THE SKILL OF IT ALL | ELIZABETH BEISEL

As we're less than a year away from Paris 2024, avid readers know that we enjoy chatting with Olympic athletes whether they're still competing or have retired from competing, but are still in the community. We caught up with 3X Olympian (Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016), 2X Team USA Swimming Medalist, and Team US Olympic Team Captain, Elizabeth Beisel. Known for the individual medley as well as the backstroke, we wanted to find out about her Olympic experience, the importance that surfing has as a sport as well as a skill that has served her, how she works with USA Swimming Foundation to ensure that the next generation is able to swim and potentially be able to become athletes in the sport as well! She also talks about the importance of representation and inclusivity in the sport. In addition, we find out what she has been up to, her partnership with Dermasport, embracing her second passion as a violinist, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I’m so excited to be able to talk to you as I enjoyed watching you during your Olympic journey and watching you compete and I know our readers are going to love to know more about your passion for the sport, competing, and what you’re up to now!

ELIZABETH BEISEL: Thank you for having me and I just want to say that it’s an honor to talk with you as you’re a bad ass!

AM: Amazing and thank you!

When did you first fall in love with the water?

EB: Honestly, 6 months old! I went to the Mommy and Me classes at the YMCA. I grew up in Rhode Island which is the Ocean State. So luckily, my mom and dad had the means to put me into the YMCA Mommy and Me classes and introduced me to the water at an early age. I swear that I was the only baby there that wasn’t screaming bloody murder! I love the water! I would only sleep if I was in the water that day. Like it became a thing. I think from the beginning, I was in love with the water and that never left me. I did other sports and other activities growing up, but I think that stuff happening in the water was where I was most comfortable and passionate. So, that was pretty much my entire life!

AM: I love hearing that!

EB: It’s great!

AM: You specialized in the backstroke and are known for your individual medley. What was it about these specialties that you wanted to compete in them?

EB: So, a lot of swimming, you don’t necessarily get to choose the event, the event chooses you. What you're good at is what you morph into. For me, I was one of those swimmers with the individual medley which is all 4 strokes in one race (Editors Note: the medley includes the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle). So I had pretty solid strokes across the board. But backstroke is definitely the one that I excelled in the most. So, since a young age, I kind of always swam all 4 strokes and then I really of honed in on the middle distances which is where my body thrives. I’m not necessarily a long distance swimmer, but I definitely have no sprint fibers in me. Like, I cannot run fast in a sprint, I can’t swim fast, it’s just who I am. I really found that happy medium in the 400m races and it really was just a matter of, “oh wow, I’m really good at these strokes,” in these events compared to everybody else. Why don’t I start focusing on these in practice and swimming on them more in meets. It’s kind of a snowball effect.

AM: I love hearing that as we have interviewed a number of Olympic swimmers and I have never asked how they chose that particular one. But I like that you’re saying that it kind of finds you.

EB: Yeah, trust me, if I had my choice, I’d be swimming a 50 free and be done in 20 seconds, but my body is not made for that!

AM: You’re a 3X Olympian, you have 2 Olympic medals, you’ve served as the Olympic Swimming Captain. What was your Olympic experience like for you and what did you love so much about it?

EB: I think that each Olympic experience was super different and for many different reasons. You know, my first one I was 15 and my last one I was 23. So that’s a completely different human! It was such an honor to be able to reach the pinnacle of the sport that I loved so much and be able to compete in it at that highest level for our country. I remember watching the Olympics when I was 7 years old on TV and having that be the first moment where I really grasped what the Olympics were and how monumental they were in my sport. I knew that I wanted to do that one day. That was my goal and I knew that I was going to make it happen. I’m just a small town kid from Rhode Island, I didn’t grow up in a family of Olympians and swimmers. I’m just like a lot of us where you have a dream. Maybe the fact that I was 7 years old and that kids have that beautiful way of just thinking nothing is impossible, I kind of went for it. I was like, “yeah, why not me? Of course!” It ended up being such an incredible experience and standing up on the podium, winning Olympic medals for your country and doing it alongside your teammates is so special. I have met the best people through my life in the sport of swimming. I think we’re forced to be pretty humble because, well, swimming is not an A-list sport. It’s not football, it’s not soccer, it’s not baseball. So we have once every 4 years to kind of shine at the Olympics and then nobody really cares about what we’re doing. We don’t make any money so it’s really a group of people that do it because they love it. I think that breeds a certain type of person and archetype. It’s just like the blue collar hardworking type of people that are really in it because you love it, not for the money, or the fame, or any thing like that. It’s just, “yeah, we love to swim.” Longwinded answer – Olympics are amazing!

AM: So, we always love knowing how athletes stay fit and obviously, you’re in the water which is a huge part of it. What are the workouts that you do in and out of the water when you’re training or even now when you’re doing what you do?

EB: I try to lift weights twice a week. I know that that doesn’t sound like much. When I was swimming, I was lifting 2-3-4 times a week depending on where we were at in the season. Towards the end of my competitive swimming career, I started implementing yoga and I’m now a certified yoga instructor, I love it that much. What I found while I was an athlete and now, and I still consider myself an athlete even though I am not actively competing, is that I leave yoga feeling so calm and like it’s almost like it’s opened up my body obviously, and my mind as well. I see things clearer, I think clearer, and it’s super relaxing. I’m kind of a 1 million miles a minute type of person so I need an outlet and something to force me. Because I’m not going to do it at home. I know myself. I’m not going to put on the meditation and do it at home. I wish I could. But I need to go somewhere and have somebody leading me and once I discovered yoga, not only did it help me athletically because you need to be stretching and you need to be opening your body and your muscle tissue. It helps with recovery a lot, but my mind too. It helps me slow down and shut off and just give myself that parasympathetic nervous system a break. So I would say yoga, lifting, and then I try to walk. It sounds simple, but I think that walking is good and I like to multitask and if I have calls, I will do it when I’m walking. So just nothing crazy to be honest and I think that’s the thing about Olympians, people probably think that we’re doing this out of the box really fancy stuff and it’s like, “no, we do the exact same thing that you guys do, we just do it 40 hours a week.” Instead of you doing it on the weekend or an hour here or there. But yeah, it’s just taking care of my body or anybody’s body is when you’re going to feel better. So that’s why I move now, because it makes me feel good.

