Angelica Hildegard Heimann

“What's the worst thing that could happen? Let’s go through the steps and see.”

Pursue or not to pursue plans or opportunities. If starting over and coming back home is the worst that can happen, then you go for it. You’ve started from nothing before, and we are here for you.

(Excerpt from an interview with Martina Heimann aka Android, Professional Dancer, & Multi-award winning dance battler)
Nevada, USA

I was born and raised in Germany and graduated with a Masters degree in Dance from the Gret-Palucca University of Dance in Dresden (GER). My dance training started at the age of 10 years in ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz- dance, pas de deux, points and more. As my career progressed, I got inspired by the urban culture and started training in the difference dance styles including popping and flexing and found my own freestyle in dance. I moved to New York in 2009, and my journey as a dance professional continued. I’ve participated in dance battles for several years and won Popping, Experimental and Flexing Battle's worldwide. I’ve been in a lot of music videos and commercials, and I am now part of an amazing show about magic and dance at the Wynn in Las Vegas.

Looking back at my life I attribute a lot of my many explorations to my very supportive mom, Angelica Heimann.

My mom is kind, and very patient. She loves being a mom. She is a person who generously listens, and she loves reading books. My mom is a very supportive mother and loves being around kids, she raised 4 of us. She is now working as a consultant for schools and sits in the back of the classroom, listens to the classes and to the teacher, and then recommends what to do better and how to work on different things.

What is most influential about my mom is how she encouraged and gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do and she always patiently created a safe space to let me figure it out. She always assured me that if anything goes wrong, if my plans don’t work out, I always had them & our home to fall back on. So all this time as I took risks, I knew my parents would be there to catch me. That’s the reassurance and comfort I always got from her. Even if I live in the US and my family in Germany, I never feel my mom is not around me.

I remember the day I was figuring out if I should pursue this 9 month international tour (US, Paris, & Japan) that I wanted to take, this was before GPS maps, and smart phones. This meant I would have to carry maps and translation books to manage and I was terrified about the idea of being alone in a foreign country. I called her up in a panic not certain about what I should do. And my mom’s response is “What's the worst thing that can happen? Let's go through the steps and see.” In that moment, the worst thing that I could think of was running out of money and having to come back home, and starting over. My mom lovingly assured me that it was going to be okay. If the worst thing that could happen is coming back home, that wouldn’t be so terrible. And she was right. I’ve been there before, I could start over. It really isn’t so bad after all. “If you want to explore, you go and do it. And if it's not working out, you come back.” It was as simple as that.

Asking myself the question “What's the worst thing that can happen” has become a regular exercise for me when I make decisions.

This showed up also when I was unsure about doing dance battles. I was terrified to do it in the beginning. It’s a dance fight, and somebody has to win and the rest would have to lose. I was uncomfortable and scared of the idea but I went through the exercise of reflecting on what’s the worst thing that can happen — If i lose, who's really judging me? I realized it's me who cares the most about it. Win or lose, it's how I manage it. Do I just stagnate and stay where I am or take the challenges and go for the opportunities? At the end of the day, a new experience always made me happy so I went for it, and did battles for many years. I lost some and won quite a few and more importantly, it made me an even better, experienced dancer today known for my unique style.

I did the same exercise about doing this show in Vegas, and it was a big deal for me to relocate to the desert. I love plants and the beach and moving meant going to the dessert, and that I’ll be far away from my dearest relationships! When I was booked for this show, there was not a lot of information shared with us because they didn’t have details to share yet. So I was conflicted about accepting an opportunity and confronted by relocating for a show. I had to go through the “what's the worst that can happen” powerful exercise with my mom again. And the worst that could happen is maybe realizing I don't want to be in Vegas and don’t want to be in the show after 6 months. The worst thing that can happen is I get out of the contract, go back and start over in LA. So I moved, gave it a go. And as always - every opportunity I’ve taken has led to my expansion. I’m extremely glad I chose to do the show, it is amazing, best of its kind… and I have adjusted to living in Las Vegas. I made my apartment an oasis with all the plants I love. And by the way, this love for plants I also got from my mother.

I am grateful I was raised in a home with a solid and stable foundation. It allowed me to pursue my dreams and I always felt mom had my back. It wasn't that my parents showered us with money, cars, or fancy things. Never like that. It was always words of encouragement, empowerment that if we wanted to do something, we go for it. It was very simple but very helpful in my life. My siblings and I were empowered in a way that money can’t provide and all of us conquered new challenges, new opportunities in life and we learned to have grace and patience through it all.