We applaud this Beyonce dancer who started a fuller-figured dance company when agents wouldn’t sign her
Akira Armstrong is a dancer who has been featured in two Beyoncé music videos. While we assume that’d be an incredible breakthrough for most dancers, Armstrong couldn’t find a single Los Angeles agent to represent her, because of her size.
“When people think about the stereotypical dancer’s body, they think [of someone] very thin, tall, long legs, long arms,” Armstrong said in a video for The Scene. The video, which features dancers from Armstrong’s Pretty Big Movement, a New York, NY-based dance company, went viral almost overnight.
Armstrong created her company after being judged in auditions by her body type before even receiving the opportunity to prove her skill.
Pretty Big Movement showcases the sick talents of full-figured women.
“Growing up in a dance environment, I did feel like my body was a negative [thing],” she says. “I couldn’t fit [into] costumes, and my costume was always different from everyone else’s.”
“After going on auditions and being told no, I wanted to create a platform for other plus-sized women to feel comfortable.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOS9j8cDNal
Armstrong hopes the Pretty Big Movement will empower young girls to know that they can be serious and respected dancers, no matter their size.
Watch the video. Consider your body stereotypes shattered. Talent favors no size.