AM: It’s so funny because I have probably been doing yoga for the last 15/20 years or so and once I went to my 40’s I went from a love/hate relationship to desperately needing it because like you said, it’s calming your mind down and having someone else stopping me and forcing me to do the things that I do. Hot yoga is my jam!

EB: Same! Oh my God! Give me a hot power vinyasa and I’m good!

AM: Same! I get so happy with it, it breaks me down, and I can quiet everything around me and I so appreciate it now versus in my 20’s I was like this is something to do for my mobility and flexibility. Now it’s like, no I need it.

EB: Exactly, this is like water and I need it.

AM: So you partnered with Dermasport. Can you tell me about the brand and why it was synergistic with you to work for them?

EB: Ok. So Dermasport is a skincare brand so it’s face wash, moisturizer, eye cream, and SPF. It’s designed by swimmers for swimmers. Right off the bat, synergy. Throughout my entire swimming career, I was always struggling to find – especially sunscreen, I was swimming at the University of Florida and I ended up swimming there for 8 years.

That’s 8 years of swimming under the sun outside and I really struggled finding a sunscreen that wouldn’t smudge my goggles and I know that that sounds crazy, that would stay on during the entire practice, would protect my skin, and on top of that, the chlorine itself is so bad for your skin. It strips away every good oil and thing that you have on your face. So I was struggling to find a post swim face wash that really felt like it got everything off. Not only the residue of the sunscreen, but also the chlorine that had seeped into my skin. Once Dermasport came out and approached me, and sent me samples for me to try out, I tried it out for a good 2 months indoor and outdoor swimming. I knew that this was the stuff. It was like I was the one going to them asking them that if they wanted me to do anything, to let me know. I think another thing is that element of protecting your skin. I lost my dad to cancer 2 years ago, although it wasn’t skin cancer, it was a huge wake up call for me being like, you’re healthy until you’re not. You’re cancer free until you’re not so what am I actively doing that’s preventative and ways that I can alleviate the possibility that I don’t ever end up having cancer. So sunscreen has been like, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cloudy day, if it’s the dead of winter, it’s part of my morning routine now. So it just really hit a lot of the elements that I am really passionate about in my life and so it was kind of one of those things where I was like the universe just bestowed this upon me and I thought it was beautiful.

Of course, since retiring from competitive swimming, I really started to surf a lot now that I have time in my life to do things. It’s mineral based, the packaging is either recyclable aluminum or post consumer recycled bottles so I feel good about it across the board. It’s the best!

AM: That’s amazing!

What’s your discipline in surfing? What are you doing in surfing? Are you doing wake boarding or looking for the ultimate big wave?

EB: Well, I interviewed Carissa Moore once so you and I have that in common!

AM: Yup!

EB: I’m sure you had the same experience, she was the nicest person in the world!

AM: She was our FEB ISSUE #85 this year and it was on Super Bowl Sunday and we had a huge tie zone difference and she was the loveliest person.

EB: Exactly and I was in Tokyo for the Olympics 2 summers ago and I was working with NBC and of course it was surfing’s first time in the Olympics. Carissa wins and part of my job was interviewing the athletes after they won. Carissa was not in a rush, she never made me feel like I was annoying her and trust me, the amount of press that she did on that day, like she did not need to talk to me. She was just phenomenal and she was beautiful and lovely as a human!

I have been doing it for a few years now and it’s been really awesome because I love learning new things. I took to surfing easily because of my paddle strength and my arms. So I’m getting better I did a surf trip in the Maldives for a month in April and the thing is with anything, if you’re not doing it consistently, you’re not going to be better. Here where I am in Rhode Island, we get Hurricane Season waves in the fall and then nothing for 10 months. So, I’m trying to go on more trips to get better, but the camaraderie, the culture, I just love it! It’s amazing.

AM: Do you think that you’ll go to Nazaré?

EB: Ha! I’ll watch! Listen, I love to live my life and be alive! Like you know what’s even crazier Kimmie? The tow people with the jet ski! They have to be equally trained, if not more! You know, it’s unreal!

AM: HBO's 100 Foot Wave, but you see it and you’re like, holy shit!

EB: I know right?

AM: What does your partnership look like with Dermasport? Are there events coming up or is it just organic integration?

EB: A lot of it is organic. Obviously I have been sent the product as I need to use it in order to talk about it. We’re going to do some appearances at a lot of Masters meets so that is basically older swimmers just because I feel that those are really the people that are tuned into taking care of their skin and their health whereas kids may be a little harder. Mom says use your sunscreen and the kids are like, “but I’m invincible, why do I need that?” And then, just like genuinely and organically posting about it. I’m at the point in my life that if something doesn’t align with me, I don’t give it my time. We have too many things going on in our lives and so this is one of those things like I said earlier where it just hits every pain point in my life that I am genuinely passionate about – swimming, being in the ocean, surfing, and being in the sun. I’m a lifeguard too and I sit in the sun for hours throughout the day. My connection to cancer and so it’s a really genuine partnership. I’m so excited to be involved.

AM: So tell me about Block Cancer. Why did you want to launch this, what is this lifestyle brand, and what can we expect to see from it?

EB: I’m so excited! It launched July 19th. So I’ll give a quick backstory. When my dad was going through his diagnosis and treatment, I was going through all of the books and cancer had never touched my family. I didn’t know what to do and I was super green in that world and all the things I read said to give something to your loved ones to look forward to. So I thought that I had this amazing swimming platform and there’s an island off the coast of Rhode Island, that only 2 people have ever swum to and no female had ever done it. So I was like, “this could be something cool.” I could share my updates with dad and we called it Block Cancer because the island is called Block Island. It’s like a play on words.

Unfortunately, I did the swim, but my dad passed away before I could complete the swim. I know that he knows that I did it because I fully believe that he was there that day. But after the swim, we were like we had this modest and humble goal of raising $5,000-$10,000 and we raised $665,000 all going to in lab cancer research. That was my thing.

