takes over.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, yeah, that's it that's usually what for, I guess for non-dancers out there, like sometimes it's just like that, like you start dancing and then next thing you know you blink and it's done. You're like wait, what happened? And thankfully there's muscle memory and all this other stuff and you kind of can go back and kind of replay it in your brain, like oh yeah, that's exactly what happened, but as it's going on, it's, you're almost like a passenger, I would say sometimes for me you're just going.
Speaker 2:It's like you're like floating in the back seat and who's driving?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah how did you guys feel about the performance itself?
Speaker 2:do you think it was like your strongest performance or were there any mess ups or anything, or oh yeah yeah, I think at one point one of our members like we were going on the floor and she lost balance but. I think she saved it pretty well and um, there's a lot to do with spacing. I think I messed up at one point at the ripple and then I made someone else look bad, but I'm pretty satisfied, yeah, like. I don't like to focus on anything that you did wrong.
Speaker 1:It's more like oh, I'm proud of what we did Right, not being hard on yourself or anything. So then, I guess, to segue out of that, so then the next year going on with Tame In for the Dream Stage. For those who don't know, could you walk us through how that sort of works to just be on stage with an idol.
Speaker 2:Okay, we actually saw him first in the rehearsal and he was like very nice. He was sort of like at a distance. We weren't allowed to like be close to him or like touch him or be surrounded yeah, I mean it's taemin. Yeah, safety procedure, yeah he was like waving at us from far away and all of us were like very starstruck. It's Taemin, the king of K-pop, or Prince, I would say.
Speaker 1:Prince, yeah, he's definitely iconic, to say the least.
Speaker 2:And yeah, during rehearsal we were sort of getting used to his presence. On what was it by stage time? We were like, okay, we're not allowed to look at him if we're like facing away. I literally did not see him the whole performance.
Speaker 1:But you know, I can see him behind me in the video. Which way were you facing? So he? I've seen clips, obviously, but I'm not sure what the orientation, so let's say he's forward right which side were you?
Speaker 2:on.
Speaker 1:I was on the left side of the stage okay, so like facing left, if he's facing forward, you're facing left.
Speaker 2:Yes, gotcha not a lot of looks back, right maybe it's for the best he doesn't distract you yeah, so yeah, I think I would have just stood there.
Speaker 1:You're like what are we doing again?
Speaker 2:we're just watching the show.
Speaker 1:Sorry. So then, going back, could you walk us through, like, how dream stage works? I know there's a few phases, but for people who don't know, like, how does that process look? Like like you apply and you send in a video or something, or then there's audition phases so there's an online process.
Speaker 2:You gotta post a video. You send an application. Don't forget the application, because you might not get in if you forget to send it I think my boyfriend yerson forgot to send it in even though he posted it.
Speaker 2:You know there's no way he couldn't have gotten in. Yeah, he should have gotten in. We were supposed to get in as a couple. I was really disappointed, but yeah, anyways, going back to the process, we're going online submission. In-person audition at KCON First thing in the morning, 8 am, you have to be there in line, and a lot of waiting. Everyone auditions, you audition again, and then, I think, a third time. I remember doing it like three times on the audition stage.
Speaker 1:Oh, three times live. Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 2:And then the Samans backup dancers were judging us, so they would call us out immediately You're in, you're in, you're not. And then they would sort of filter it down and be more what is it Be more like selective. After that we went backstage, we were practicing, we were sort of getting it together, so everyone knew the same timing and like when to go on, when to stop. I think we were practicing for like maybe two hours. We had lunch. That was the only time we were allowed to go out.
Speaker 2:We weren't even allowed to go to the convention. We were just like dang.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's like wasting a whole day Right, because we held hostage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I felt like I was like in jail. So we come back practice even more and then waiting for like maybe two more hours, just like doing your makeup, or like running it one more time, or going to the bathroom, like it takes so long and then we had rehearsal waiting even more. Go on stage and then we're done.
