By Julia Szabo
The dream of a career in dance is what brought Nashville native Louise Phillips Forbes to New York City. But a back injury sustained while auditioning for a revival of A Chorus Line led Phillips Forbes to her current profession, another field centering on movement. “In real estate,” says the Halstead agent, “we are dancing all the time!” Having mastered the complex choreography of buying and selling, renting and leasing, she appreciates the relationship between realty and rhythm: “Both demand self-discipline.”
Years of dance training show in the respect Phillips Forbes accords her body, no matter how overbooked her day becomes. Taking care to make time for meditation, she diligently avoids repetitive stress by alternating between different workout routines; hot yoga, SoulCycle and Punch Force are her current favorites. She also gets in a 6AM SportsLab date with her husband every week where they train together with owner John Lippert.
“Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music,” wrote the poet William Stafford. Little wonder that Phillips Forbes, a mom of two, connects deeply with children wherever she goes, and is a proud 20-year supporter of Change for Kids. The nonprofit’s mission is to create opportunities for kids so they can overcome inequity. It provides critical support, experiences and access so kids in New York City public schools can reimagine their possibilities. “I can’t change the educational system,” she allows. “But by helping to overcome inequities, I can affect one child, one class, one school, one community at a time.”
