“You need to be prepared to risk a lot to be able to win,” writes Nathalie Furst. The Swedish dancer, model, and actor is determined to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional dancer, no matter the cost.
Furst, 25, is currently based in Los Angeles and has worked with some of the biggest names in music, fashion, and film including, Tom Ford, Swarovksi , Jason Derulo, Chris Brown , Ruth B , Miguel , Gary Clark Jr., Calvin Harris and Rihanna. Though, it’s hard to believe the seasoned dancer and model was once camera-shy. However, her love for a connecting with others through the universal language of dance led her to the expressive profession.
“I was a very shy kid and I had a hard time to express my feelings and thoughts in words. I barley spoke as a kid,” reveals Furst. “When I found out how to express myself without using words and instead using my body, I fell in love with movements. Dance made me be able to express myself and get out my emotions. It was almost like therapy for me and still [is] today.”
“It helps me express myself the way I want and it is also multilingual. It doesn’t matter what country you are from, you can communicate with anyone through dance,” she explains.
Furst started dancing at 14, but moved out of her parents house at 15 to the primary hub of the entertainment industry in Sweden.
“I missed out a lot of my family activities. I missed out on going out with friends… sometimes I felt very lonely,” confides Furst. “But that is something you need to be prepared to do [and feel]. When I stand in a dance studio I know why I work so hard for it. I don’t think I ever thought about giving up. Dance is a full-time job and there are more downs than ups. I knew that when I was stepping into the dance world.”
At the age of 20, she decided to take a leap of faith and move to Hollywood. At that time, Furst also started modeling after being scouted by a talent agent in a grocery store. “Modeling actually came as a surprise for me,” admits Furst. “If you look back through my childhood photographs, you can barley see any pics of me. [So] I was very skeptical [about modeling], but then I got the mindset ‘What do I have to lose?’”
That mindset paired with her background in dance, made Furst an attractive commodity on the modeling circuit. She was more than in-touch with her body, knowing how to manipulate her body to look smaller or taller. Thanks to dance, she was also all too familiar with expressing her emotions physically instead of verbally. She began to book more and more gigs as a dancer, model, and actor with some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Though, Fust still hasn’t reached her goal. The 25-year old dancer is hoping to book a world tour and in the meantime learning to market herself as brand.
“I am focusing a lot of time on marketing right now, so I am not running around to auditions or castings. I am focusing on how to get more exposure and learning how to better market myself as a brand. As an entertainer that is super important.” For Furst, that includes frequent visits to the gym to keep her body in shape while networking and planning for the future. “Towards the fall I am going to run around on castings again. I am also thinking about designing my own clothing brand.”
For now, she offers a sound piece of advice for those pursuing dance and other creative professions.
“People will have doubts in you [and] you might not live the most luxurious life. Don’t do it because you want to become famous. If that’s the reason then you should not do it at all. The ones who succeed in entertainment are the ones who truly love what they are doing are doing and don’t care about the money they have in their bank account. You will work from morning to night and you will feel like sometimes like you aren’t moving at all. It takes time. Don’t rush things. There is going to be so many no’s and you’re going to be criticized, but just keep going. Trust in yourself even if you get hit a few times on the road there. Everything is worth it.”
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