Speaker 1:Nice yes, and then this passed by, so then you had your. That video I think you reposted recently, which was like it was a collection of reels or videos where it was like cover K-pop, cover dancers that get possessed by the idols, and it's that one, right?
Speaker 1:You know what I'm talking about. And then you're at the end of the reel and it was like it started off with that one girl who looks like Chaewon and it was going through and it was like all these really good artists or cover dancers Tame in like your video from KCON. So what was that like? I mean, you were on. This was your second time on KCON stage at the very least, right, and were you just was this kind of? At that point it's just natural to you Like you've run it so many times and you're just on stage and just living, or like how does one I don't know, you were amazing, and I think everyone agrees how do you get to that point of just being like so comfortable on stage and just performing it and that everyone you get that attention for?
Speaker 2:wow, she was so good on stage well, I feel like performing on stage the year before definitely helped me to know what to avoid, such as getting too excited right before you're going on stage. You're like shaking with adrenaline and then you tend to over dance too much. Also, I had the opportunity to watch the dream stage the year before and be able to observe sort of behaviors that I would or wouldn't do, such as over dancing or being like too still so kind of just looking at best practices and kind of preparing yourself to be on stage and not over dancing or anything like that.
Speaker 1:Yes, and um, sorry, I forgot the question how do you, I guess, preparing to be on stage like that? But yeah, I don't know I know a lot of it as a fellow dancer. You know you have to be prepared and ready but, then you could still kind of lose your focus or concentration. But then also performing as with your face and with your body is another aspect to just then just doing choreography, right? I?
Speaker 2:think I was really lucky that the song was move, since I knew it from many years before and also it was sort of in my style, where I grew up doing contemporary and I sort of knew how to move more fluidly, if that makes sense. I was able to sort of remember my training and sort of incorporate it into the leg kick and like the hip movements. It's very easy to me that, because I've done it so many times before, I didn't have to stress about oh, am I gonna do it?
Speaker 2:right it's like whether I'm gonna do it or not, you know. You just like you you know that you're gonna do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the hardest part I would say was right before going on stage. Where you're in the arena, you hear everyone screaming, the lights go dark and then taemin goes on stage. You know that you have to go on stage in a bit and then there's like these stairs that you go up. I'm gonna trip for sure. Like you, you can't like stall at all because it's like everything is time. I'm just like stressed out, thinking about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, all the cortisol is coming back.
Speaker 2:Yeah and then. So right before I think I was sort of meditating, I was like closing my eyes, taking deep breaths, being like drown out the noise. Get used to this level of noise because I'm very sensitive. My ears pick up loud noises even more and, yeah, it makes my body really. Yeah, I was trying to regulate my nerves right before and I feel like that helped a lot.
Speaker 1:What is Really quick, tangent. So what is that sort of meditation practice or ritual beforehand? Do you do that often, or is it just that one time, or what is it?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So usually right before I go on stage, I get a lot of anxiety, even as many times as you go on stage. It just happens for me, it doesn't go away. But what I've learned is that you sort of have to remind yourself like where you are, how. This is just one performance out of many that I've done before. It's not that serious and you don't have to do perfect, you just have to, like show who you are, and you already did the practice, just do it.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I feel like it's a matter of staying sane right before not being too in your head like oh, oh, my gosh, like I don't know what's going to happen, being like spiraling into that sort of unsure mindset.
Speaker 1:So it's like a lot of self-talk sort of like affirmations and whatnot. Yeah, nice. Okay, a couple of things before we switch. One is so was there? So, after you went viral for this sort of moment and everything, what was it like? Did anything change or did I don't't know? Like social media is like a weird thing, right, you blow up and stuff like that. Did anything change after that any aspect of your dance cover career?
Speaker 2:I feel like my mentality changed the most how so? I knew that I had potential before. I was very self-limiting, being like oh, it's just my social media, I've only. I only have a lot of followers because I worked on it for so long.
