Jacqui Gal

Hollywood actress

Growing up with images of dance role models like Mikhail Baryshnikov and Twyla Tharp, Victoria De Mare believed that dancing could be her life-long career. But when she suffered a break in her fifth metatarsal at the age of 21, she was forced to reckon with a tough new reality.

By that time, De Mare had been dancing seriously for i0 years. She began ballet classes at the age of 7, in the footsteps of her mother, who had danced with the Philadelphia Civic Ballet and Wilmington Ballet Company. She performed her first solo at 11, her first principal role at 14, and at 17, joined the trainee program of Joffrey Ballet and took classes at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

At first, De Mare reacted to her injury with firm denial. “I tried to continue performing under the agreements I was signed to,” she says. “But I was coming off stage with my foot two sizes bigger, and then running out to finish the performance.”

It was a terrible blow. Meanwhile, De Mare was approaching the end of her NYU degree and, like any college graduate, was forced to consider her next step. She decided to stop dancing altogether. “At the time, it was who I was,” says De Mare. “And it was an all-or-nothing thing.”

After a lot of soul searching, De Mare turned to acting—which had always interested her—and moved to Los Angeles, where she accepted a role in a low-budget horror film. With time, she also went back to dancing.

“I decided to study other types of movement, like mime and jazz, hip hop and tap,” she says. Her career began to take on a life of its own. “I was performing in and around LA at different venues—opening nights at art galleries, music videos and film, TV commercials, web commercials. I’ve played a dancer multiple times in my career.”

Since moving to LA in 2000, De Mare has appeared in almost 40 horror films. She is currently producing and starring in Amazing Grace, Loving Gram Parsons—as what else but a ballerina.

Looking back now, it seems like kismet. “One kind of tragedy unfolded into a whole other career, and a flood of other opportunities,” says De Mare. She stays connected to the dance world by attending classes whenever she can, at Steps on Broadway in Manhattan and the EDGE in LA. [At press time, we learned that De Mare has been offered a position with the Hart Pulse Dance Company.]

To others who might seek the Hollywood path, she advises, “Know that it’s who you are, follow that and put yourself in that world. You need to seek out casting notices, have materials, and be available to attend auditions. There are no guarantees except your own input and dedication.”

If De Mare’s journey has taught her anything, it’s the importance of being resilient. “Don’t give up,” she says. “It’s very hard but if it weren’t, then everyone would be doing it, and it wouldn’t be so special.”

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