Alison has worked with Madonna, Britney Spears, Pink, Eve, Anastasia to name a few.
“…follow what you love passionately and with every ounce of your being”With a professional career spanning film, TV and stage, Alison’s most recent achievement was assisting choreography on Pink’s I’m Not Dead tour and Madonna’s Confessions world tour for Jamie King. She can also been seen in the feature films You Got Served and Along Came Polly, while other film credits include Austin Powers I & II, Charlies Angels and American Idol spin off, From Justin to Kelly. On stage, Alison has performed with Janet Jackson on her  All For You World Tour, as well with Britney Spears, Pink, Eve, Anastasia, Paulina Rubio, Toni Braxton, to name just a few….
Alison is coming to Sydney Olympic Sports Centre for a 3 day marathon workshop with gdc – global dance convention in April 2007 (www.globaldance.com.au). Whilst attending the workshop dancers have the opportunity to win over $10,000 in cash and awards including a sensationional 2 week trip to LA including classes!   Editor Dani Brown chats exclusively with one of LA’s hottest artists and gets the scoop on how you can maximise your time with Alison.
1. How old were you when you started training and what or who inspired you to do so? I started taking dance classes when I was 3 years old- My dad is a trumpet player (still) and my Mom use to sing- I think just being around music all of the time inspired me to dance.
2. How old were you when you began working professionally and what was your first gig? I started working professionally at age 19- I was on scholarship at Tremaine Dance Center, and a teacher of mine, Marguerite Derricks, was choreographing a film called Austin Powers- she asked a couple of us to be extras- while on set, she told me to learn some of the choreography in the opening scene, and she threw me in the back!  I was so excited!
3. Who has been your greatest inspiration to date? I definitely can’t name only one or even a few- All of my teachers on scholarship at Tremaine- so many great people- all of the work I’ve been involved in- the choreographers have taught me so much- and of course, the Groovaloos and the Beat Freaks- my best friends in the world inspire me everyday!
4. The first series of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ is being aired here in Oz, any goss or surprises coming up? The group I’m in, Groovaloos, do a special guest performance on the finale episode- it’s pretty cool!
5. How did you score your first gig as an assistant choreographer and what does this job entail? I don’t really know- I think it informally started as helping out friends that got jobs- it was probably Gustavo Vargas or Eddie Garcia- I think they saw that I am organized and they thought it might be good to have a female approach as well.
6. What is your best attribute as a performer (and your worse?)? I think my best attribute as a performer is that I’ll rehearse long and hard- I’ll do as much as I possibly can to prepare for a show to make it as close to what the choreographer wants as I can get it- my worst attribute is I think sometimes I just need to relax and have more fun- don’t stress out too much!
7. If you could instil just one thing into Aussie dancers’ minds and bodies, what would it be? That one thing would be to do and follow what you love passionately and with every ounce of your being- perseverance is probably the most important quality when trying to make a career.
8. How should dancers prepare for your classes and what should they expect to be doing? Dancers should come with an open mind and a willingness to learn and try new things.
9. What advice do you have for maintaining your energy levels in each and every class? Drink lots of water, get plenty of rest before hand, and breathe!
10. Favourite artist you have worked with to date and why? My most favourite artist to have worked with is Janet Jackson- it was a dream of mine to work with her since I was a little girl - having that dream realized was surreal- she treated us so well, and I just feel honoured to have been able to have been onstage with her.