HFL169 Empress Audio

HFL169 Empress (Shannon Rugari) Interviewed October 2, 2020 Interview released July 28 , 2026

From San Francisco Ballet to Broadway to “Empress”: Shannon on Owning Your Crown

Host Larry returns to his Studio HFL interview series and speaks with Shannon, a former San Francisco Ballet dancer who later performed on Broadway in An American in Paris and now releases music under the stage name Empress. Shannon explains how “Empress” reflects taking ownership of her life and encouraging others to “own their crown,” and shares how music led her to dance, composing on piano from age four, singing publicly for the first time at 19, and creating as a “closeted” singer-songwriter during her ballet years. She discusses the physical and mental demands of ballet, career pressures around body image, how a raw foods diet helped her health and longevity, and the value of visualization, mentorship, and positive leadership from choreographers like William Forsythe. Shannon previews new releases starting in November and mentions composing a symphony during COVID.

00:00 Interviews Return 00:54 Meet The Guest 02:24 Empress Stage Name Origin 02:24 Why Empress 06:44 Own Your Crown 10:28 Composing At Four 13:13 Ballet To Broadway 19:59 Nutcracker Origins 23:34 Body Image And Health 23:39 Ballet Career & Body Image 29:34 A Ballerina Day 37:25 Mental Game And Mentors 39:14 Muscle Memory Mastery 40:01 Mentors And The Village 41:00 Dance As Meditation 42:57 Broadway Transition 42:57 Ballerina To Broadway 49:13 Broadway Confidence Vs Ballet 52:15 Building The Empress Empire 52:27 Music Career as Empress 56:15 Favorite Ballet And Leadership 01:00:44 Rite Of Spring And Music 01:03:26 San Francisco Reality Check 01:06:41 Warm Farewell And Next Steps