Speaker 2:I'm probably just normal you know, and then, after I sort of went viral, I was reading these comments and being like. I was reading these comments and being like maybe the people around me are somewhat right. My loved ones always tell me I'm special. I feel like I can't fully believe them because they're biased.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're supposed to support me, hello.
Speaker 2:So all the love and support I've been getting from my loved ones has, yeah, I'm really grateful for this experience because it led me to open my mind to think about more possibilities that might be possible in the future and even though it's slow change physically, I feel like a lot has happened up here.
Speaker 1:I see.
Speaker 2:That makes sense.
Speaker 1:Really profound. So last question on that, then, is what do you foresee in your future? So what is the vision for five years future, Lex, or 10 years? Like where do you see yourself going in terms of K-pop, cover dancing or anything related?
Speaker 2:Well, recently I sort of committed to my dream of becoming an artist and I haven't really said it a lot anywhere, so maybe you're the first I don't know. Breaking news in december but yeah, I'm gonna start to get vocal training and I'm really working towards releasing my own music, which I know a lot of influencers start to do. But I really want to make it like art. I don't want to just release a song that isn't treasured. So I'm going to work very hard on it and hopefully it'll come out soon.
Speaker 1:That's very exciting. I'm excited for you. So let's pivot a little bit. So I know a few of the topics that you wrote about that you might want to talk about. A few of them involve following your passion as a purpose, creating a good relationship with yourself, so knowing yourself, self-awareness. And then a big thing that you mentioned was like learning from your mistakes and experiences.
Speaker 2:Is there anything of those topics you want to start with first or any stories you want to tell? I kind of want to talk about how developing a good relationship with myself helped me to improve my dance okay, so how did that?
Speaker 1:so how did that start? Like developing a relationship with yourself. Is it something that you start off and okay, I need to develop this relationship? You know like self-love, self-talk and whatnot. Or was there like a catalyst for that?
Speaker 2:I think it all happened in one year for me, or maybe a year and a half, it was. I was going through a depression era and I just desperately wanted someone to pull me out, but it wasn't happening. So I was like why isn't this happening? Doesn't anyone care about me? And I was like wondering if I die right now. Sorry, this is like trigger warning.
Speaker 2:But, if I die right now, would anyone even miss me? This is like trigger warning but if I die right now, would anyone even miss me? But then I sort of came to the realization that no one's going to save you unless you want to save yourself. Even if people around you tell you advice and loving words, like you're going to deflect all of it, it's just going to go one ear out the other. You're not going to believe it unless you want to believe it yourself. I sort of started to want to improve my relationship with myself and sort of treat me as I'm treating someone else, as if I'm another person. My body is separate from my soul. I was reading a lot of these, let me think not books, but more tiktoks, okay, so there's a lot of information that people have on self-care and affirmations, and all of this was very new to me. I was like this is just woo-woo you know, I don't know if it actually works.
Speaker 2:Like you talking to yourself in the mirror. That sounds crazy. So I was like very skeptical at first. I was like maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. Like I maybe I'm just wasting my time. I was like working on shadow work. First. It was shadow work, if you don't know. It's sort of seeing all your flaws and, um, like journaling, and I wouldn't say just journaling, but it's more like accepting who you are as a whole person, rather than ignoring your problems and trying to appear perfect to everyone else. So I was working on like seeing myself as a full person and being more accepting of who I was and who I wanted to be, and sort of just making small changes to become, like my, the highest version of myself quickly from there, I was not dancing back then what time period was this or how long ago?
Speaker 1:just for the audience, I think during COVID.
