Getting Over the Hump with Lara Wilson of The Assembly

 { Dd } Editor, Candice Thompson: What gets you over the hump?

Lara Wilson: This is our company The Assembly‘s first tour (we started in early 2014), so this week actually feels exhilarating and strangely humpless. At least, it does now…ask me again after our Tuesday night red-eye! My husband and I recently went mostly vegan, so I’ve got a Larabar a day ready to go in my suitcase. I always give them out to my dancers during shows, too, kind of as a joke with my name, but mostly because I love them for an energy boost. Also, coffee. I recently found out that my hosts don’t drink it, so I’ll arrive prepared with good beans, my grinder and a travel-sized French Press, if I have to. Last are Spotify playlists, which always keep me going regardless of day. I use them to relax, to energize, to plan out classes, find new music for choreography, and anytime I’m in the car. No, I have not been paid by Spotify to say that.

From a co-director’s standpoint, although I’ll also be dancing this week, I guess another thing to mention about really crazy production weeks is that I always try to keep my finger on the overall energy of the group. We all feed off of and motivate each other, and we’re a tight, close-knit group, so I think it’s really important to keep things moving along, but with a calm, positive energy so no one gets too stressed out. And we all help each other out to problem-solve when necessary, so we can focus on the work and the performances. That’s always our goal, to put the work first.