There's Nothing Stopping Ballerina Alicia Mae Holloway From Soaring to New Heights
Welcome to En Pointe, a quarterly series that offers a deep dive into the intersection of beauty and dance through the eyes of up-and-coming, multidisciplinary dance talent. Expect an intimate look into the daily lives, dreams, and dance-bag beauty essentials of the industry's best young performers.
Fifteen years have passed since I hung up my pointe shoes, and still, Tchaikovsky scores, Balanchine choreography, and the beauty of a quick change in the wings of a theater occupy a good amount of my brain space. When I'm not dashing to and from appointments or furiously typing, I spend my time in the company of dancers—either by experiencing the art form from afar in the audience or by taking a class here and there. It wasn't until recently, when I began following my favorite artists on social media, that I began noticing a common theme: Many professional dancers were carving careers that were uniquely theirs. This may not sound too groundbreaking, but consider that during any other time period, they likely would have been expected to elevate their love of dance over all other interests.
Today, they are not only aligning themselves with dance companies or choreographers that keep them feeling empowered and enamored by the art form but also finding ways to lean into other enchanting career paths. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to one such dancer, Alicia Mae Holloway, who transitioned away from the "traditional" world of ballet by getting in touch with sides of herself that she hadn't explored for the bulk of her young-adult years. Below, Holloway reveals how she ultimately became the unique, multifaceted artist and content creator she is today.
Meet Alicia Mae Holloway: Ballerina, Model, Actress, and Content Creator
Alica Mae Holloway is no stranger to a transition, and she overcame countless pivots with grace during her 15-year career (and she's just 28). Her adoration for the world of dance began when she was just 3 years old in Virginia, dancing in the darkened aisles of auditoriums while her cousin performed onstage. Holloway began training shortly after at a competitive dance school before focusing entirely on ballet. At 14, she auditioned for and was accepted into the School of American Ballet, which required a life-changing move to New York City.
The young dancer was then accepted into the Dance Theatre of Harlem (a predominately Black contemporary ballet company) following her high school graduation, where she performed over the course of seven years. Then, when the world was confronted with the uncertainty of a pandemic, she applied for ABC's The Bachelor and appeared on the show's 25th season with real estate broker and charity founder Matt James. "The Bachelor really opened up the door to so many opportunities outside of my ballet company like music videos, commercials, and content creation," she says.
A strong interest in commercial dance and content creation inspired her departure from DTH. "It was a dream of mine, and the timing never really worked out. I knew I wanted to do it, but it was where and when," Holloway explains. After getting signed to a modeling agency, she began posting videos on TikTok three to five times a day, a few of which went viral (most notably about her dance career, experience on The Bachelor, and adoption) and gaining a large following. Now, she is pivoting once more: this time toward acting.
Becoming a Multi-Hyphenate Artist
For those who have never trained in the art form, the life of a professional ballet dancer can seem mysterious. Many dancers begin at a young age, molding their bodies and minds into the best possible version of themselves to grace the stage. Next comes the nonstop auditioning for roles in performances and, eventually, the companies that will catapult them into careers. Holloway's transition from her company role into commercial dance is further proof that while ballet will always have its deeply "'traditional" roots, what it means to be a ballerina continues to change.
