I grew up in a dance school. My mom owned a dance school. Dance was one of the first things that encompassed me. As I got into my career as an adult, running became a part of that movement. When I see New Orleans, I see it in the movement; there is a cadence, a beat, a pulse that never stops. When you open your windows and go out your door, something is constantly moving, whether it be brass, clapping hands, or the potholes in the street that you hear cars thumping into. There is something always moving, an undercurrent, a pulse. That pulse creates movement.
And with that, it created the person I am, where movement has been sacred to my being. Because of it, dancing or running, feet to the pavement, has been a part of my life and career.
Interestingly, both are connected to the earth, grounded, and freeform. You don't need much to dance or to run.
DR: It's very much intrinsically stripped-down but natural. In my running journey, it's one of those things where, because of the difficulty of constantly running and how it feels to achieve anything in terms of going a further distance or running harder or faster, there's this delayed gratification. And I find that interesting because this city, in a sense, is very much delayed gratification in many ways. There are a lot of things that you have to fight through to get glory, goodness, and beauty.
There's always a fascinating point in which this becomes something ritualistic or something you practice. Can you describe how and when you first considered yourself a runner?
DR: I've been an athlete my whole life; I started softball when I was four. And running became a part of the practice. Then, I went to high school and played basketball. Obviously, we had to run there all the time. Then I got on a dance team and danced for the NBA. 27 girls, just trying to stay in shape. When I started singing, I was doing really well in these competitions. I realized when I got on stage I wasn't winded. I had this discipline that I had latched onto. I was so used to running, so used to being in shape I wasn't missing any steps. And when I won a show because of that discipline, I didn't want to lose it. And I remember the day I said, I'm not running because I have to; I'm running because I need to. From that day on, I've never stopped running five miles daily in the morning because if I miss it, I don't feel at my best, not just as an artist but as a person.