I didn’t want to be funding the renaming of a hospital wing, that’s not my jam. If there's no funding there's no research, no research, there’s no cure. So how can I bridge the gap between the oncologist and the researchers and actually making some progress. So after completing the swim, sitting on it for a little bit, digesting what had happened with my dad and all that stuff – I was really looking to relaunch it and I didn’t really know what that looked like. What it turned into being organically was this collaboration of creatives all designing really cool designs for Block Cancer and selling the merch and donating 90% of the net profits to a non-profit that I have worked with my entire life that funds lab research. It is 100% going to in lab research and I get to be apart of the vetting process and the grant writing process so it’s really really awesome. It’s not just hoodies, hats, and bracelets, but it’s also chemo hats, scarves, port shirts, and cancer care packages. I wanted to do something that really put the cancer patient first. I have also compiled resources like cancer diagnosis resources, grief resources, and when you get a cancer diagnosis, what the hell do you do? What questions do you ask, who do you go to and what do you do when you lose somebody?

For the past year and a half, I’ve been compiling all of that, putting it together and it’s just been this real passion project. It’s never felt like work. It’s a way for me to stay connected to my dad. Actually, Dermasport to bring it back in, we’ve been in talks to have the sunscreen be sold on Block Cancer and maybe a portion of the net-profits go to the Block Cancer Fund. It makes sense right? You use sunscreen and it protects you in skin cancer. Again, Dermasport fit in seamlessly to this beautiful passion project that I am working on and it felt like this beautiful symbiotic relationship. It’s all good stuff and I’m so excited! I have literally, my eyes are all over the place the place – I’m not a website builder, but I have done all this work myself because I don’t have an investor. I don’t have 15 grand to pay for a website developer. So it’s been actually great because I have learned a ton. I've learned skills that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

AM: That’s great, because when you do all of the stuff, as you bring people on, you know exactly how long it takes, what it is – because when you can do it yourself, the person who you bring on who definitely has the skills to be able to do that should be above and beyond what you can do.

EB: Of course! Yes, absolutely. I think that the website came along great.

AM: What other projects are you working on beyond Dermasport and Block Cancer? Are there other things that we should keep an eye out for?

EB: Actually, super exciting news! So I mentioned earlier that I did other activities growing up. So I grew up playing the violin. That was actually my equal love to swimming. But it always had to take a backseat to swimming because I would always choose swimming. So violin is beautiful because it is something that you can always do for the rest of your life. So I’m in a band called Laden Valley and we’re developmental, super early in our stages. But we got asked to play Newport Folk Fest – we’re a folk band.

AM: That’s huge!

EB: Yeah! Huge like Brandi Carlile, Paul Simon, we’re the opener on Fri of Newport Folk Fest and this is like – if this goes well, in the folk world if you’re playing Folk Fest in Newport, you’re doing well!

AM: Oh I’m well aware, that’s why I perked up!

EB: Yeah and we’re very excited, I got all of my outfits planned and I’m like, what are we wearing? So it’s me and 3 other guys and so I’m picking the outfits and the color scheme and they all have can match me.

AM: That is so exciting congratulations!

EB: Yeah and it’s one of those things where this – I don’t want to jinx it. But I truly believe that maybe it could be something, but we will see! It’s by far the biggest crowd that anyone of us have performed in front of. I think it’s 8,000-10,000 people, but for us, it’s like huge and it’s so exciting!

AM: That’s exciting! The Newport Folk Festival is amazing and I knew what it was as soon as you said it as they don’t let just anyone play it. This year it’s Lana Del Rey, Jon Batiste, Maggie Rogers, that’s amazing.

You do so much! How do you give back to the sport that you originated in and how do you give back to the youth that is coming up?

EB: Yeah, so I’m an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and that’s the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming so what we are trying to do is save lives and impact communities. Saving lives is – ok we know that swimming is a fun sport and we get to win Olympic medals and stuff, but at the end of the day, nobody gets into the sport of swimming to become an Olympian. They get into the sport because it’s purely a skill. It’s a life saving skill, but if you come from a socioeconomic background, culture, or city where swimming isn’t really a part of your life or the people that you’re surrounded with – you’re not going to learn. Formal swimming lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%.

So it’s like, I don’t know if you heard the story of the quarterback a couple of weeks ago that drowned in the NFL. But what I try to tell people is listen, the water does not discriminate, it doesn’t care if you’re an Olympian, it doesn’t care if you’re an NFL quarterback, it doesn’t care if you’re a 5-year-old. You can drown. So what we do is basically go around the country on a tour and it’s every May. We provide grants to local Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA’s and we’re like, “here’s $15,000. We ask that in the next year you provide transportation to kids that cannot afford swimming lessons. You bring them from school to the YMCA or the Boys & Girls Club whatever it is and you get them in the water and you teach them how to swim.” I kind of call myself the out of town hero right? We go there and it’s inner city kids in Detroit or in Chicago. They have never seen a pool before, we make it all shiny and fun for them, but it’s like there’s some follow up here. We’re kind of the catalyst and you just have to continue it. So that’s been really rewarding to give back to the sport. At the end of the day, those Mommy and Me Classes that I took with my mom, they’re weren’t about me winning medals. Not at all! They were for me to learn how to swim and to be safer around the water.

That's been the way that I have given back in the past few years since being done.

It’s awesome because it’s also a diversity thing. You watch the Olympics, there is 1 Black person on the Olympic Swim Team. There’s 1.

AM: Yup.

EB: Like, what a microcosm of society right? Because that is what swimming looks like. So, it’s like, we’re trying to come in and we have Cullen Jones – have you ever met Cullen Jones (2G, 2S)?

AM: No, I have not, but I want to!

EB: He was literally my first friend on the National Team. He’s my big brother. I cannot say enough good things about him. Cullen, the first Black person to win an Olympic Gold medal in swimming, to break a world record, the first of everything! He’s kind of like the face of this tour. To be able to do this on the road with him and to watch, because I can say something, but I’m white. It’s not going to resonate as much as when he does it. Watching I get chills, watching him talk to an entire auditorium of kids who honestly may not even know what the Olympics are, but he gets through to them because he can relate to them and they go into a pool and they’re inspired to learn how to swim. That’s what it’s all about. It’s so incredible! So, I mean that this is a 100 year project!

AM: Oh yeah! That’s why representation is so important you have to have what needs to be reflected and if you have 1 maybe you get 4 and then 10. Like you said, it’s going to be 100 years for sure.

EB: Yeah, it’s always safer around the water. It’s never completely safe as I said earlier, you, me – no one is completely safe. Being around and having that impact on the sport and who it is accessible to is like – that is way more than any Olympic medal – it’s saving lives.

