Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Maria Terlinden Rogers.
Hi Anna Maria, shaving you on the platform is an honor. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My name is Anna Maria Terlinden Rogers, and I have had a few stage names along the way. I’ve been a dancer since I was four years old, starting at a local Nardi’s studio in Easton, Pennsylvania. I was a die-hard dancer until puberty, when I faced the reality that my body was changing, and I was not in the ideal body size for a ballet dancer. Many attempts to lose weight led me to consider risky things my friends who danced were trying out. After finding a box of laxatives in my dance bag, my mother decided that I needed to figure out a different and healthier way to view and be involved in dance. My mother took me to a lot of drop-in dance classes in NYC, as well as taking various styles at other studios. She introduced me to different styles that were much more body-positive in a world without fully understanding or embracing a body-positive mindset. It was the 80s and early 90s…we had a long way to go. I started teaching when I moved near Philadelphia in the mid to late 90s, beginning at a small studio in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania called Dance World. I found myself quickly teaching all ages, from pre-k through adult. I quickly found that I loved working with adult dancers who either returned to the dance floor as adults having studied when they were children or women who dreamed and dared to walk into a studio for the first time whenever the desire to learn dance found its way to them.
I love seeing people discover a love for dance that I have. I’m not a perfect or obsessive technique dancer, but I have a deep passion for the art form in my heart and soul. I started a dance-oriented format called SIZEMOLOGY in 2008, which embraced the concept of modifications for dancers with bigger bodies, physical limitations, or aging-related concerns. As a 30-year-old woman back then, it hit home to me that I wanted women, and anyone who took the risk to walk into a dance studio or pursue a dream or passion would be greeted with welcoming acceptance and encouragement. It’s an honor to have been even a blip on the radar of various people’s dance journies. After a failed attempt at my first studio in 2011, I focused more on performing as a dancer and a burlesque performer for about 8 years. I learned much about myself and even more from my mistakes on that journey.
Now, as a 50-year-old woman, I finally dare to do what I feel part of me was put on this earth to do. I opened The Amused Life Studio at the 1400 Building in North Knoxville, which specializes in smaller classes for adults, and have restarted a performing arts group that found a modest following in 2012 called The Follies Girls, which focuses on creating unique showgirls of all ages, all body types and all walks of life. I hope that, along with other excellent instructors in Knoxville, we continue to encourage people of all life journies to seek out and pursue a love of any art form, no matter when they step foot on a dancefloor or pick up a pen or paintbrush. Our life is full of opportunities to appreciate our experiences and grow with new ones. I want to continue showing people that life (even in its most challenging moments) is worth giving everything to and persevering through.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a challenging road. When I ran my first business, I had to realize that I had yet to learn what I was doing, and I made many mistakes along the way. The most important thing is to remember that mistakes are learning opportunities, and I have learned a lot. I’ve also faced the challenge of living as a bigger-bodied person who faces natural wear and tear on my body that is related to my size as well as my age now. It’s given me a better understanding of bodies because physical limitations depend not only on someone’s body type. It’s also helped me realize that mental hurdles when considering anything are another thing that we should all feel the courage to work through if we want to do something that gives us meaning.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always worked full-time as a dancer, teacher, studio owner, and performer. I have my Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling Psychology from LaSalle University in Pennsylvania, minoring in Women’s Studies, Adaptive Learning, Death & Dying, Religion, and Human Sexuality. Myege education (both undergrad and graduate studies) has helped me realize people’s potential and, hopefully, has helped at least a few of my students realize their worth and value. Life is what you make it, no matter what circumstances come your way. I’m an existentialist in my heart as a psychology major and former therapist who truly believes we are all seeking some level of meaning in our existence, and my hope is for everyone to find their sense of meaning in various ages and stages of their lives.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am a work-in-progress person, and I never wanted to portray myself as someone who has all the answers or is perfect. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life where I’ve assumed too much of or about others and made some rash decisions or just walked away from things rather than communicating through those experiences, and that’s something that I always believe is something that any of us could value working on as our world, our relationships and our lives in this time of being most connected yet disconnected we’ve ever been. Each day, I work on ensuring that I hold myself accountable for trying to communicate and teach others that mistakes are a part of the journey. What you do with the knowledge from those moments makes you who you are.
Pricing:
- Class pricing range from $20 – $50.
- Tickets for events range from $15 – 30.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theamusedlife.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theamusedlifebyanna/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theamusedlife and https://www.facebook.com/thefolliesgirls
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theamusedlife
Image Credits
StarrLight Images
