Today, we’d like to introduce you to Lily Farrar.
Lily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a super small town, Columbia, Tennessee. Columbia is the mule capital of the world, and not many people leave Columbia. My graduating class consisted of 40 students, and I had been with the same classmates since preschool. My parents put me in all extracurricular activities possible, as most parents do, to find what I liked doing most. This ranged from soccer to horseback riding and rodeos to ice skating and piano lessons.
Finally, I found the one that stuck: dance. I have been dancing since I was three years old. The studio I grew up dancing at was Precision Dance; this studio consisted of 1 room with tile floors that eventually turned into wood-sprung floors with the help of my dad and the other two dance dads. Dance became my life, which was super strange in this town because it pretty much mirrored the popular movie “Footloose .”My high school did not allow dancing, proms, school dances, or cheerleading choreography. As you can guess, my dream of becoming a professional dancer was not the norm, but I was bound to make it my reality.
My parents saw that I was starting to outgrow my little dance studio and started looking for training elsewhere. This is when I started competing in ballroom dance with my partner, Danny Pugh. I got to travel to the US to compete and get the opportunity to receive numerous awards. My whole childhood consisted of dancing, for which I am so grateful. Once it was time for college to come into the picture, I knew I wanted to leave my hometown and go somewhere new and, most important, far away. I ended up at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, to attend the conservatory dance program.
However, this came with a few roadblocks that made me question my future in dance. Starting my senior year of high school, I had to have surgery for a labrum tear in my left hip. This consisted of 2 months on crutches and an 8-9 month full recovery. This challenged my audition process for college, and my training had to slow down. I recovered quickly and bounced back into dancing for my final year of high school and auditioned for many college programs. What I did not realize was I had re-torn my labrum only two months after I had fully healed. I continued to my first year at Shenandoah University, but dancing became increasingly more painful.
I had to go back into surgery for another reconstruction with the same recovery process for the second time, only less than a year later. This made me decide to take a semester off of dancing and start pursuing and taking classes for my master’s degree while completing my required undergrad classes. Not dancing was so hard; seeing all my friends performing made it even harder. But I knew this time I had to take the time to fully recover and rehab, or my dancer career would have been over before it started.
I returned the following fall with months of rehab and physical therapy in my repertoire and was able to catch right back up with my classmates and graduate with a 4.0 GPA Suma Cum laude with my BFA in Dance and a bright future ahead. After undergrad, I knew I wanted to continue my journey and finish my master’s degree. I moved to Philadelphia just a few weeks after graduation to start an internship with Koresh Contemporary Dance Company. However, this was not long-lived; back in June, I decided to audition for one of Utah’s most popular dance companies, Odyssey Dance Theatre.
They only invited 20 dancers to the audition based on video submission; I flew all the way out to Utah to do the audition. I knew it was a long shot, but this company seemed the perfect fit for me, so I took the leap. In July, the company offered me a year-long contract! I said yes, immediately packed up my whole life, and drove the 25-hour drive to Salt Lake City. Moving across the country by yourself to start over is intimidating, but I was ready for the adventure. In August, my contract with Odyssey Dance Theatre started, and I was embarking on my first professional experience in the dance world. It was an incredible experience.
I danced all over the state and traveled abroad to perform in Germany for a month. Halfway through my first contract, we were told that Odyssey was shutting down so the director could retire. That was not expected; I had just moved my whole life out here to have my dream job come to an end after one year. I was determined to make a living in Utah work. Everything did work out; I met the love of my life, and my now fiancé, Tommy, joined Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company.
Now I am still a company member and executive assistant with WCDC, joined Shift Dance Company and about to start my second season with them; I danced with Serena Webb Dance Theatre and Fem Dance Company, all while finishing my master’s degree and doing social media marketing, teaching dance, and an office job as well. I graduated with my masters in May of 2023 from Performing Arts Leadership and Management.
My thesis, “The History and Stereotype of the Sexualization of Dancers and How Harassment is Being Handled in Arts Management Today,” ended up winning 1st at the annual research expo. I plan to continue this study and hopefully create an HR program to fill this gap. I am looking forward to my wedding this summer and to continue progressing in my dance career.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road, but I am very fortunate to have a fantastic support system that has believed in me all the way. My family has sacrificed so much to make my dreams of being a professional dancer come true. A career in the arts is very unpredictable, and I’m sure not a parent’s first career choice for their child with its history of instability and limited resources/ jobs. I know many people out there do not have the support I have been given my whole life, and I am truly blessed to have been able to entirely chase after my dreams.
My biggest struggles stem from my injuries; it is easy to want to give up once you know you need surgery or will have lifelong pain when doing something you love. I still live with constant hip pain, and this injury has affected other parts of my body at such a young age with a very physical line of work. I made it work because I love dance and can’t imagine doing anything else. I didn’t let this injury and recovery process slow me down. I will always have limitations with my body now, but at least I am still dancing.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a professional dancer trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, musical theatre, tap, hip hop, lyrical, modern, contemporary, Latin, and Smooth ballroom dance. I am currently balancing nine jobs; I am the office manager at Central Utah Ballet, a contemporary dance teacher at Central Utah Ballet, a Junior Company Director at The Pointe Academy, Shift Dance Company member, a member of Wasatch Contemporary Dance, Executive Assistant of Wasatch Contemporary Dance, head of social media marketing and management for Odyssey Dance Theatre and Central Utah Ballet/Chrysalis Ballet. as well as teaching master classes, private lessons, and choreographing on the side.
People know me as “always busy,” lol. I never say no to anything; this might be a character flaw, but that is the only way I see myself progressing in my career. I am most proud of the connections I have created for myself in Utah. Moving here and not knowing anyone was hard. Still, I quickly forced myself to get out and connect with the community. I pride myself in this and how quickly I established myself here.
I genuinely believe I can do anything I put my mind to, and it has worked out so far! I will keep finding new ways to expand my knowledge of our arts community in Utah and see where I can fit in!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I am a risk taker; moving across the country was a risk, and having surgeries that could alter my career was risky. Still, overall, I wouldn’t change a thing. Leaving my tiny hometown, even dancing in a town where dancing was looked down upon, was a risk, but it had to be done. Whatever you envision yourself doing is obtainable with a little bit of courage, which eventually shifts to confidence and being open to everything around you. I love my life here in Utah, and I would not change anything because all those experiences brought me here.
Anywhere you go is just a new space for you to explore and discover living life in a new way. Embrace everything, the good and the bad, and know that if it is what you want, it is the life you need. I have never let someone else distance me from my goals and aspirations. I still have so many things I want to accomplish, and I have my whole life, and I will create my own resources and connections to get myself there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lilymfarrar.com
- Instagram: @lilymfarrar
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilymfarrar/
Image Credits
@photogreger, @juleslouise.ent, @jackiesiggardphotovideo, @camrynlynphotography, and @lmsorenson
