SHOW NOTES
About the Guest
Sarah Elaz is a breakout bassist, live performer, dancer, and creative force in the jam scene. A classically trained dancer turned self-taught bassist, Sarah is known for her magnetic stage presence, instinctive bass playing, bold style, and deeply physical connection to music. After picking up the bass during the pandemic, she began documenting her journey online, created her viral bass cam and fit check trends, and has since become an exciting new voice in the Grateful Dead and live music world.
Episode Summary
Sarah Elaz joins Jen Aks for an electric, inspiring conversation on movement, music, identity, intuition, creativity, and learning to trust the wisdom within. Sarah shares her journey from competitive dancer and physics student to professional performer, self-taught bassist, and rising artist in the jam scene.
From growing up as a dancer to studying physics and movement through the lens of existence, Sarah explains how her body has always been part of how she understands the world. She opens up about navigating rigid academic spaces, feeling like she did not fully belong in either physics or dance, and eventually learning how to follow energy, instinct, and the pull toward what felt alive.
Sarah also shares how the pandemic became a major turning point, giving her the time and space to teach herself bass, build community online, and step into a new creative identity. Together, Jen and Sarah explore somatic intelligence, groove, flow state, authenticity, and why trusting the body can lead us somewhere far more aligned than the path we thought we were supposed to follow.
This episode is a powerful reminder that creativity does not always arrive through overthinking. Sometimes it begins with movement, instinct, a happy accident, and the willingness to follow the energy.
What You’ll Learn
• How Sarah’s lifelong identity as a dancer shaped the way she understands music, movement, and performance
• Why physics, dance, and music are all connected through movement, energy, existence, and the body
• How Sarah experienced sexism and rigidity in academic spaces while also feeling boxed in within the dance world
• Why learning to follow “good energy” became a turning point in her creative and personal path
• What it means to ride the waves of life without abandoning yourself
• How the pandemic gave Sarah the space to teach herself bass and become a full-time artist
• Why dance became the foundation for Sarah’s somatic intelligence as a musician
• How groove, rhythm, and grounding help Sarah trust herself as a bass player
• Why “if you’re thinking, you’re not playing” applies to creativity, performance, and life
• How authenticity gives other people permission to be fully themselves
• Why creativity often comes from showing up, saying yes, and allowing happy accidents to become something bigger
Key Concepts Introduced
• Dance as Music Analysis — Sarah describes dance as analyzing music with the body, using movement to understand rhythm, sound, and feeling
• Physics as the Study of Existence — Sarah connects physics to movement, being, energy, and the larger patterns of life
• Following the Energy — learning to notice where the energy feels right, where it feels wrong, and when it is time to shift direction
• Ride the Wave — Sarah’s metaphor for navigating life’s natural ups and downs while staying flexible and present
• Do Not Abandon Yourself — Sarah’s personal reminder to stay connected to her core values instead of forcing herself to keep riding an unnatural wave
• Somatic Intelligence — the body’s ability to learn, interpret, create, and lead through movement, rhythm, sensation, and instinct
• Groove First — the idea that when you are grounded in the groove, there are no wrong notes
• Lizard Brain — Sarah’s term for the subconscious, instinctive part of us that moves, creates, and responds without overthinking
• Flow State — the feeling of being centered, aligned, and fully inside the moment with the right people, energy, and timing
• Happy Accidents — creative openings that happen when you show up, say yes, and try things without needing every idea to be perfect first
Quotes From This Episode
“If you’re thinking, you’re not playing.”
“Dance is analyzing music with your body.”
“I had to follow the dance, I had to follow the movement, I had to follow the performing.”
“Ride the wave. Surf it, baby.”
“I will not abandon myself this year.”
“If you are truly rooted and grounded in the groove, there is not a single wrong note you can play.”
“Cringe is a code word for authenticity.”
“Rule one in my life is show up and say yes.”
“Good ideas and bad ideas come from the same place. So why not just do things?”