Speaker 2:Okay, like in my dance account, I had a lot of sort of hiatuses I don't know if I would call it that, because only k-pop idols say that, but it's like breaks where I would just stop posting for like months. And it was weird because I was like how come I don't love this anymore and I sort of lost my passion for everything. But don't love this anymore and I sort of lost my passion for everything. But slowly it started to come back. Once I started to learn more about myself and remember how much like playfulness and joy I used to have with just making covers and like doing it for fun, doing it with my group and like spending time with other people. I feel like it really brought me out of my shell.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, I started to understand dance more deeply once I met my boyfriend Yerson. He sort of understands dance as if it's like your personality. I mean, go watch his podcast episode. I bet he explains it. But yeah, he could read me like a book. I was so surprised the first time that he explained my dancing to me because I thought I knew how I danced but I didn't know why I danced like that. So he said stuff like you have a lot of control, because you like to have control over a lot of things in your life.
Speaker 1:And I was excuse me, but you know he's right, yeah, yeah, it's it.
Speaker 2:it makes sense to me. And yeah, he says you like to stand out, but in a subtle way, and it's that's also true, and you can see it in my dancing, where it's I subtle movements, but somehow I sort of catch your eye and I felt like no one has really seen me like that before. So I was like, hmm, like BC's deeper than the surface and I really appreciated it.
Speaker 2:Yeah and yeah, until now I've been sort of deep diving into dance and sort of the art inside of it and not just seeing the dance on the surface but being like why do people dance like that? And sort of trying to read them through their dancing. It's like another sort of world. It's crazy, yeah, nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, One thing about Yersin is he's very like emotionally aware too, Is like he can kind of sense what's going on, especially between people or people's emotions, which I really appreciate about him. You know he's a good friend to have in that sense, because he kind of gives you like a different perspective and it's also usually very insightful. So on the you know you said you were doing all this like shadow work and like kind of trying to know yourself. Were there any sort of, I guess, takeaways or lessons learned, either about yourself or how to kind of deal with that depression that you that you said you were in to get to where you are now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I took it so seriously to the point where I was like I don't have a purpose.
Speaker 2:I don't deserve to live and if I start doing a career and it's wrong, like I'm just wasting my time. But that's not true. Like you can do anything in this life, you have unlimited potential for anything that you want to do. So I realized that I should just start on something. I should commit my time to, like growing my skills towards something. And I guess I didn't realize it at the time, but I was going to dance classes.
Speaker 2:I was like starting to post more on my Instagram. I was joining more covers and being like, okay, this is taking up like my whole time, so I'm just going to stick with it. Until now, and I realized it sort of invigor it. Until now, and I realized it sort of invigorated me again. I had this sort of excitement for the future. Like, oh, what am I gonna wear for this cover? How can I make it more exciting? So I'm like, so people can see that it's exciting, I don't know, but it's. It turned out to be sort of like my purpose. I don't know if I would call it a purpose, but it's just what excites me for now and I'm okay with that so kind of like following.
Speaker 1:Well, one takeaway correct me if I'm wrong that I'm taking from this is that kind of to bring you out of your, I guess, self or your slump. It's focusing on creating something, building something, or something to do that makes you active and to improve yourself, like when you're growing right. You're focusing on that and not so much of what's lacking and the things that will bring you down. And then the other thing was like following what excites you, right, so like your passions, and so for right now it's like dancing and like being in covers and performing with your friends and whatnot. So it's following that passion, just to kind of get you in that positive space.
Speaker 2:Yes, I totally agree with that, and I feel like following your passion is what leads you to your purpose. This is just me personally, but I believe before we're born, we sort of choose the right body that will lead us to what we want to do in this life. So why would I choose this body to like something if I'm not supposed to do it? And I've been sort of listening to what I like and staying away from what I don't like, and it's really been helping me to narrow it down and be like okay, I like this thing, but there's something in it that I don't like.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'll save it for another time.
Speaker 2:And then I just find something that it's like all green lights and I'll just go.
Speaker 1:So I see. So it's kind of like you're you're retrospecting, in a sense of figuring out what you like about certain things and kind of seeing where things align and then going in that direction. Nice, I like that a lot, kind of similar to that you mentioned, like learning from your mistakes and experiences. Was there anything in particular, or like a lesson or a story or anything or insights that you learned on that topic?
