It's rare you find a dance artist with vocal training from The Julliard School of Music and dance training from Alvin Ailey. Sarah Atereth is preparing for the release of her debut CD which will feature her four consecutive club chart hits – "You Wouldn't Know How," "Out Of My Head," "Fade Away," and "It Doesn't Take Much." Sarah's dancepop hooks and chameleon like looks are reminiscent of fellow Alvin Ailey alumna Madonna.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Let's start at the beginning. One of the many interesting
things about you is your last name, Atereth – what is the background
of that name?
Sarah Atereth: Atereth means 'crown.'
RS: Which would make sense, because you're known for your crown
of gorgeous blonde hair that is constantly in different styles. What
inspires all your different looks?
Sarah Atereth: Oh, I think I'm in my 40s movie star era now. I like
to change things around, I get bored. I get inspired by different
styles, and I'd say I like the old glamour. I'm an old soul, I'm an
old soul.
RS: So you got vocal training from teachers at Julliard (School
of Music), is that correct?
Sarah Atereth: Yes, I studied with a very famous Julliard professor,
who trains opera singers. Her most famous student is Renee Fleming. If
you know anything about opera, she's a very famous opera singer right
now. That was very, very exciting for me. Italian arias are excellent
because I can sing for hours and never hurt my voice. That's what the
best part about being classically trained is that you can put me on
stage for hours, and I can keep going just the way opera singers can.
RS: And you're actually a trained dancer.
Sarah Atereth: Oh yes, I've been a dancer my whole life. So when I
put on a show live, I've got my dancers and we can really kick it up.
RS: You worked with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre?
Sarah Atereth: Yes, I trained with the Head of the Jazz Department at
Alvin Ailey. I have my new video coming out for "It Doesn't Take
Much," and you will see us do our Alvin Ailey moves; my two dancers
trained at Ailey, too. So we love to throw that stuff in. It's great.
RS: But this isn't your first video – your first video is "Shall
We Dance," correct?
Sarah Atereth: The story for that video is basically that everybody
has their own dance through life, the way they approach their own
journey through life. So if you watch the video you'll see different
people having their own way, as they go through life, and the way I go
through my own life. That was fun to make. I love that song, it's very
important to me. Making that video was very, very fun – to go through
the streets of New York – because that's where I live, and I walk
those streets every day, so it was fun to make that video.
RS: Most people first heard about you with your song "You
Wouldn't Know How." How did that song come about? Did you write it?
Sarah Atereth: Yes, I write all my songs, and that song I actually
wrote for my best friend. What's interesting about that song is that
it has a twist in it, because usually when you say to somebody, 'you
wouldn't know how,' it seems to have a negative connotation – 'you
wouldn't know how to do that,' in sort of in a mean way. But I turned
it around and made it that 'you're such a good person you wouldn't
know how to be the bad guy.' If you listen to the lyrics of the song,
it's actually complementing the person and saying, 'you wouldn't know
how to be mean to me, you wouldn't know how to treat me badly, because
you're such a good person.' And I wrote that for my best friend.
RS: And then came the hook "I Go Left, I Go Crazy," which is just
the catchiest thing ever.
Sarah Atereth: That's a fun one, isn't it? That's just a fun, fun song.
