Meet Angela Rosenkrans | Dance Program Director, Teacher, Lighting Designer, Choreographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Rosenkrans and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, what is the most important factor behind your success?
My ideas around work developed early and came from conversations that I had with my mother. When I started working she said “You should pursue whatever job you have as if you were the owner of the company and ask your self what would you wish for in an employee.” She also encouraged me to find the joy, importance and purpose in even the most mundane of tasks. In addition, she taught me the value of service to others.

Over time, I realized that what she was getting at can be summed up in the word altruism. Altruism basically means to put the greater good of others above yourself. I used to think that professionalism was what she was talking about, but I realized that professionalism can bread the “bare minimum of effort” in an employee. For instance, “I show up, I do the job I was asked to do, I leave.” Altruism goes further. It requires that you see what might need to be done around you and prompts a gift of service and a sacrifice of time and effort. For me, I tried to see how I could be of service over and above my basic job duties. Many times that looked like volunteering to take on more tasks than what was required by the job. I did them because my love language is gifts of service, but investment in others actually paid off. When I would volunteer, I would put in just as much effort and that was noticed and eventually honored with job offers. My current position has a direct link to a volunteer gig. My work ethic was really valued and my altruistic spirit led them to believe that I would be really great for the job.

I think some people have an aversion to volunteering because they have been taken advantage of in the past. Of course, there are people who will take advantage of the altruistic spirit, but as long as you have clear boundaries and you don’t volunteer for something that you cannot do with alacrity, then you should be fine.

Speaking of alacrity (cheerful readiness), I feel that this is another important trait in my success. Alacrity means that you approach things with joy and willingness. We all have to work in some form or fashion. So I can choose to do the work begrudgingly or I can choose to do the work with joy. An employee who is joyful in their work is so valuable. I think this is another trait that my mom instilled in me that has served me well.

Even though my ideas of hard work have not changed over the years, my ideas of success have changed immensely. I used to attach success to a job or “thing that I accomplished”. Now I define success in the richness of my quality of life, relationships, joy, and purpose. I discovered the idea of having a life goal as opposed to a focus on singular short term goals. A lifetime goal/purpose requires you to ask “who do you want to be” as opposed to “what do you want to do”. If I can zero in on who I want to be, then I can be that no matter what I am doing. I thought really hard about the question and found my life goal/purpose is to love on people. I want people who come around me to feel loved. With that, every decision I make needs to line up with it. I am human, so I am not always successful in its execution, but I notice when I am not in a loving spirit and work to figure out how to do better. What makes sense is the connection to that life goal and my desire to live altruistically and with alacrity.

As a leader, I wish to find others with the same spirit. I love being the person in the background supporting others, but I often find myself in leadership roles and in need of support. Being a successful leader takes a great team of people who surround you. I always hope that whoever works for me has the same spirit, because the work cannot be done alone.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I am where I am today artistically due to my persistence, my work ethic, my adaptability and people who believed in me.

Persistence is key, because it is easy to give up. It takes years to become respected and recognized and if when/if that happens, it can be very short lived. The artists that last are the ones that don’t give up even in long boughts of creative drought. You have to love the process because most of your time will be spent on the creative process as opposed to the the celebration of the art product. And many times the product is not celebrated.

Work ethic comes down to discipline. If you only create when you feel inspired, you will never get anything done. Discipline has to be instilled in order to make it through the times when you are uninspired. You just need to get started and if you are not disciplined you will be subject to the whims of your emotions and daily life stress.

Adaptability is so important. In every project there are twists and turns. If you don’t adapt, you will become stagnant and frozen. Adaptability requires creative and critical thinking. The creative process is really about finding answers to questions and or finding what questions to ask. The challenge of “obstacles” is part of the business and you have to be ok with facing them and ready to adapt in order to move forward.

Of course, I had to do the work, but I would be less adept and less willing to do it if I did not have people surrounding me who encouraged me, helped me and lifted me up. Having a supportive community is important to carrying on.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In the Phoenix Metro Area, I would do the following:

Talieson West
Bio Sphere 2
Phoenix Zoo
Boyce Arboritum
Arcosanti
South Mountain Drive and Hike
Cave Creek – Spur Cross Ranch Hike
Botanical Gardens
Japanese Friendship Gardens

Eats (way too many good eats):
32 shea
The Duece
Cornish Pasties – The original in Tempe
The Herb Box
Original Breakfast House

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mom, Rosemary Jones – For raising me with altruistic traits, acts of service and love. And teaching me about the love of Christ, forgiveness and grace. The book Atomic Habits – Identifying with who you want to be as opposed to what you want to do

John Aviantos – Life Goal versus Daily goals (https://www.coachjohn.com/)

Christopher Dolder for helping me understand the difference between professionalism and altruism (https://www.smu.edu/meadows/areasofstudy/dance/faculty/dolderchristopher)

Bill Evans for giving me the word alacrity at a time that I was feeling bogged down. (https://www.evanssomaticdance.org/)

Maya Angelo for her conversation about how to make people feel is how they will remember you (https://noteworthynonsense.com/blog/08/2020/Maya-Angelou-How-You-Made-Them-Feel#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI’ve%20learned%20that%20people,how%20you%20made%20them%20feel.%E2%80%9D)

Ginger Folmer, my dance mentor.  She taught me by example and demonstrated so much sacrifice in order to see her students succeed.  I model many of her attributes in how I run our program at SCC.

Website: scottsdalecc.edu/dance

Instagram: @angelarosenkrans

Facebook: Angela Rosenkrans

Other: I am the Dance Program Co-Director for Scottsdale Community Dance and Yoga Programs. I am also the founder and director of Rosenkrans Dans, my professional company and I serve on the board for American College Dance Association and Third Space Dance Project. Most of my time is spent on SCC things, so if you want to get in touch, it is best to do it that way. Also, if you are looking for quality dance instruction, SCC is a great option. super affordable and classes for adults. You dont’ have to be a dance major to take classes with us, so I hope you come check us out.

Image Credits
The image credit for Kinetic Connections is AnnK.mac Photography. Others are my own.