Speaker 2:Yes, that you learned on that topic? Yes, so there are things in life where you regret it and you feel like if you went back, your life would be so much better.
Speaker 2:But that's not the case, because what happened from that bad experience is that you learned from it and it sort of shaped you to change yourself into who you are right now. So if you actually went back and erased it, you wouldn't be here right now and, like the butterfly effect is a very real thing. So I feel like having regrets is not really smart, because it's that means you wouldn't be yourself. You would be someone that's like expecting perfection from everything until now because you've never experienced anything bad. And I don't think that's a good way to live, because if something bad happens, you're not going to know how to deal with it. And what else did you?
Speaker 1:yeah, were there any, if you would like to share any experiences or things that you've learned on the topic of, I get what you're saying right, which is don't regret your experiences. They help you grow and you get to learn and get stronger from that for the future. Are there any sort of formative experiences or challenges that you face that you've learned from or any stories on that that we can, you can share with the audience? Let me think of one like a catalyst for maybe any of this. I'm sure we have all. I have a lot. My list of regrets is just long. It's like where do I start?
Speaker 2:well. It's sort of an experience that I don't like to remember, but it was necessary for me to learn from. It was very mean to one friend and in my childhood I felt like it was okay to just say anything that you wanted and there is going to be no punishment.
Speaker 1:Repetitions and consequences.
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, but it turned out to make her have a lot of insecurities growing up and she told me like long time after that it really affected her growing up and this was like a huge shock for me because I thought we were best friends. I was like anything I say to you it's out of love, you know. But sometimes people will believe your words only, not your intentions. So that's how I learned that I have to make myself clear. Even if it seems like a joke, it might not be to someone else. And also I know to be sensitive with my words now and that's why I tend to pause or like stutter when I'm talking, because I really don't want to put out something that I might want to just stay.
Speaker 1:Makes sense, like being more thoughtful with your words. I had the same conversation with a friend of mine who she kind of likes to have this reputation of very blunt, so to speak, but it's not so much just bluntness, it's also a little bit of like rudeness, but she thinks she's being honest and she thinks that's like the virtue right, it's like being honest. But I was telling her I'm like, okay, I get what you're saying and I don't disagree to some extent. But I think part of wisdom is knowing that you can still say the truth, but with kindness and consideration, because what you're saying you can't really take back words. So I think the hallmark of someone who is thoughtful and wise is someone who doesn't just say whatever they think, because you there is an in-between of saying the truth but also saying it kindly and respectfully, and to try to do your best to communicate what your intentions are, as opposed to just like when we're younger, our throwaway comments that that we're like, oh, it's totally fine, because I think we've all done that and later on it sticks with someone, because we also remember when someone says something to us and we're like that really hurt and why am I still thinking about it like years later, but of course that person probably didn't mean it that way, but it makes you kind of think about that. So I totally agree Any other. So we covered a good relationship with yourself, learning from your mistakes.
Speaker 1:I know you talked about performances as well and I know like in a dance technical aspect, we kind of, like you mentioned, you watch yourself dance or you watch like the other performers and you kind of approach dance like that. Is there anything else in terms of learning from your mistakes or any other takeaways?
Speaker 2:Sorry, I just spilled on myself.
Speaker 1:It's all good.
Speaker 2:I didn't listen to that last part.
Speaker 1:No, it's all good, just any last takeaways for lessons learned on making mistakes, I think a lot of people can relate to that.
Speaker 2:When you're in class make mistakes, that's your time to really mess up, because when you're on stage, that's when you're going to be more harsh on yourself. If you did make a mistake and be like, oh, why didn't I practice that more before it's because you're so scared to mess up that you wouldn't let yourself.
