MADEXXXX
MADEINC
Y
ou know her by the flaming red curls
and even hotter dance moves executed
perfectly next to Queen Bey. Ashley
Everett has made herself a household
name as Beyonce’s lead dancer for more
than 10 years but what you might not know is
how she got there. Ashley sat down with How
I MADE It host, Jasmine Browley to talk about
her climb to the top, the little known struggles
that dancers face and the important lesson she
learned from Beyonce.
ON HOW SHE WAS CHOSEN TO
BE ON BEYONCE’S TEAM:
I was recruited by Frank Gatson, longtime
choreographer to Destiny’s Child and Beyonce. I
was 17, attending the Alvin Ailey Dance School
and he was looking for dancers to round out a
project that Beyonce was working on. He visited
one day, picked me out of the lineup, asked me
if I would be interested in learning more about
HOW I MADE IT
WITH JASMINE BROWLEY
ashley everett
the project and the rest was history.
ON HOW SHE WORKED HER
WAY TO LEAD DANCER FOR
BEYONCE:
One of the things that Frank loves to say
about me is that I know how to keep my
mouth shut. It may sound simple but learning
how to listen has truly carried me far in life.
Silence leads to listening which leads to un-
derstanding. A big part of dancing and success
over all is learning how to take direction well.
So I think that my ability to do that and work
really, really hard is what contributed to my
rise up the ranks.
ON PURSUING HIGHER
EDUCATION AS A DANCER:
One of the main reasons people go to school
is to land a job in their desired field--hopefully
their dream job. I just skipped a few steps to
get to mine. For those that are weighing the
options of either going to school or dancing
professionally, really look at what works best
for you and which would translate into the
best experience for you and your future.
ON THE
BIGGEST LESSON
LEARNED FROM
BEYONCE:
People assume that because I
work with her, that I’m rich or
opportunities are laid out in
front of me to choose from. I
still work very hard for every
job I get and I keep grinding
because of the way I’ve seen
Beyonce grind after everything
she’s already accomplished. She
works just as hard, if not harder
than all of us. If she still has
that type of work ethic, why
shouldn’t I?
To listen to the rest of the con-
versation, please click HERE.