AM: Can you tell me about the Lead Sports Summit and what your involvement is with them?

EB: So Lead Sports Summit was founded by one of my best friends on the Olympic Swim Team, Kara Lynn Joyce (4S). She saw a need for a summit for just women and female young teenage athletes. So 13-18 and she gets the all-star team from the Olympic Team. The heavy hitter names that you watch on NBC at the Olympics come to Lead Sport Summit and we have breakout groups, we have panels, we have really open and honest discussions and we give these teenage girls a safe place to talk about stuff that maybe they are dealing with on their team, in school, with relationships at home, it’s a judgement free zone. It’s cool because I think there is an element of humanizing Olympians and what we do. Maybe it’s inspiring because of what we do. It’s like, “oh wow, I was putting Katie Ledecky (7G, 3S) on this pedestal and I thought that she was untouchable, but now that I have met her, spent time with her, and I know she has dealt with the same issues that I have dealt with – now this scary thing that felt impossible is possible! It is something that I say to Kara all the time that she needs to have one just for adults because I would go. I tell her too that by the end of the weekend, I have cried 48 times and I feel that I have gotten more out of it then the actual teenage girls did! Also, I’m not in the social media world that they are in. You and I did not grow up with those same pressures.

AM: Exactly.

EB: So it’s super eye opening to hear them talk openly about the pressures that they feel from social media and society. It gives me chills and makes me say, how can we help? It’s an incredible event and it’s over Labor Day Weekend every single year. Kara is opening it up to other sports now and it’s taking on a life of its own which is really beautiful and I will be at the one in DC which is over Labor Day Weekend this year.

AM: That's fantastic!

EB: Yeah and I think that it’s sold out. Which doesn’t surprise me as it’s done that every single year. It really is worth every single penny. It’s the best!

AM: I love that when people empower and infuse people. Even if something is for a lower age group, I always say that I feel like we’re adulting while we are dealing with our own traumas that are unresolved.

EB: Yes! There’s some stuff that happened to me 15 years ago that I should probably figure out!

AM: Without a doubt!

IG @ebeisel34

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Elizabeth Beisel

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see THE SKILL OF IT ALL | Elizabeth Beisel in mag.

THE SCIENTIST OF MOVEMENT | TANISHA SCOTT

This month's cover is 3X MTV VMA nominated Creative Director, Choreographer, Performance Coach and dancer, Tanisha Scott. You've seen her iconic work as a choreographer with Sean Paul in Gimmie the Light and has continued to work with an array of artists from Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lil Nas X, Drake and more. She currently serves as Creative Director for Lizzo, Cardi B and H.E.R. A number of videos and performances that she created have become part of major cultural moments in Hip Hop and those movements have found their way into memes, Tik Tok videos and on an array of dance floors.

Her ability to bring her love of dancehall, freestyle and knowing what is natural to the body transcends her work for music videos across genres, touring and award show performances. We talk about her love for dance, getting into the industry, those she collaborates with, continuing to add to her skill sets and how she continues to leave her mark.

ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment that you realized that you fell in love with and wanted to dance?

TANISHA SCOTT: Honestly, dance has been part of my life and I can literally say this without it being cliché – for forever. My parents are Jamaican , my father loves music and he was actually a DJ on the side – not just house parties, but he would go out with his friends and spin. Before I was even born, music was all around within the family. I knew it was something that was super special to me not only because of my shadow – my brother, my sister and my dad playing, but I just knew how much it helped me feel good. It helped me to really open up. I’ll tell you this, when I was really, really young, I had an issue with stuttering and I found that through dance, I didn’t have to speak that much and I can speak through movement and I can express myself and people would smile and laugh and would want to dance too without me having to actually say something and feeling insecure about it. I knew I loved dance and that dance was actually a part of me and a very important part because of that journey. I didn’t realize that until I got older and saw that it actually made a difference for me in my life.

AM: That’s amazing. You were a background dancer for Mya when you first started. How did you transition from being a dancer to a choreographer and adding that to your body of work?

TS: Yeah, reluctantly, I can say that I didn’t want to call myself a choreographer for about a year after Gimmie the Light happened. Gimmie the Light happened because my dearest closest friend, Director X (DMX What’s My Name, Sean Paul Gimmie the Light, Drake Hotline Bling) is also from Toronto. He and Taj Critchlow who is his longtime manager have been so close to me! He didn’t ask me to choreograph the video, he told me I had to! I fell into it, I was scared out of my mind not knowing what to do because I felt that I was a freestyle dancer and that’s all I knew – how would I put moves together for other people? He just told me to figure it out. It wasn’t until I reached out to my mentor, Luther Brown (Janet Jackson Dammmn Baby, Lizzo Juice, Ozuna BAILA BAILA BAILA) who is the king of Hip Hop and stepping in Toronto and he mentored me and a bunch of other kids. It wasn’t until I reached out to him and let him know that I didn’t know how to choreograph and how would I do it? He broke it down to me and said what I would do especially is go to the mirror, figure out some moves, see what looked good on me, put it on some people and make sure that it looks good on them and there you go – from the basic aspect of it.

I choreographed the music video and I was like it’s not going to be much. Sean Paul was singing this song which was older at the time when it came out in North America. Being of Jamaican descent, you know that we’ve heard this song for forever. So it was like, I’m going to do this video for Sean Paul – yes. It wasn’t anything that I had to think of when it came to the movement because it’s what we did in the clubs, in the basement parties so I put all of our moves together and felt how it should flow – did the video and that’s it. Nobody knew that Gimmie the Light was going to blow up the way that it did in North America! No one had any clue of it. That’s how it happened and then before I knew it, people were like, you need to get this choreographer. I would say, the dancer, because I danced in that video but I didn’t feel like a choreographer – so reluctantly it happened – blame it on X!

AM: How does your love for dance, dancehall and being from Toronto inspire and infuse your work?