Speaker 1:and my mind just went okay, no, that's, that was complete thought because, also, it's not just dance, it's like life, right, don't be afraid to mess up. Dance teacher told me a long time ago that you can't look good and get better at the same time, which is exactly what you're saying, which is you can't try to look perfect when you're trying to grow, because growing necessitates you making mistakes. Exactly so, yeah, and I think that's obviously we're talking dance, but we actually it's you know applies to a lot of yeah everything else cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's wraps up that, or any last things you want to bring up for those topics? No, okay so rapid fire questions. Okay, I know you're preparing for this, all right. So first rapid fire question for season two we changed it up a little bit. So first one is the billboard question. So if you could put up a sign for millions of people to see, what would it say?
Speaker 2:authenticity over perfection nice.
Speaker 1:Any reason for that?
Speaker 2:because I feel like when I see people dance and they're actually being themselves rather than trying to copy whoever they're covering in in the dance cover, it turns out to be way higher quality and it just makes me happier to see them enjoying how they are instead of putting down themselves and being like oh, I have to follow this because I don't trust myself to make my own judgments or decisions on this dance move or, yeah, it also applies to other things in life but this is just an example of like k-pop?
Speaker 1:yeah, definitely, I like that. Next question is what is your favorite failure or something challenging that you learned the most from?
Speaker 2:I thought I had an answer, but I'm like going blank, my favorite maybe something that that was challenging, that you thought wasn't good. Nice, I used it. There you go.
Speaker 1:That set you up for success later. On.
Speaker 2:My favorite failure, well, I would say one year that I wasn't participating in Lawlery. I had no events during KCON to be, at and I was sort of disappointed because I was like expecting something being like oh, I've done all this stuff the years before and I was really disappointed that I couldn't be part of this group that I've worked so hard on and they were doing great things like they're having so many panels and performances and stuff, and at the time I was sort of jealous of them.
Speaker 2:And now that I realize, like looking back at it, I'm very grateful to have been put in that sort of mindset so I can see how far I've gotten until now where I wanted it so bad to be part of a group that was very talented and well put together and put so much hard work into their performance. And, yeah, I'm glad that I got to experience both sort of parts of being a fan and a performer.
Speaker 1:This one might be a little different, might be the same. It's called Self-Inflicted Wound. So do you have a story about something that went wrong in your life? That's your own fault and you can't blame anyone else but yourself because you did it to yourself.
Speaker 2:It's Self-Inflicted Wound you did it to yourself and self-inflicted wound, I would say, letting people decide my worth. In school I was very quiet, like when I went to public high school. I was always changing or like transferring, so I would never make friends. I would be sort of like more hidden to myself and in my head. I'd be like no one wants to be my friend, like I'm kind of I'm not an interesting person to be with and like over the years it sort of just stuck with me and I didn't make the effort to talk to anyone.
Speaker 2:So I sort of made up this sort of this false story, false narrative in my head that I was undesirable to be around, or no one sort of wanted to be around me. So I feel like that was a self-inflicted wound that I could have avoided.
Speaker 1:But since I wanted to be the victim, I let myself like judge me even harder yeah, it's always, it's always easier to just make ourselves the victim right than to take responsibility oh yeah, um, so I know we talked about regrets, but if you could redo one thing, what would you redo differently?
Speaker 2:like a thought experiment obviously well, just to experience it. I would love to perform on the kcon stage again just to enjoy them. Yeah, but you said there's is as a regret, so I can't think of anything, right?
Speaker 1:now, if you could give your younger self advice, what would it be now? Any time period any age be more grateful of how your?
Speaker 2:parents accept you and support you since I only recognized that maybe last year or just recently, and I feel like I could have given so much more love to my parents and really show them my appreciation when I was growing up. But since it had always been that way, I always was like I want more. I don't. I'm not happy with this. You should pay for me more to be even like a better dancer.
Speaker 1:Like entitlement, sort of yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So I feel like I could have been a better daughter, Definitely. I know now yeah definitely.
