Ephemera

Parris brings this undeniable “it” factor to the newest UGG® campaign, “Rain Collection,” which she helped choreograph to show off the new silhouettes and how they function in water. office had the chance to talk to Parris about the “Rain Collection”, authentic expression, and more, below.

Dance or not dance-related, what is your favorite memory?

I'd probably say working my first big job with JLO when I was nineteen.

Do you have any outside influences that you’ve used for choreography?

I have a lot of influences. Missy Elliot, Michael Jackson.

The “Supa Dupa Fly” music video was everything! So, you were in an UGG campaign in the fall titled, “The Perfect _____.” How did you feel when you found out you’d be a part of another campaign?

Just super excited, getting to work with them. It was so collaborative. I mean it's such an iconic brand, being around for so many years.

Were you part of picking fellow dancers Taja Riley and Yuliana Maldonado for the UGG campaign and how was that process?

Yeah, I mean, they're good friends of mine. I think they're amazing and talented dancers. I have so much respect for them both. When it came to casting I put their names for it and everyone was excited about them. So yeah, it just happened naturally.

Many women view you as the pinnacle of confidence. When you think of the word confidence, what's the first picture that comes to mind?

When I think of confidence, I just imagine the essence of a woman really. When I hear the word confidence it's just such a personal thing to me. It resonates with me because that's something that you spend your whole life working towards is feeling confident, especially as a woman. So for me to genuinely feel like I live my life with confidence is a is a very powerful feeling. So when I hear the word confidence it's just resonates with myself.

You’ve now worked with JLO, Rihanna for Savage X Fenty. How did you connect the artists to the movements for each job that you took on? And what’s your favorite job you’ve done so far?

I would definitely say the Savage shows are some of my proudest work. Just because of what it stands for, and how it connects to me as a woman, and how it resonates with people all over the world. When my work has a message that's when I'm most passionate and most excited about carrying it. I feel like the Savage shows have made cultural moments. And kind of this cultural shift in the world and in the fashion world and breaking the stereotypes of beauty and all those things. So those are definitely shows that I've been highlights for me.

talked about expressing yourself authentically in this new UGG campaign, has there ever been a moment in your career of lostness in creating or expressing yourself that you’ve overcome?

I think I've had moments of that, but I honestly have always kind of considered myself someone just like very confident in my vision and my self expression. It there's anything that I've been confident in is who I am and how I want to be felt in this world. I think it's just an interesting question in general. I wouldn't focus on it so much. I think everyone has moments of unsureness. But, I'm just always feeling pretty confident so it's not really like something that connects to me personally.

How do you continue to move with intention especially in regards to your dance crew that you lead?

I guess I just create what feels true to me and true to my voice and what feels relevant to how I'm feeling. No reflection of where I'm at and no reflection of where the world is. I just try to stay in tune with myself and create from an authentic space. And you'll always see that in my art, where I'm at or where my perspective of life is that. I mean it's just impossible for me to not create from intention. Intention is everything to me. I think intention is really important when it comes to creating.

You were 15 when you left school to pursue dance as a career, what advice do you have for dancers out there looking to take a leap for their dreams too?

I honestly feel like there's enough advice out there in the world. It's not hard to find inspiration or guidance when it comes to chasing your dreams. Personally, I just feel like everyone's journey is so, so unique, that it's always hard to give advice that feels true to each individual in the world. But, I think I would just say, most of the time, it's us that holds ourselves back. So I think, the best advice that I can give is no matter what you're doing or pursuing, don't be the person to hold yourself back. Don't be the person to hold yourself back or thing that stops you from chasing your dream. Because you have everything else. It's always the world against you. But don't be against yourself.

You’ve built an empire from the ground up in a space where you saw there was something missing. Looking back at all that you’ve accomplished so far, what’s the proudest moment you’ve experienced?

I'm most proud of just who I am, how I navigate through life and how I navigate through my art. People know me for my work, but what I'm truly most proud of is the woman that I've become. And I think that resonates through my work. I think people enjoy my work because of where I create prominence from within. And I just feel like that all goes hand in hand. When you experience my work, or when you see it, you're essentially experiencing my soul and my heart and my essence and my mind. So, I'm just proud of myself, and I'm proud of all my work. And I'm just proud of who I am.