TS: Oh gosh, I think the reason why it inspires my work is that it’s the only thing that I know innately that I wasn’t taught to do. I was not taught in any kind of professional dance when I was younger, we just did dancehall because I come from a Jamaican lineage, music is all around and that’s what we’re going to do right? I just dance the way I knew to dance where it’s already in my blood. So that, no matter what project I do, you’ll always find a piece of it. I find that my choreography is organic and authentic. I don’t do traditional movement for anything that is cool or in, in style or whatever the trend is. I literally follow suit to what the music calls for. If it’s dancehall, then I’m going to give you dancehall, if it’s Hip Hop, I’m going to give you Hip Hop and if it’s something else, then I am going to give you that. I attribute that to the fact that I am a freestyler where I actually watch and I pickup visually a lot easier and do things that makes me feel good in my body as if I’m about to freestyle as opposed to putting together a segment of moves that are regimented in a specific style or technique of a dance. So I think that that’s how I get to flip flop. You’re always going to get a little piece of dancehall, but at the same time, I’m a battler at heart so if I see somebody do something, I’m going to do it and do it better and that’s the way that I choreograph.

AM: I like that and that’s why it’s authentic because you’re freely leaning into fluidity because that’s what you’re feeling.

As a choreographer, what are you looking for when you’re working with an artist or maybe someone who isn’t even a dancer – is it hard to work with someone like that who doesn’t dance, but they’re going to need to dance for that video? How do you go about that process of making that story and making them feel comfortable and let them dance?

TS: You know what? Would you believe me if I said that I actually prefer artists who don’t dance?

AM: I would actually understand why you would like that because you don’t have to breakdown or have someone unlearn what they do and you can just flow!

TS: Exactly! It’s for this one main reason, they end up becoming a little more fearless in what they do. Because I’m not a trained dancer, I understand the fear or being unsure of how to move, what to do and what looks good. Because of that, I find it very easy to look at someone and tell what their strengths and weaknesses are. I work with both to create something that is signature to them.

For instance, Kelis and Bossy – her whole walk thing, Rihanna obviously with her hips, anything that I do with any artist – Alicia Keys with her walk how she does it to the side and plays the piano with the side – using one hand on the piano but doing it while leaning – it’s so much more interesting to create something that is signature to that person.

Honestly, anybody can choreograph – literally. It’s just a series of movements together to express whatever you want to express. Some people just want to have trendy moves, some people want to tell a story, some people are just a little more intrinsic with their movements – there are an array of things. What gives me joy is working with artists and giving them their own signature imprint so that the choreography is not a Tanisha Scott choreography that so and so is doing. It’s what Tanisha Scott has created that is based off of this artist and that it is an imprint so the dancers look like them, they move in a certain way and that’s what I find more interesting is working with someone from the core and being able to build from the ground up – who are you, what is your persona, what is the zhuzh, what is the story that you want to tell. That is more intriguing and satisfying!

Now, artists that can dance, the palette is open – let’s try tap, let’s do jazz, silks – there is an array of things! What pulls at my heart strings where I just become the scientist of movement, is when I’m like, “ooo this will be amazing” and then you see them blossom, it means the absolute world to me. That is much more fulfilling.

AM: Love that! Going back to Gimmie the Light video, what do you think it is about this video that after all of these years, that reaction is still there? The feeling is still there. Since that video, we have seen tons of amazing things and technologically there are different things, but the song and visually there is that feeling that you still get when you see it. How does it have such staying power?

TS: I’ll tell you something, I feel that it’s because it is so organic and it’s so freeing like you can’t even explain or break it down to how everybody moves in that music video. It was just captured in the right way and it was just a vibe! Like, you can’t fuck up a vibe! Like you can’t not feel a feeling – you know what I’m saying? It wasn’t technical at all! It was just people moving and grooving in a way that was just something that felt good naturally in your body that connected to the music perfectly. Individuals captured it and it made it cool. It was swaggy, it was fun! You had PonyTailz doing the Spidermen, you had Dainty Crime which was a crew of guys in there jumping up and down, it was entertaining. It also didn’t feel like you couldn’t do the moves. Everybody at home wanted to try because it felt like, “oh I think I could do this.” That’s what makes it so good and continues to be so.

It’s like YMCA, everyone can do that and you want to jump in – that’s what I think it is.

AM: I think so too and conversely, we were on set shooting one of our covers and Hotline Bling came out. I hadn’t seen the video yet and we’re all prepping for the shoot and I was asked if I had seen the video. We’re watching this video and I knew it was Director X, but the vibe had elements of Gimmie the Light as well. Of course, I find out that you did that and I can see why I felt those homages to the other video. What was it like being on this project and obviously another Toronto connection – and it was fire!

TS: Yo, Hotline Bling, what made it so special from the beginning is because it was Director X, who had me involved and of course, it was Drake. I remember Drake saying, I need that Tanisha Scott/Gimmie the Light moment. So, I’m like, “let’s do it brother” and I had previously worked with him before. He said he just wanted to let loose – almost like not taking anything too seriously and to just move and vibe. So I was like, let’s go – literally. What made the video so amazing is of course it was beautifully shot, but it was that synergy once again. It was the visuals, it was X's understanding what it takes, it’s Drake that’s part of it. Let me tell you one thing, that man has his finger on the pulse of not what’s new or next, but 2 slots or 4 years ahead. He knew more than anybody, he knew that this was something. He is so smart and he said, let’s just vibe and we had fun. We freestyled and we literally just had fun on set joking around and it became what it became.

Who would have seen me coming up with dances that actually became a meme, people are doing it and it’s a signature Drake move! It was a blessing because I’m working with my friends and we’re honestly friends where we trust each other so much that there’s no micromanaging of anything. It’s like, I’m going to do this and this makes sense to this and it makes sense to that – so let’s do that. Then Drake is like let’s do this and we just made it happen. So trust and just going with your gut and not just doing things that you think is right or what someone else thinks is right.

AM: Well once again, it’s just beautiful and it will be 20 years from now where there will be those relevant elements that have a different vibe in respect to Gimmie the Light but it still has that warmth –

TS: That simplicity.

AM: It’s so simple and I do love an over the top production as well, but I also like when things are paired down and you can focus. No matter how many times you watch it, there’s something that pops up and it just figures that you were involved as well!

So it’s always fun to see your work as a dancer and a choreographer but it’s interesting to see you as both in the same project. Does it feel like a balanced moment when we get to see you as both the dancer as well as the choreographer?

