the influence
emilyisalive
let me influence you
this is just a section to rec all my favorite things. i keep a lot of publics logs so that's the best way to filter for your own interested (all linked below) but you can also just check out my master list. this is my personal piece de resistance.
my credentials
i know a lot of things about a lot of things. i scroll wikipedia and my favorite activity is playing on my phone. i'm really not ashamed of it. i will never be the girl who deactivates her instagram. plus i've spent my whole life attending live shows and i'm careful with my words.
DANCE!!!
things where it's like, 'hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.'
a non comprehensive list of dance that i love. live, commercial, theatrical, concert, etc. i want to talk about the dance industry all the time at a moment's notice. do not hesitate to ask. please. i'm begging you.
"Somebody That I Used To Know"
choreographed by Sergio Reis and performed by CDK company
i could include everything that sergio reis has choreographed in my list of favorites, but this was my introduction to him (ty tik tok). it was when i realized he had choreographed only bangers. i looked up CDK auditions which is when i found out they were a dutch company. then i looked up how to become a dutch citizen. also featured in this video is Mauro van de Kerkhof who is incredibly captivating and will be featured in several other of my favorites.
Calvin Klein's "100% Pure Love" Pride Campaign 2024
choreographed by Sergio Reis
more sergio and more Mauro van de Kerkhof. this stopped me dead in my tracks. i first saw the btw video that went semi viral of them filming the dancing portion. dance is so cool.
"Rush"
choreographed by Sergio Reis
oh troye how i love you. i've been watching him since the "happy little pill" days. "Rush" was the moment and you just had to be there. this is still my pump up song. this changed something for me. troye you changed the world with sweat tour. it was so hard to pick which troye video to include between this and "Got Me Started" and "One Of Your Girls" it was like picking a favorite child, but this was where it started for me.
"Gabriela" by KATSEYE
choreographed by Sohey Sugihara and Grant Gilmore
we should be kissing the ground that sohey and grant walk on, even if that moment of grant is viral rn (may 2026) for being cringe or weird. i believe that "gabriela" is their best choreography, even though "gnarly" is perhaps their most famous. honorable mentions "gameboy" and "touch". "gabriela" definitely highlights daniela who is their main dancer. when i watched Dream Academy i sobbed btw. they worked so hard. i thought their Coachella performance was pretty good too, but they've got room to improve!
KATSEYExGAP
choreographed by Robbie Blue
EYEKONS rise uppppp! this collaboration between katseye and robbie blue was a big game changer for me. those girls can dance and robbie gave them such a fun challenge with this choreography. it was so fresh and fun to see them do something different. they looked so good too. made me want gap denim.
"After The Curtain"
choreographed by Travis Wall and performed by Shaping Sound
i don't want to give the space to address travis wall. i cannot deny how amazing this show was. i saw it live at UCLA in high school. lex ishimoto you will always be famous. i hardly remember the story of the show. i remember there was text projections i couldn't really read that probably explained who was who and what was going on, but this specific number i think about on cold nights.
Hofesh Shechter's Dancing Clowns
choreographed by Hofesh Shechter
a macabre comedy of murder and desire. delicious and delectable. i saw this for the first time in my ballet class and it prompted me to buy a subscription to marqueeTV. i love the music. i love how dark this is. i love how intense it is. there's this one move that's kind of like a pony with their arms in the air that became a calling card for our entire ballet class.
Wintereisse
choreographed by Christian Spuck
another thing was shown in college. super weird. super cool. super well executed. looks like it took time and money. i wish the us cared about and funded the arts like this. definitely not for the faint of heart
The Rite of Spring
Pine Bausch repertory performed by team of dancers from the Tanztheater Wuppertal at the École des Sables in Senegal
best $150 i ever spent. this was my first and only time at the music center in la and i have never ever been so overwhelmed to see something live. this work is so so iconic but modern repertory just doesn't get the same stage time as ballet classics like the nutcracker. also imagine covering a stage in dirt is a huge logistical nightmare. very cool though. in my performance one of the straps on the soloist's dress fell off her shoulder and one whole boob was out the whole solo and she KEPT THRASHING. that's the magic of live performance.
"Shake It To The Max"
choreographed by Robbie Blue
this was one of those if you get it you get it. i think this chore can go so wrong so fast but these dancers make it look hot. robbie blue is a visionary. i will not call him the newer, better ryan herrington but i did overhear someone say that once.
"Yummy"
choreographed by Parris Goebel
i want to give that mologues from the devil wears prada when someone doesn't know about parris goebel. parris goebel is responsible for all your favorite things. longtime collaborator with rihanna, she's done all the savagexfenty shows and her super bowl halftime show. she did jennifer lopez's halftime show in 2020. and she did "abracadabra" for lady gaga. amazing large scale visuals that also look great close up. if you were in my dorm room for more than thirty minutes freshman year i probably made you watch this video. it made me actually like the song. also features lexee smith who is addison rae's creative partner/ movement director
"Aquamarine"
choreographed by Daniella Polanco
i've been on addison are since her unreleased hit "2 die 4" was leaked online. i saw her live at the greek and honestly she was great. she sounded great. she danced great. she connected with the audience. she's a star. the choreography in this is so satisfying when they're all connected. her lifts are so smooth and her performance quality is so brand consistent.
"It's ok I'm ok"
choreographed by Sean Bankhead
this era of tate mcrae is revolutionary. pop girls are back! i saw a video of sean bankhead saying he was teaching tate how to walk in the beginning and reference beyonce in "crazy in love" and she hadn't seen the video. we in fact are losing the ancient texts but it's good to know people are trying to keep them alive.
