Alyssa Edwards is having a hell of a year. Not only has she partnered with Degree for their new multi-channel campaign, Move Again With Degree – which celebrates the power of movement and inspires people to get back out into the world (safely) and with confidence – the RuPaul’s Drag Race icon has made her West End debut with Memoirs of a Queen and showcased the fierceness of her Beyond Belief students on America’s Got Talent. (The latter went viral on social media.)

“I believe my book of life is already written, it’s just now being read out loud and I’m going along with it,” Alyssa tells GAY TIMES. “I’m very honoured to be a part of this Degree campaign because at the end of the day, it takes people like myself, teachers, performers and entertainers to lead the pack and lead the people. If I have to be the one to say, ‘Hey! C’mon, let’s go ahead, grab our deodorant and costumes, get back on the stage and in the spotlight and share our love for art,’ then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

We caught up with the legendary Dancing Queen (now available to stream on Netflix) to discuss all of her incredible aforementioned projects, how her time in lockdown led her on a path of self-discovery and – this part is crucial – the importance of wearing deodorant. In the words of Alyssa, “Get your head back in the game! Not only get your head back in the game, but get your scent back in the game as well!”

How has this experience on the West End been for you?
I’ll be very honest with you. Tonight is night three, so the first two nights are always trial and error, and error and trial. Especially after sitting in the house for over a year, this is my first time back on a huge stage like this. It’s been exciting than nerve-wracking. This is also a show of me stepping outside of my comfort zone. I think that there’s a lot of heart involved and a lot of vulnerability. I’ve always been timid to allowing audiences to see certain sides of me. This one is a very special one, so it’s been going great and the audience has been so into it. I’m in a really good place and I’m very thankful and grateful.

What can you tell me about Move Again With Degree and your partnership?
I wanna start off by saying that over this past year, over a half of the population did absolutely nothing. So, sitting at the house did not require us to put on deodorant. When this was on my desk, I thought it was perfect for me. Me being a dance teacher and performer, there’s a few things I might leave at the house, but deodorant is definitely not one of them! I think this hashtag speaks volumes, #MoveAgainWithDegree. I think it’s so form-fitting and perfect for me. I will tell you too, if we’re going to go ahead and get into statistics, 60% of Americans were less active than they normally would be. So, I don’t know what’s going over here in London, but us Americans were basically sitting at the house. Over this past year, for me, I can say that there was a lot of self-discovery. There were many days that I found myself in my back yard landscaping or riding my bike around the lake, and I, just like many others, thought, ‘I’m not gonna see anyone. I’m by myself, so I’m not gonna worry if I have moisturiser on today or deodorant.’ Here we are, everything is getting back to… I don’t wanna say we’re ‘going back’ because after this last year, we’ve learned not to take things for granted. I think we’re reawakening, and I believe with this campaign, this is the perfect message to inspire people to get up and get out there, get active again. Get your head back in the game! Not only get your head back in the game, but get your scent back in the game as well!

I completely get it. Over lockdown, it was so easy for me to just sit there on the sofa, not shower for days and watch Dancing Queen for the fifth time…
Oh Sam! Oh my god. Fun fact: over quarantine, I started to watch it. I found myself doing this stop go, stop go thing. Then at one point, I was writing in my journal and just turned it off. I was like, ‘You know this. You lived this.’ I just smiled. That was all I need. I don’t need to watch it. I’m at total place of peace with who I am and what I’ve done in my life, and where I’m going.

Are you still going to officiate my wedding?
Oh my gosh, I’m holding you to that Sam! That was my very first wedding to officiate it was just so special. It was a hallmark of my life. I will be able to look back one day, when I am an old lady, and I will share with all of my friends and students like, ‘Look, this is what was going on in my life.’ Even watching shows like that, it’s important. Going back to this campaign with Degree, we have got to get to that place again. Everybody got so… I don’t wanna say ‘comfortable’ because I never got comfortable at home. You can only teach a virtual dance class so many times before the TV is broken, your whole body is bruised and then you’re feeling uninspired. I just think it was very hard for me, and this campaign is brilliant for me. It’s perfect for me. It’s everything that I stand for. Not only do I stand for it, I also represent. I teach children every day, ‘Show up feeling your best. When you feel your best, you are your best.’