TS: That to me – being a dancer during doing something that’s choreographed, unless I’m freestyling – doesn’t really feel good. But, if I’m on camera choreographing doing what I do, that feels balanced. But if I’m dancing, I can’t perform to my best when I know that I have choreographed for other people are around me and I’m looking for where they are in their space. I’m still thinking as a choreographer as well as what is my artist doing and I feel like I’m cheating – it doesn’t feel good. Because when I dance, I zone out and I let go to be free. In that moment, I’m not on guard. When I’m choreographing and I’m on camera doing choreography or creative, I feel like I’m at home. I’m able to not just express what it is that I do and get the job done, but I want other people to learn as well. There are other levels to creative direction and different aspects of it as well as even for the dancers. There are a lot of things that we can do because the longevity of a dancer is not that long so you have to think of other things to do that can still play into your love of dance – you don’t lose it, but you just evolve.

AM: You look at a person like Debbie Allen who she can still –

TS: I mean queen, queen, queen!

AM: You just look at her and even when you watch her in something that she isn’t dancing in like when she is in Grey’s Anatomy, she has a flow to her movement that when she crosses over to the other side of the room, you’re transfixed!

TS: Preach Kimmie!

AM: I love flow and it doesn’t just exist in dance, but when you see those who are dancers and they still have that style in other portions of their life, it’s beautiful to see! You can tell the flow and musicality that some people have even when there isn’t anything being played.

TS: She doesn’t know this and I never met her but she is such an inspiration.

AM: She’s amazing! She has that eye and you know she’s watching.

There are so many videos where your fingerprint has graced those productions and moments. How is that for you to do it from a video standpoint versus being on someone’s tour with Rihanna versus doing something for TV like the BET Awards? Do you have to think differently Awards? Do you have to think differently for space or just the mediums that are being used?

TS: I do and I’m glad that you asked that question. I think that that’s what keeps me excited because it’s not the same thing over and over again. It allows me to stay on my toes.

So when we breakdown for a music video, a music video has edits and the primary thing about a music video is centering around the artist. So if there is choreography involved, it’s for a specific section. I always have enough dialogue with the director understanding what the environment is – are we dancing in a box, dancing on platforms, dancing on a wet floor, what are the costumes, what is the vision and go from that. I choreograph in sections that I know will be used. If you were to choreograph the whole song, you already know half of that isn’t even going to be seen or used unless the artist is in it. But even so, there are different things that we have to see. That’s one way and how I deal with music videos.

When it comes to tours, I have to now consider not just what the director of the music video is shooting, the type of frame that it is – is it overhead, is it specifically for the camera. With a tour, I choreograph for the naked eye. The naked eye means the expansion of it – it’s entrances and exits because we see everything. You can’t control what one person is seeing when you have thousands of people watching. So it’s the beginning of the song, the ending of the song and how the next song comes in. So it’s the thread that I use and the bigger purpose and I also choreograph the movement for me which is never little. It’s always a lot bigger because I tend to choreograph for those in the nosebleeds that aren’t so close – they have to have some kind of entertainment so that they can see and feel it and you have a successful show.

For an awards show, it’s a hybrid of both. I actually prefer the awards shows because I get to hone in on the director portions that I went to school for about 6 months at the NY Film Academy to learn music video directing. Not so much to be a music video director, I wanted to know how to choreograph and to speak to actors, actresses and dancers and to know what different frames were so I could be better choreographer. So I get to hone in on that when I am creative directing and choreographing the awards shows, I’m able to set the tone – the feeling of this is The Wiz so it’ll be different colors here and there, we have a yellow brick road and we formulate that. Now, how do we put in the choreography into it – this person enters here, that person enters there. Ok great, now with the camera, what do I need to see first? I need a close up shot of the artists walking on the yellow brick road and now I add a steady cam with a 360 turn to a smaller lens where I see 1 person pop up and then the next. We then go to a jib for a wide so I get to utilize everything that I have learned to put together a piece which hopefully, my next dream or chapter, is to be able to do Broadway. That to me is everything from when I do these awards shows because I get to think outside of the box and actually create a real piece. I have my hands in all aspects from set design to lighting – it’s everything to tell what that story is for what I want in that moment.

AM: I really like getting that insight and I expected a lot of what was said, but I really liked hearing about the hybrid environment of an awards show that is a defined box but still a little more open versus other areas. To hear your process in how you work that makes me think of our photoshoots where we’re creating that set, bringing in the team, sketching out the moodboard, bringing in the styling etc to create this concept. So by the time I arrive to the actual set day, I have played so many things in my mind for those hours.

TS: Prep is no joke!

AM: For sure! At some points as you’re actually seeing it all together, you feel like it already happened because you were so immersed and bringing it life in every way.

TS: Oh my God I swear, I think we’re twins!

AM: When you’ve seen videos that you’ve done that have been given various awards, obviously a video is the culmination of what you’re doing, the talent, creative teams, director etc – with all those things coming together and showing everyone’s versatility and work – what does it mean to you to have that award given to a project you were involved in?

TS: I feel so accomplished, so much more than even if I were personally receiving it for myself. When people hire me, I sign a contract in the air – it’s not a real one but it’s where they trust me to deliver to the best. When they are awarded, the team is awarded and/or the video is awarded – I know that I have done my job and that I have gained the trust. I know that what I set out and put out to do happened. I’m definitely a woman of my word. If I say I’m going to show up, I show up. If I say I am going to make something happen, I’m going to make something happen. With these videos, it’s definitely a collaboration – you have a director at the helm, but nothing is independent from one another. The gaffers, the stylists, the stage PAs, like we’re working and a lot of times, you don't know these people and you have never worked with them before, so you have to get on board and have the same common goal. When that’s achieved and it’s achieved with an award at the highest point, I feel so much more pleased with the job because it’s good and then It’s onto the next! It’s all about hurry up and wait and then on to the next.

AM: So with everything that you have done from a video perspective, you’ve also done other things from campaigns to commercials to even working outside of the genre of Hip Hop. You’ve extended the multi-hyphenate nature of your work beyond creative director, dancer and choreographer, but also performance coach. What is a performance coach as you worked with Sarah Jessica Parker for her campaign with Intimissimi.

TS: Ok Kimmie, I like you, I swear you’re asking all the questions. Ok, so a performance coach is involved when there are no specific movements given. But it is having somebody portraying the emotion that they want them to portray through their body through movement. So it can be anything that you do, but it’s just narrowing it down to 10 beats. Now they have the freedom to choose which beat they want to use at this time. They may switch at another time. But it’s always showing you the vein or the box that you need to be within. Like, here are all the treats, you have 20 treats and this is the box. It allows them to be more individuals in that sense.