Speaker 1:I think that's one of the hard things too is I think it's a universal sort of experience for kids to take their parents for granted as much as they like, accept us and love us unconditionally and provide for us, and we're just like, yeah, that's always going to be there.
Speaker 1:And then you become an adult or you grow up and you're like wait, I really appreciate all this stuff. And now that, when you move into I don't want to say like building a family yourself, right, but when you start to get to that age where now there's people younger than you and you kind of like a mentor figure or eventually, if you have kids or you look up after people, and then you're now self-sacrificing to help other people and you're like wait, my parents did so much for me and I realized that too, as I'm getting older and like, dancing around a lot younger people and you know I want to help them to grow.
Speaker 1:And then I'm like wait, you know, like this feeling of maybe being unappreciated, but then it's no, but our parents have even more of that and we don't. It's like the tip of the surface because, like, they love us unconditionally but we don't even consider that. Yeah, so yeah, I feel that in the last few years, what new belief, behavior or habit has improved your life?
Speaker 2:I will say behavior. I have started to treat my life as like a video game, sort of taking everything, as if I can change anything that I want. I can like dress up however I want. I'm like I'm just playing a game, and that's not saying I don't take life seriously, but it makes more control over like different aspects it makes it more.
Speaker 2:It makes me more mindful making choices that I want to see in my character in the future. It helps me to see my life in like a 3d perspective sort of, or maybe 4d, I'm not sure but you know sitting on the back end and being like, oh, I can see how this is going oh, like in a third party, sort of third perspective, but there's third party perspective.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, I gotcha, yeah, I like it. Who would you call successful and how do you define success?
Speaker 2:who? As in a specific person, yeah, okay, I'll say my older sister. Uh, since she is living the life right now. She's in sweden. She's a professional ballet dancer with well-paid company. Like she gets summer off. She gets paid during the summer because it's funded by the government. It's really nice. Even during covid she was like chilling, you know, yeah, I feel. Yeah, I feel like she's successful because she's following her passion and she is also able to be stable and she has two cats. She's super happy with her boyfriend and I'm just like over the moon that she's in such a good place.
Speaker 1:Nice. How much older is she?
Speaker 2:Three and a half years. Three and a half years, okay, nice when did she?
Speaker 1:you said switzerland sweden sweden. When did she move over there? Maybe five years ago okay, so she's been there for a while. Wow, that's, that must be really cool, living in another country she I think she just got her citizenship so she can go back and forward and, yeah, she doesn't have to get a visa anymore, that's crazy. When I think of Sweden, I think of Frozen.
Speaker 2:Is that where?
Speaker 1:Frozen is based off of, or is it another country? Norway?
Speaker 2:Norway.
Speaker 1:Thank you, norway, norway, I remember going to Switzerland and I was like this looks just like Frozen.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But it's like that area.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's so cool. The houses, yeah, the houses. I love Switzerland.
Speaker 1:Have you been? Yes, I'm assuming. How was it like?
Speaker 2:Switzerland yeah or any place. I guess Switzerland. Well, Switzerland is my favorite place. I went to visit my aunt there. She lives there and she took us to a lot of nature places and the forests are so mossy and very close to earth and everything. When you think of the woods in a fairy tale, that's Switzerland.
Speaker 1:Yes, definitely fairy, tale land.
Speaker 2:It's so nice.
Speaker 1:I definitely want to go back. If you knew you couldn't fail, what would you try or what would you be doing now?
Speaker 2:Investing.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, what kind.
Speaker 2:Like stocks.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, well, why so?
Speaker 2:because I feel like if you were successful, then it wouldn't take so much time and then you could.
Speaker 1:It's like passive income so you see it as like an efficient way to make money if you're good at it, right? Yeah, I like it and then you can spend your time doing some other stuff yeah, stuff, that stuff just arts and crafts, yeah. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments that you've ever made, like time, money, energy, etc.
