Who Is Alyx Steele

ZILLO Young Reporter Helen this week had the chance to meet and interview world renowned dance choreographer Alyx Steele. Alyx is currently working with Sugababes for their upcoming tour and has worked with the likes of Coldplay and Jesse J.

So Who is Alyx Steele? Well to be honest she is a legend!

Alyx grew up in Liverpool, living with her sister and mum and from a young age was a carer for her mum, her love of dance grew with her and was often her inspiration, providing her with visions of the future. Alyx is an outstanding dance choreographer with over a decade of experience. She has worked alongside Coldplay, Jessie J, Rihanna, David Gettha and is currently working with the Sugarbabes for their upcoming UK tour.  

Along with being a choreographer Alyx is determined to help others, whether it be with similar situations she has been through or achieving your full potential. She says ‘My aim is to leave people better than I found them and have a profound impact on my time on this planet.’ (Alyx Steele Linkedin). She recently spoke to 100 young women at A Girls Network Ambassador event at Anfield Stadium. The Girls Network is a group that believes ‘girls need greater access to opportunities, but also the confidence to seize those opportunities and the skills to thrive in them.’(The girls network website), they provide 1 on 1 mentoring for young girls with successful women across all careers. Alyx’s speech covered a wide range of topics, from getting through hard times to believing in yourself. Her talk inspired many of the young women in the room, with many people taking her advice. I got the opportunity to ask Alyx a few questions:

Helen: What first made you determined to change the path of your future?

‘I knew that I really wanted more, I knew I could do more. I looked around me and I was just like these people aren't really fulfilling their potential and I have it in me, I know I want to create more. So it was definitely that whole fire that I had in me and then I knew I needed to get out there and create it myself and grab the opportunity and really have to be proactive in doing that. 

Helen: Visions, can you elaborate on how that helped your confidence?

‘Visions for me, like I said earlier, is like a muscle, you have got to grow it and keep working it because if I am just in my reality, as a kid, if I am sitting in Liverpool in my bedroom and in this sort of really working class area I am going to feel a reflection of that as a kid. So I knew I needed to almost create in my head, like using my imagination, to think about what my life could be. That was the beginning of it for me and when I was lying in bed that night thinking could I be Janet Jackson’s dancer and as I got into that idea it was almost like creating my happy place, I started creating a better vision for my life but then once I had created the vision I was like I better do something about it now. So vision has been such a massive part of my life, every time I achieve something I would think ‘okay so what's next?’ I always have to raise the visions, it never stays the same. I get there and it is like, I need to work on my vision and keep pushing like what more can I do? 

Helen: Many children and teenagers struggle with confidence and feel like they have limited opportunities, what advice would you give to them? 

‘The world is your oyster!’ That is definitely my vision. I have lived in Liverpool, London, Shanghai, New York and Ibiza. I have lived all over the world. So literally I really want people to know that you can get out of where you are, you can always come home but you have got to get out and I think you cannot be worried about what is out there you have to be excited about it. I spoke to a girl earlier about  moving to London and her first fear was that it was really expensive and it is, but also it's really exciting, really amazing and it is full of opportunities.

So I think you have to be excited about getting out there and to know that you can get out there and do more. Sometimes some of us just look at our parents or our siblings and we don't want what they do. They may be really business oriented but you may be more creative, so we have to just think that the world is available for us to step into. We have got to start playing bigger, we have to show up, be bold and use our voice. 

For me I'm from Liverpool and for me Liverpool was a small place but now I understand that the Wirral is an even smaller place and I can see why people have never left. So I understand that the Wirral must feel so small, even Liverpool felt small to me even if it is bigger, so it is just knowing that you don't have to stay there, the Wirral will always be there for you to come back to, it is such a beautiful place too.’ 

Alyx also spreads her messages on her instagram and in her podcast called Alyx With A WHY. And in the words of Alyx, “What is stopping you from reaching the next step?” - Alyx