AM: That’s very interesting. I think it’s great to have those that are multi-hyphenates because they are able to pull from a range of skill sets and that it can be applied to a fuller spectrum so that you’re able to do more than one thing and you have longevity in other places too. The touchpoints that you have crossed by being able to take those skills and to work with George Clooney and large brands etc – it was interesting to see the research and how you have really optimized your talents and why it’s important for people to do more than just one thing.

You’ve been the creative director for Cardi B and H.E.R. which is amazing and what does that role involve for those that may not know what that means in this part of the industry?

TS: I work very closely with both of them and Lizzo is a new client of mine as well in this role. I basically sit with them and it starts off with a conversation about what it is and how they want their music and themselves to translate visuallly numbers that we wanted to add in. It was only supposed to be 1 episode and it ended up being more and it just happened that way.

AM: We saw her recent hosting and performances on SNL. Were you involved in that choreography?

TS: Yes!

AM: Loved it!

TS: It was cute right?

AM: I was watching it and was like, that’s her too.

TS: Yaaas! I did that and I did the creative for it. You know, it’s a new album, it’s going to be a dope album and really good. She is singing, the vibe is so fun – it’s funky. So we’re like, what do we do? SNL is one of the most iconic running shows in the world and I’m like we just need to have people hear and listen to the song. So instead of making a big dramatic set, let’s keep it simple, but golden and sparkly with lights. We just needed to give what the song gives. It was good and a good time and with her hosting too!

AM: Such a fan of her work but to have her hosting and performing on SNL while her series is streaming on Prime Video was amazing.

We’re living in a number of moments right now and in this body inclusivity time we’re in to give space to everyone that has an interest and the talent to do so, I think Lizzo’s show to have someone such as yourself who has worked with so many people to work with these women, really drives home the point that it’s not cool to identify those based on their race, gender, sexuality, body type etc and to dismiss them from opportunities where they can be present and own their gifts. This show is a great way to draw awareness to the opportunities that do exist for people.

TS: I love that! To me, what am I doing this job for – for what? When I think of what my legacy is, I just want everybody to have an opportunity and a moment to have what they want to have and then it’s up to them to continue with it. So give people the tools to be great to do what they want. It’s literally limitless. You’re right, it’s not cool to tell someone that they are not the right look for something. If you have the capability and the chops to do something – absolutely you should. Who is making the decision to defining what the perfect look is for something that is specific. You can have it in your box for what you do, but it should never be generalized.

With the girls, I said listen, we’re going to open up this door and you need to kick it down because I can only do so much for you. There is that aspect of being real and of course, it’s a sisterhood and we’re not here to put anybody down. We’re here to motivate and to uplift but at the same time, I’m very real and I know the kinds of circumstances that I have been through. I’ve been the dark-skinned girl where there was no makeup for you so before for those young kids that didn’t know, there was nothing. So I’d come in with my hat down low because X is calling me and Hype is calling me and telling me to get to set. I’m the first one in the makeup chair and the last one getting my makeup done. So, I’d put on a hat so that no one could see that I didn’t have makeup on. Or the fact that I’m chocolate, you can only have 1 of the 4 girls in the audition that will be chosen. Half the time that I’m auditioning, I’m like, "hey girl, hey girl” who is it going to be this time – well you got the last one so I’m going to be picked this time. You know what I’m saying? I’m not a Size 0 so having to get sample sizes was never the thing so my outfit was always the other outfit. My butt is big. Not being a trained dancer, I couldn’t do pirouettes, leaps and jumps. To this day, I still put myself in class learn and I am in beginners’ classes.

I’m not afraid to learn and that’s also what I tried to teach the girls. You control what happens to you in your life. Regardless of what people want to say and doors that have closed. We have all heard the stories about what happened to Tyra Banks and getting so many doors closed and then of course look at her now. We’ve all had that! But you have to keep pushing and once you push and that door opens, then you have to make sure that you stomp so hard that your foot is cemented into the ground and that they cannot deny you.

That’s what I got, I said don’t look at my face, I put my hat down, I didn’t need makeup, I’ll be there on time, I’ll wear my own outfit – I wasn’t doing choreography, so I was doing freestyle and every time out of those 100 music videos that I did, I freestyled that. I made sure that every single time I freestyled that I would get a standing ovation that would make them clap to make myself memorable. People would say, who was that girl that did this or who is that girl that did that and that’s how I made my mark. I think that that is the reason that I am where I am now because of all the no’s, I took them like a champ and I’m not saying that I never cried or wanted to give up, but I just kept going and every time there was an opportunity, I just said yes and let me figure it out when I get there.

AM: Tell me about the B Project campaign with Good American.

TS: Ok, yaaas! That was so fly to me Baroline Diaz is a VP of A&R at Interscope Records. We had never met before and she reached out to me and a few other women in her network that she didn’t know but admired and wanted all 12 of us to be part of her campaign. It was strictly for boss women that were self-made who didn’t have anything easy but are doing their damn thing. She just wanted to celebrate us and to be able to recognize others. Honestly before I even met her, I thought this sounds fire and when I met her, we had dinner and had some drinks and I’m like, “you are like everything that we need as a network for women that really do truly empower one another.” She doesn’t just say it, she lives it. We even have a chat that we still everyday talk with one another. Baroline is on it! She’s on our Instagram and our socials and she lets us know about so and so who does this and we say, “yes.” Or someone will say that they have something and will ask to get our addresses and they send it out. I’m going to help out someone else in the group with one of her artists. There are a couple of people in that group where we’re all super connected and we’re going to work with each other and help lift each other as well. There are just a lot of convos that go on in the group chat whether we’re helping one another out, sending scriptures or just getting projects going. It is such a great good sisterhood and it’s such a great campaign that I was able to be part of!

AM: It feels like you’re someone who is always flowing from one project to the next project or maybe it’s 80 projects that are all running at the same time! What do you have coming up that you are able to share that you’re excited about?

