An Interview with Anna Vartsaba

Interviewed by Angana Saha '20

1. Tell us about your background.

I was actually born here in Brooklyn, but when I was two, we moved to Moscow, and I grew up there. There, I did gymnastics for a while and a lot of different dances. I performed in the Bolshoi theater in Moscow. I was in an opera and my only job was to run around the stage. I moved to America after third grade. We settled down in Brighton Beach where everyone spoke Russian. I basically learned the language in like three months over the summer and was pretty much fluent from there on. But I had trouble with a lot of things in the beginning. For example, I might be really good at Calculus because I learned it but I couldn’t count money until I was pretty old....After my parents divorced, I really had to learn to become independent, especially for my mom. I was the one she really relied on. I had to learn about the New York housing system when we moved again and I was the one who would talk to the landlord.

2. What are some of the things you do outside of school?

I do many many things! I’m a part of Brooklyn Youth Chorus, which is an organization that is kind of like a chorus, but we do a lot of things outside of that. We’ve been able to create our own shows, Silent Voices...a trilogy of shows that we’ve been working on for three years. We bring in local composers, and they sit down and talk to us about issues that we care about...like gender and race and inequality in America. The visitors write songs for us, which we then add words and dance to. We’ve performed shows with these songs on Broadway, and...I’ve been able to collaborate with so many amazing artists, and perform on Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel which was super cool. I also work as a production stylist...work at photo shoot locations, and model occasionally.

I also work at a boutique in downtown Manhattan. We have a lot of parties at the boutique, especially for New York Fashion Week. We have big fancy dinners. If I’m at a dinner event, it’s either for the model management company or because I’m networking. I go to a lot of parties around the city where we network for the boutique by talking about it in a very low-key way... We host lots of others because it’s a beautiful space.

3. How did you find these jobs?

I work at the place as a Party Princess--it’s great because I play with the kids and truly enjoy it--a job I got through a girl I knew in middle school. Another girl posted that a boutique was looking for a sales associate. I DM’d her saying I was interested, and I got the job. Now she’s assistant manager at the boutique, but she’s very close friends with the owner. So I said why not, and took the job...The modeling started through Backstage, an online website for dancers and singers in NYC. I found the model management job there, and so I came in and talked with them with the attitude that I was going to win it. Other places, I’ve interviewed and then been hired for.

4. Tell us about some classes you’ve taken outside of school and how they’ve impacted you.

I’ve taken social justice classes at NYU. Each year, we focus on specific issues. One year, I made a sculpture of a woman’s body for the Me Too movement. I created art out of trash that I found on the street to make a sculpture of a whale. This has made me want to give back in other ways. I’ve worked on charity events, and raising money to donate. A lot of the fashion shows focus on social justice, which is a big reason for why I create art on social justice.

5. What are some of your most memorable adventures outside of work?

I spent a summer living in Barcelona with a local host family. I’ve become really independent with things like that, and it was the most amazing thing. I’ve never questioned why I like to travel so much, I just think it’s such a happy experience. When I went to Barcelona, I barely spoke Spanish. I knew nothing about the culture, I didn’t know anyone in the city. But throughout the trip, I was able to see the ways the world is interconnected. My multicultural background got me into traveling, I think. Being in Russia and seeing differences in culture and politics there, and becoming familiar with Spain and the way things are there is so cool. Part of why I have these jobs is to save up money, and I don’t find the working and saving tedious at all. Right now, I’m saving up because my friends and I are going back to Europe this summer. I’m so excited for that.

6. How have your jobs inspired you?

They’ve inspired what I want to major in in college. I’m in between different options, because I like a lot of things and I make very last minute decisions. I want to focus on music and international relations. My trip to Barcelona is a big part of why I want to study international relations.

7. Is there anything you want to say to people who want to start pursuing their passions?

Word of advice: get out of your comfort zone! Talk to people you never talk to, go to places you never go to. The reason why I got the jobs that I did is because I went out of my little Russian neighborhood and made connections with friends and people who helped me land the jobs, positions, and opportunities I received.