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Opening: Jen Introduces Sarah Elaz
Jen opens the episode with excitement and introduces Sarah Elaz as a magnetic performer, self-taught bassist, dancer, and artist whose journey is a powerful example of listening to the wisdom within.
03:21 Sarah’s Story Begins With Movement
Sarah traces her story back to being three years old — already dancing, performing, moving, shaking, and sharing joy through her body.
05:30 Physics, Movement & The Study of Existence
Sarah shares how she studied both physics and dance, connecting science, movement, quantum mechanics, Eastern mysticism, and her own curiosity about the world.
09:35 Moving to New York to Become a Professional Dancer
After graduating with degrees in physics and dance, Sarah follows the pull toward performance, moves to New York, and begins building a career as a dancer.
10:00 Dance, Social Justice & Healing Through Movement
Sarah reflects on performing in She, a choreo play centered on sexual violence against women, police brutality, and healing through movement.
11:20 Leaving Dance & Finding Herself Through Music
As her long-running dance show ends and her dance career begins to shift, Sarah starts finding a new kind of freedom through live music and dancing in the audience.
13:20 Becoming a Dance Ambassador
Sarah describes how dancing big and authentically at shows gave other people permission to do the same, creating freedom and community through movement.
15:53 Not Rigid Enough, Too Rigid, and Not Fitting the Box
Sarah opens up about feeling judged in both physics and dance — too loose for academia, too rigid for improvisational dance — and how that affected her confidence.
20:30 Learning to Follow the Energy
Sarah explains the tension between wanting something badly and recognizing when the energy is wrong, and how life requires both vision and flexibility.
21:30 Riding the Waves of Life & Trusting Intuition
Sarah introduces the metaphor of riding the wave, recognizing natural ebbs and flows, and knowing when an outside force is creating an unnatural wave you need to leave.
24:00 The Pandemic & Teaching Herself Bass
Sarah shares how watching Mike Gordon at Phish shows sparked the thought that she could play bass, and how the pandemic gave her the time to fully teach herself.
28:30 TikTok, Grateful Dead Covers & Online Community
Sarah begins posting bass videos on TikTok, connects with other musicians, and helps create a digital Grateful Dead cover band.
30:00 Dance, Groove & Somatic Intelligence
Sarah explains how 30 years of dance shaped the way she plays music — using her body, rhythm, grounding, and groove as the foundation for bass.
32:38 Groove First: There Are No Wrong Notes
Sarah shares that her biggest strength as a bassist is not fancy tricks, but her ability to root herself in rhythm and trust the groove.
34:18 Lizard Brain, Flow State & Trusting Instinct
Sarah talks about moving from the subconscious, instinctive part of the body and why overthinking can block performance, decision-making, and creativity.
36:00 Why Authenticity Creates Real Freedom
Jen and Sarah explore how safety, self-forgiveness, imperfection, and not abandoning yourself allow your most authentic voice to come through.
39:17 Authenticity Builds Community
Sarah connects authenticity to community, explaining that when one person gives themselves permission to be fully expressed, others feel safer doing the same.
40:00 Creativity, Flow State & Following the Energy
Sarah shares how her bass cam series began as a happy accident and how creativity often comes from showing up, saying yes, and trying things before they feel perfect.
43:19 Where to Find Sarah
Sarah shares her original band Boojum, her work with Barely Dead, her collective Bushwick’s Dead, and her upcoming shows and projects.
44:19 Closing: Human Stories Awaken Leadership From Within
Jen closes the episode by celebrating Sarah’s story, her presence, and the way her journey reminds listeners to trust the guidance system within.
CONNECT WITH SARAH ALAZ
Instagram: @SarahElaz
• Original Band: @BoojumBand
• Touring Band: @BearlyDead
• Collective: Bushwick’s Dead
If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear that the transformation period is supposed to be hard — and that asking for help is not weakness. It’s the sign.