TS: I can share 2 things – 1 halfway. I am doing something with Disney and in NY so that should be cool! It’s kind of like wowzers and then another thing that is coming soon is that I’m working with Tom Holland and Sasha Lane on this Apple+ TV show, The Crowded Room. I can’t give anything away with this show, but I am so excited! I have the BET Awards coming up with Lizzo! H.E.R. right now is on tour opening up for Coldplay as well as her own tour. I did the creative direction for that. And working with Coldplay too!

AM: Saw that, I’m a huge Coldplay fan. I was like look at her rocking more spaces then just her spaces!

TS: RIGHT! And then Lizzo’s tour is coming and we’ll be announcing soon!

AM: In looking at other things that you have done, I know that at one time you were the choreographer for the Brooklyn Nets Kids dance team! How long were you with them and why did you want to do be involved in this?

TS: I started once Barclays opened up and the Brooklyn Nets became a thing. So I started working with the kids for about 5 years and then I passed it onto the assistant of mine at the time only because I started traveling for work and I couldn’t physically be there! I actually got the job through Jay-Z and my friend who is one of the directors for the female dancer’s entertainment group. For me, I chose to work with the kids because honestly for me, it’s not work for me when I work with children. Because they’re so fearless and they want to try everything, because they’re always so ready to go – I get a lot from them. I just feel really good being one of their first teachers to show them direction on how to learn, how to be, how to respect choreographers, how to walk in and just being part of their journey and helping to help them find who they are whether they want to do this or don’t want to do this as a career. Whether they want to continue or not, to me, that’s the world. I love working with kids.

AM: It’s so important to have a positive influence for dance. I remember growing up that I started in ballet and tap at a really young age. I liked ballet and I remember that the teacher told me that due to my body type there wasn’t a place for me in that arena and that there weren’t any Black ballerinas and that I shouldn’t do it. So, we’re talking the early 80s, I didn’t do it and I just did tap instead. The teacher, I thought at the time, was super nice and I believed what she said.

So to have a teacher that makes sure that you feel seen and allows you to go after something if that is your interest without putting barriers up, made me think that what you did for those kids was amazing.

Now do we know if I would have really done ballet – but I know you shouldn’t tell a 3 or 4 year old that they shouldn’t.

TS: No that’s absolutely right! That shouldn’t have happened. You said it perfectly, we need voices that allow people to be seen and to encourage them and to let them know you’re good enough. You should hone in on what you have and what you want. Golly, you need a second opinion sometimes.

AM: I know! But it was back then, so I didn’t know that there would be a Misty Copeland that would come along and at the time and where I grew up, there was no reference. But it did make me realize from then on that when I would go in whatever space, I fought for myself and place there and if it was something I wanted to do, I would make it happen regardless of what was said.

You also worked for a program with the Block Institute for Autism. Why did you want to be involved in this?

TS: Because I realized that there are things that are bigger than me and that there are things that are more rewarding than the biggest celebrity and the biggest brand. Does it even matter if you can’t enrich the lives of those that are not seen. People are important and if there is a need and especially with dance and what it has done for me and how it makes me feel, I want to be able to work with and teach and empower those that are in my reach. When I got the opportunity it was through a friend of mine that I talked with who worked with the Block Institute. I asked what they did and he explained that they provide extracurricular activities and I asked about dance. He explained that sometimes they would go in the gym and I let them know that I would come in and help and I did it for 3 years.

Life is short. God gave me a gift and it’s not for myself and it’s not for the riches or the popularity – it’s to enrich and to give hope, love and acceptance to others. I’m not keeping this to myself. I don’t like to dance alone! I want everybody to come and dance with me! It was pretty easy and a very quick yes from me. I actually miss doing it and I do want to start something up like that again. I really really do and I just have to make time for it. Thanks for reminding me about it! It’s important.

AM: I liked seeing that. We have been covering various autism stories from Autism Speaks Gala which included noted chefs and Andrew Zimmern was one of the hosts of the night, his son is autistic. It was a beautiful gala at Cipriani’s downtown and then Prime Video has a series streaming now, ‘As We See It’ which focuses on autistic adults and how they engage in the world and their relationship to one another, their families and they aid. It showed the depth of what it means to be autistic and how that can be from one person to the other as it’s not a monolithic experience. So to have someone such as yourself to give of your time in addition to everything you do, to infuse something you love to them is pretty awesome.

TS: Thank you. I really need to do more and it’s not enough.

AM: You do what you can in the hours of a day and I have taken 1 24 hour clock and made it 72 hours!

TS: Ha yes you’re right – let me stop!

AM: So when you’re not doing projects, how do you take time for yourself to have a reset? Because when you’re working with so many people and playing checkpoint, you’re doing 72 hours in a 24 hour cycle and you’re being 25 people!

TS: I’ve never heard it so eloquently stated like that! I literally when I have that time and I’m searching for it right now, I drop everything and go to Jamaica. I’m gone – the beach, the sand, the air – that’s what I need. If I can’t get away, then I’m in my bed watching any type of reality TV – like Love Island!

AM: Have you watched The Ultimatum yet?

TS: I just started! Because I just finished –

AM: Love is Blind!

TS: Yes, I’m still in the first episode, are you watching it?

AM: I already watched it. I am a queen binger because that is how I decompress! I love reality shows for a number of reasons – obviously it’s interesting to be able to see the people, you’re seeing designers coming through and there’s a lot of education that you can learn from the area that’s being covered, regional knowledge, restaurants etc and to know that that’s not you watching it all go down! Because I’m here for the drama as long as it’s not my own!

TS: Yes, same here!

AM: Who are 3 people that assisted you to be where you are today in your career?

TS: Director X, like I said, I’ve never met her before but Debbie Allen. She mentors me from afar there are things that she has done that are just so impressive. I’ll also say, my closest friends that are like my family and my brother and sister. They’re always like, how did you do this – this is great – keep going! Do t his and do that. They also ignite my fire. They give a lot of reassurance from them.

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PHOTO CREDIT | FRONT + BACK COVER, PG 18, 21, 26 Carey Bradshaw | PG 22, 25, 29, 30, 32 Courtesy Tanisha Scott | PG 35 + 36 Amazon/Watch Out For the Big Grrrls | PG 39 Ali Page Goldstein/HBO Max | PG 40 HBO MAX/Legendary | 9LIST STORI3S PG 180 Mohamed Sadek/GapFit |

Read the APR ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see THE SCIENTIST OF MOVEMENT | Tanisha Scott in mag.