Speaker 2:I would say being forced to do ballet when I was younger, because it has really helped me to become a well-rounded dancer that I am now. Yeah, going to the studio every day for almost 15 years and having very strict teachers helped me learn discipline, technique and a lot of necessary things to become a good dancer.
Speaker 1:All right. Last two Favorite recent purchase let's say under $50 or $100 that has impacted your life the most in the last six months.
Speaker 2:We can change the parameters of the price or the time I will say these not these glasses, but the red glasses that I wore at kcon, because I feel like it's sort of indirect but you know, the office siren trend has been going around on TikTok and Pinterest and Instagram and I feel like those glasses really helped to catch the attention of whoever was underneath me. I was really committing to this aesthetic and actually I was worried that I was going to fall off on stage so I was like taking a risk to to wear it. But I was like, no, I'm gonna wear these glasses. Yeah, they're so cheap. I got them on shein, I think, um five dollars maybe and yeah, they changed my life nice.
Speaker 1:I like it. It's five dollar glasses but probably helped you stand out a lot and blow up nice. Okay, last rapid fire question any favorite books, movies, videos, articles, media, etc.
Speaker 2:That you share or recommend the most well, today I am dressed in the sort of aesthetic as coralline so this has been my favorite tv series, not series, but movie for halloween and getting into a sort of comfy, nostalgic, creepy fall atmosphere. So I recommend watching it to anyone who loves sort of thriller and claymation, and it's really well produced. There's so many details and so much lore that's involved. I can spend so many days just watching it over and over again and each time I'll find a new detail yeah, coralline is a coralline, right.
Speaker 1:It's a cult classic, for sure. Who's the director for that? Tim burton? That's right, timber no it, it's not.
Speaker 2:I forgot his name.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, that one guy.
Speaker 2:But people are very adamant that it's not.
Speaker 1:Tim Burton oh okay, all right, so that's a misnomer sort of thing. Sorry to correct you, coraline, let's see.
Speaker 2:Henry Selick.
Speaker 1:Henry Selick oh.
Speaker 2:I see Interesting.
Speaker 1:Okay, we were wrong, you were right.
Speaker 2:No, no, I didn't even know the name Nice.
Speaker 1:Cool. So, coraline, definitely. Okay, that is it for the rapid fire questions, so we can go into our ending. I always like to end with gratitude, something I learned from my mom. So, lex, what are you grateful for?
Speaker 2:I'm grateful for my ability to see bad experiences as helpful experiences, and it has really helped me to not spiral into a depression anymore. So, yeah, I'm grateful for my mentality.
Speaker 1:Very nice, and do you have any final ask from the audience or any final takeaways you want them to have from this conversation?
Speaker 2:I want to inspire the viewers to be more playful in their everyday lives. Even if you're doing mundane activities such as driving or cooking, maybe add some intention in there and have some fun.
Speaker 1:I love it. Have some fun and intention. So, lex, that is pretty much it for the show. Where can we find you? If the audience would like to connect or see what you're up to, we'll have all of your links to your socials and everything in the show notes. But where can they find you?
Speaker 2:You can find me at Oleggy on Instagram, tiktok and YouTube.
Speaker 1:Nice what does Oleggy come from? Tiktok and YouTube Nice what does Oleggy come from?
Speaker 2:What is that name? It's a very warped version of my name, alexa. I think one of my friends way back when used to call me Alexa, so that's where the Gs came from. And then I think my ballet teacher said olexa, a lot with an o, so then I sort of combined those like olexa and then olegi so it's like a playoff of those things.
Speaker 1:Nice, I like it, cool, all right, well, we'll wrap it up. So thank you again, alexa or lex, for being here and just to sign off for the audience. So thank you, guys for tuning in. Just a reminder to always be kind to others, especially yourself, and that you can always learn something from someone if you just take the time to listen. So thank you for tuning in.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much.
