Ida Saki Talks Training, Challenges, and Her Keys to Success

January 7, 2018

Former Dance Spirit Cover Model Search winner and all-around goddess, Ida Saki, is one of those rare dancers that captivates on every level. Not only are we obsessed with her silky smooth contemporary moves and impossibly gorgeous lines (those feet!! 😍 ), but we’re just as obsessed with what she has to say.

And in this recent Huffington Post article, she says a lot. The site profiled Saki for their series dedicated to highlighting prominent Iranian-Americans. She discussed her dance background and training, her favorite charitable causes, and what it’s like to be an Iranian-American.

Here are our favorite dance gems from the interview:

What has been your personal key to success? What were the biggest inspirations for your career?

Constant hard work and dedication. I was constantly researching what I could do better at every stage. My family was very supportive of me which made me push even harder, because I wanted to make them proud. I will never forget the time when I was practicing a dance step in my living room and broke down because I couldn’t get it right. My dad had walked in just then, and promised me if I practiced every day at least ten times, I would get it. Sure enough, he was right.

I was always inspired by the people around me. I would watch videos of dancers online and be inspired, but the people that pushed me to the next level were the people right next to me.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?

This career is never-ending work. There have been many times that I have come so close to an opportunity that I thought was perfect, but I didn’t get it for various reasons. It always hurts to hear no, but you learn to keep going and become stronger.

How did you develop your unique style as a dancer?

I was really encouraged by my teachers to find my own voice as a dancer and as a person. I spent a lot of time improvising in order to find the way my body wanted to move.

What advice would you offer someone considering a career as a professional dancer?

The dance world is full of so many different opportunities with their own separate communities. You can work to be a versatile dancer, or you can choose to hone in on one world and do as much as you can in that scope. Neither is right nor wrong, but do what you want to do and not what you feel like you have to. You may have to work a little harder, but don’t sell yourself short by doing something you don’t feel is you.

Head over to the Huffington Post to read the full piece.