Women who move us
Lucy McCrudden
Lucy McCrudden, mother of 2 and Founder/CEO of award-winning Dance Mama. Smashing people's expectations of me since 1981.
Headshot image by Pierre Tappon
When was the moment you knew you wanted a career in dance?
I've always had a sense of knowing, from a really young age — I would say as early as 4 or 5 years old — that I wanted to do something with my life that had to do with dance or performing. I couldn't pinpoint a moment exactly, but it probably has something to do with the fact that I was on stage in utero, as my parents performed in our local musical theatre company. At that time, they performed their shows on the main stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.
I then did my first show with them at age 4 — Fiddler on the Roof. "Tradition!" ha ha
What is a quote you live by?
'All that is required for evil to prevail is that good men stand by and do nothing' and 'It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.'
If you could have lunch with any woman (living or from the past), who would you pick and why?
Goldie Hawn. I grew up watching her movies and love her energy, wit, and wisdom. Private Benjamin left a great impression on me, and I love the spirit of sisterhood in First Wives Club. She is a wonderful comedic performer — and a dancer!
What I most admire her for (which many people may not realise) is that she founded MindUP, a non-profit that teaches preventative mental health programmes in schools across the globe, which has impacted 7 million children.
MindUP has drawn on neuroscience, psychology, and education research in this area for 20 years, and having been to a presentation about their impact, I see it as a beacon for how social impact organisations can be run.
I would love to quiz her on all of that!
Is it more important to be liked or respected?
Respected. Most definitley.
How do you manage stress?
I have a very busy mind and am prone to over-commit, so learning to be discerning and managing my time carefully is my life's work to help wrangle my anxieties. This observance then enables me to do all the other things I need to do to combat stress which include being active (dancing, running, conditioning), meditating (even just 1 minute a day can boost my mental bandwidth), watching comedy on TV (laughter is the best medicine) and most importantly connecting with family and friends to have fun and be a human being (not doing).
Where is your happy place?
Definitley with my family doing something creative. I consider myself to have a large family as it encompasses those I'm related to biologically and those I'm related to by dance. Recently, I had the privilege of those two branches joining when my huband and kids did a Dance Mama workshop at the Royal Opera House. That was supercool.
If you were a fruit or vegetable, which would you be and why?
A blueberry. Because their are packed full of nutritional goodness all in one teeny berry in a fun colour you don't see too often in natural food - can be a healthy snack on their own or in a muffin as a treat!
In our dance sector, what do you think is the most pressing issue for women and girls right now and what are you doing about it?
In the last decade I have focused on doing what I can to contribute to the inequity of parents in dance — particularly mothers. From my own lived experience becoming a mum, I found that there was a shocking lack of industry support for pregnancy, postnatal and parenthood life phases, considering that most of the industry is made up of women.
There's a hypocritical rhetoric of 'inclusivity' in dance spaces, as they often exclude parents. This links back to the 'like or respect' question, as some people don't like me pointing this out!
The generic cultural assumption that "once you have kids you're out" fills me with immense frustration and anger. We spend so much time, energy and money from young ages to develop our careers — why should we stop?
Thankfully, there are more examples across sport and dance (which I have helped amplify) to show people you can continue in a physical career (on or off-stage). What it requires is time and resources — and this is what I heavily advocate for — because what's missing in dance is the experienced female voice, artistically and in leadership.
I believe that inclusion of this voice could be a big part of the solution to a lot of the problems dance faces today.
What’s something you regret in your professional dance career?
Maybe not 'trying again' to audition. I love New Adventures (and they know it!) and I got down to the final round for Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! around 2004 and didn't make the cut. I then became Dance Artist in Residence at the then-called DanceXchange (now FABRIC) and moved into leadership, learning and choreography.
I have retold this tale about a thousand times to students training at The Place CAT (when I was manager) to help them build their resilience to keep going.
Having performed professionally since the age of 8 at the RSC, I often feel my stage performing career peaked early! I have reconciled that my path was meant to be more about leadership and cultural impact... which actually led me back round to the stage to do TEDx...
What question do you wish more people would ask you?
What can we be doing to be more inclusive of parents, Lucy?
What are the 3 leadership traits that best define you?
Courage, Excellence and Empathy. I'm a big fan of Dr Brené Browns work in leadership and the first two traits I try to lean in to most days (especially the first) as building your own social impact company is 'Braving the Wilderness' as she would say.
What book/film/documentary do you recommend most to others?
Women Who Run With the Wolves – Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés. I read this book on my second maternity leave and think it should be issued as essential reading for girls at school — especially those who are creative. Using well-known fairytales and stories as metaphors for the female psyche and experience makes a lot of sense to me. It helps me to understand myself better, and at times I wave passages under my other half's nose!
Which lesson has been the hardest to learn?
Patience. My brain likes to operate at the speed of a wild horse, and I am often having to harness it into a pace where it can be sure-footed and won't wear itself out. This can cause dissonance and frustration when I find external activities not moving in time with this inner tempo. Hence the meditation practice...
What's next for you?
Continuing to navigate the choppy waters of the dance sector post-pandemic, with a family, and with as much grace as I can muster. There are definitely some improvements, but dance (and the world) still faces many challenges.
For Dance Mama, this means strengthening and growing our impact through our programmes and membership, developing our dance and health work with new mums in the community, and continuing to advocate for parents in dance globally through the International Parenting and Dance Network.
As a researcher, I am halfway through my PhD, tracking postnatal dance professionals at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Cinderella, Pocahontas, Alice in Wonderland or Malefica?
Pocahontas - because she was real!
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