Alissa Roseborough.
In July, when Kiwi dancer Christa Albert stood on stage alongside Jennifer Lopez, overlooking the Sicilian resort town of Taormina in front of crowds of A-listers, she knew her dreams had come true.
“It was the craziest experience – I don’t have the words to explain it,” the 31-year-old says. “When you’re on stage with her, she is always creating moments with the dancers. Performing to lots of people is fulfilling, but getting to have that special moment on stage is undeniably incredible.”
For 20 years, dance has been at the centre of Christa’s world. But she remembers how much it took to convince her to try it in the first place.
When she was 11, a friend was adamant that she join her in auditioning for their intermediate school’s hip-hop team, but Christa couldn’t have been less interested.
“I was like, ‘No, that sounds dumb. I’m not doing it,’” she says. “She convinced me to do it and I fell in love. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
After high school, Christa went to university at her parents’ insistence. But once she landed a spot on Parris Goebel’s Royal Family Dance Crew in 2013, she admits her studies fell by the wayside.
“I was supposed to be studying, but I wasn’t,” she recalls. “Once I got into the Royal Family, there was not a lot of time for anything else. You’re committing fully to being a part of the company.”
While it was “a lot of hard work and long hours”, Christa says touring Europe and Australia with the crew gave her the first glimpse of the life she had secretly dreamed about. For the first time, becoming a professional dancer didn’t feel impossible.
“It was still scary, but it gave me a pathway,” she says. “I was watching back a show recently and of the 12 of us on stage, 11 of us are in America or around the world dancing professionally, which is incredible.”
After three years, Christa made the daunting decision to strike out on her own. It was a leap of faith that has taken her further than she ever imagined.
But for every career high, Christa has had just as many moments that left her wondering if she could handle another rejection.
She shares, “When you’re constantly working beside people, and then they get offered an opportunity and you don’t, it’s hard not to compare yourself.
“Sometimes you are in tears crying because all your friends are booked on a job and you aren’t. But you have to let that out and carry on.”
And that persistence has paid off, with Christa performing at Coachella twice, touring with K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, and appearing at the FIFA World Cup US opening ceremony and the MTV VMAs alongside one of the group’s breakout stars, Lisa.
But her success has come with an even more personal sacrifice: leaving her longtime partner Cam behind in New Zealand.
Though they visit each other as often as they can, she says some days no amount of success can make up for coming home without him there.
“It’s really difficult to get a visa if you don’t have a specific thing to come to America for,” she explains. “That’s been a very hard part because we’re doing long distance. It’s rough as all you want to do at the end of the day is go home to your partner, but you can’t. But we make it work for the dream.”
It’s a painful trade-off and one that doesn’t get any easier. But after everything Christa has sacrificed, she knows in her heart she won’t be walking away just yet.
“I don’t feel like I’m ready to stop dancing,” she says. “Thinking about not doing it any more doesn’t feel right. It feels like a piece of me I would have to let go of and I’m not ready yet.”
As she looks to the future, Christa still has plenty of goals to tick off. She’d love to work with pop superstars Ariana Grande or Dua Lipa, but when it comes to the gig that would mean the most, this proud Kiwi has another name in mind – Six60.
“That is my favourite band – I listen to them every single day,” she enthuses. “They’re coming to LA and I’m going to see them. If I could dance for them, it would be a full circle moment.”
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