"Revolving Door"
choreographed by Robbie Blue
robbie blue strikes again. this video made me understand the song. and the enddddd. when she's collapsed on the floor from doing the choreography over and over again and crying and she gets up and runs it again. the girls are sad but they understand each other.
"Sue Me"
movement direction by Gigi Todisco
gigi is a loyola marymount university alum (my alma mater) so i feel some sense of pride even though i don't know her personally. sue me is one of my top played songs of all time on spotify even thought it's only been out a year. i love how awkward but confident this is. audrey you make me want to be more myself. and wear more tights and ballet flats.
concerts
barricade or bust
i saw my first concert when i was twenty-one which is far too late in life to be having that experience. i guess if you count the wiggles or dragon tales in concert then i saw a concert when i was like four. i am the kind of person that arrives 2-3 hours early for the show and does not drink water or go to the bathroom. (i am the same kind of flyer except i only get to the airport 90 min before takeoff.)
a list of every concert i've ever seen
The Driver Era: the Girlfriend Tour at The Crystal Ballroom
The Wrecks: Sonder tour at The Regent Theater
COIN: Uncanny Valley Tour at The Palladium
Hippocampus: LP3 Tour at The Palladium
Macklemore: The Ben Tour at The Palladium
The Jonas Brothers: Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour at The Honda Center**
Del Water Gap: I Miss You Already + I Haven't Left Yet Tour at The Fonda
Hozier: Unreal Unearth Tour at The Hollywood Bowl**
Grouplove: Rock and Roll You Won't Save Me Tour at The Wiltern
Del Water Gap/ Japanese House at The Greek Theater
Clairo: Charm Tour at The Fonda**
Remi Wolf: Big Ideas Tour at The Greek Theater**
Banks Goddess 10th anniversary show at The El Rey
Maggie Rogers: Don't Forget Me Tour at the Kia Forum**
Djo: Back on You Tour at the Del Mar Racetrack
The Wrecks: 2025 Super Half Marathon Tour at the Roxy**
The Wrecks: INSIDE Tour at The Wiltern
Governor's Ball 2025
Djo: Another Bite Tour at The Greek Theater**
Addison Rae: The Addison Tour at The Greek Theater**
Audrey Hobert: The Staircase To Stardom Tour at The El Rey**
Hayley Williams: At A Bachelorette Party Tour at The Wiltern
** indicate my favorites based on sound quality, performance it factor, crowd vibes, and a secret fourth category (my own biases)
best venue?
the greek, by a mile. as i age i am gaining appreciation for assigned seating over GA. sorry. i no longer feel like if i make barricade the lead singer will pluck me from obscurity and make me a rockstar gf. also the greek is just so beautiful, and because nobody camped out all day or fighting to hold a spot, people are way less cranky.
unsuspected favorite?
remi wolf! vibes were soooo good. she is so great at rallying the crowd and her music is so fun live! also, duo the second time changed my life in such a crazy way. he's one of my favs, but i wasn't planning to see the another bite tour since it was like 6 months after i saw him on the back on you tour, but he played way more from the new album at the another bite tour and he's just such a talented musician and really brings a playful energy to his live versions of songs
best surprise?
charlie xcx surprise guest at addison rae's final la show at the greek.
best opener?
the wrecks probably. they opened for the driver era and became one of my favorite bands. i've seen them the most out of any band and they are so fun live. lots of jumping. lots of screaming. but... ryan beatty opened for maggie rogers and he's simply magical. made me want to listen to "SUGAR" again (BROCKHAMPTON i know but he's on the track). "bruises off the peach" is a foundational song on a playlist i'm working on called "april fool".
"i'm gonna go play on my phone"
i love instagram <3
chrome galaxy girl
i've had instagram since i was eleven. i've had my phases with it but in the past year i've embraced the simple fact that i just love it. i love the internet. i learn so much on tik tok, and i can easily keep my finger on the pulse. i've been building my rolodex of actors by religiously looking up movie casts and reading an actor's entire wikipedia page, and then their spouse's entire wikipedia page, and then their sister's, and then their dad's, and so on and so forth forever. i spend a lot of time of my phone and at the end of a long night i retire to my room by saying "i'm gonna go play on my phone". i don't think that instagram is replacing actual connection. my grid posts aren't helping me build or maintain my deep relationships. what instagram does for me is give me a place to express myself and see what other people are doing. i've been loving terrance o'connor and benito skinner's uses of their platforms (rip their relationship, like is love even real??). i post pretty regularly across grid and stories. it's a version of me that's sexy and cool and mysterious and culturally literate and witty. actually, that is just everyday me.
literacy rates are falling
i don't keep a goodreads account which is surprising to many, but i am a lover of fiction and drama. i try to read because it's a unique and valuable medium for story telling and i only read physical books because i'm pretentious. no kindle. no audiobooks. and i buy them new. i try to buy from my local bookstores (barnes and noble et al.). i like to think i have good taste and i know i have strong feelings on voice. i read mostly fiction but a few nonfictions have snuck their way into my heart. below you'll find a brief list of book recs:
fiction
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner
non-fiction
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
These Precious Days by Anne Patchett
Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley
***current reads: Half His Age by Jenette McCurdy and Firestorm by Jacob Soboroff
***next up: Butter by Asako Yuzuki and American Bulk: Essays on Excess by Emily Mester
this isn't goodbye, just see ya later
welcome to the end of my website. everything here was made entirely by me and zero ai. i mean that. i didn't even use the ai generated features that help you design sections or ask chat if what i said was stupid. i did everything painstakingly by hand over the course of a long weekend. this is a big wide world and sometimes my heart and mind feel all too sensitive to take it on, but on the other hand, i'm a passionate self-starter who thrives in a fast paced environment! we are all just the things we do, and emily is-- in fact-- alive. go get living.
-ek