Fast Confession - Monika Bagárová: In New York I Look for Inspiration, in the Czech Republic for a Family

Was the offer of participation in StarDance your dream come true?

I have very strongly wished for it. Once my phone simply rang, I was just in the studio, and they came up with an offer to take a part in StarDance. At that moment, I was very happy and I clearly felt that it is something I wanted.

But usually you have concerts and events organised in advance. Was that not a problem?

It was not so sudden, they let you know a lot in advance. We had the opportunity to plan for it, think about it and make a decision. There were at least two or three months to make a decision whether we want it. In the end I decided to go for it, and of course it is then a risk when you are eliminated, having cancelled a agreed-upon work.

Did you always like to dance?

I love music, I like to move. Dance and music go together, so yes. Basically, yes.

Prodej bytu s balkónem, Smetanovo nábřeží, Praha 1

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You won fame in SuperStar in 2009. You were very young, fifteen years old. How did you perceive such a large production of SuperStar at that time, and the huge production of StarDance today, when you are a little older?

I have to say that in the nine years from the SuperStar I´ve had a bit more experience, but when I was fifteen, it was literally like being cast into showbiz. I did not know how things are done, it was for the first time ever to stand on such a large stage. And I suddenly had to terribly quickly get used to it and begin to understand that there is a need to do things one hundred percent.

When I went to StarDance, I of course knew how production of live broadcast works, how is it done. With the only difference that i was thrown in turn into something new - into dancing. For me it was a terrible stage fright, stress, physical and psychological exhaustion, but at the same time a very beautiful and valuable experience.

How would you compare exhaustion from dancing after a concert and after one 2-minute dance on the dance floor in front of cameras?

I think that after the concert the exhaustion is greater than after dancing in front of cameras. A concert may take an hour and a half, one communicates with the fans and after an hour there is more accumulated energy. Whereas here one dances an minute and twenty seconds and it´s all over. But of course it is preceded by a huge number of trainings, sweated out hours and swearing, when you cannot get some steps. It is really something else, it cannot be compared.

How much weight have you lost?

Four kilos. But due to the fact that we had a training every day, I was able to eat anything I wanted and I was still losing weight. And suddenly.....I no longer have so much exercise, but I still eat what I want. I have to stop that. But I will finish this cake. (laughter)

You live in Brno and as the only pair you trained there. Was it not a pity? In Prague after all there is that team which holds together…

In the beginning it was pity, perhaps, because the other couples met in summer at trainings, when they switched at the training halls. However, from September we needed to be a lot in Prague, we enjoyed together a lot of activities, a press conference, autograph sessions and also we spent time together when shooting the highlights. We spent four days shooting at the château of Libochovice. So for example with Robin (Ondráček, editor´s note) we went for two or three days to Brno, but otherwise we were training in Prague and the relationships with the others became quickly firmer. So yes, in the beginning we were sorry, but I think that we caught up with everything later and got closer to them. I would like to say that many beautiful friendships were started there.

I read somewhere that you have learned about the fact that you will dance once again.

I knew that all couples appear again in the final, but I thought that we just have to be there, not dance there. In truth, that information was not so material for me up to some point, because I really focused mainly on the first rounds, the given dances and to get as far as possible. The final was - and still is - far enough.

I have new plans in the meantime. My manager deals with contracts and everything needed for the production and she puts together my schedule. I get to know everything important when I need to. Robin, as the professional dance part of our team, has more specific information, because any possible joint choreography is addressed by them always with the main choreographer in advance.

And what kind of dance will it be?

I do not know, but perhaps one of the ones we have danced before. It is also possible that there will be a joint choreography. But perhaps it also depends who will stay there to the end and how will it develop. Let them surprise us, how about it?

Let´s get back to your career. How did you get back to your work?

I must say that when we were eliminated, for two days I didn´t understand what had happened. Then I gradually started to understand that when you are out, there is no training the next day and that the carousel is actually not there any longer. For three months you work very hard almost daily, you get into the rhythm of it, suddenly it is really a great change of your life. For two days I was somehow confused by it. And on the third day, on Monday, we had some PR activities with Robin, where we definitely realised that it´s all over. That is such a sad day, you need to do those interviews and talk about your feelings, how you are and everyone is looking at you pitifully.

It took me about five days before I pulled myself together. Before I told myself: "Yeah, I have to deal with my other business things." Because even at the trainings I was working on my projects, just that it of course wasn´t as intense as before. Together with Markétka Konvičková we made a song and began to plan a video clip. Also I was the same week in the Bratislava studio shooting a feat with Majk Spirit. In Brno I got together some songs with my band for a new jazz project. At the same time, I had to restart and it was a sudden change. To do that step, not to think about dancing and trainings as the main thing. But it is my work, I have been accustomed to it for years and I am already back, motoring at my own pace.

You have lived for some time in a foreign country. How long is it since you´re back predominantly in the Czech Republic?

For two years.

Do not feel nostalgic about it? At that time in New York you even had a partner...

For almost three years I have regularly travelled there, that will definitely leave mark on you. I sometimes miss the atmosphere and the friends I had there. But in fact I´ve enjoyed New York quite enough… But I definitely plan to go back there sometime for inspiration. I even went back there both of the two years that I´ve been living back in Bohemia, working with Maybelline, at the New York Fashion Week.

Pronájem Luxusního mezonetu, 2+kk, Praha, Praha 1

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The Czech Republic is just a small pond compared to abroad, even in SuperStar you´ve had the good fortune and became famous, mainly you from the first rows. Wouldn´t you do better abroad?

It is definitely more open abroad to different styles, it is okay there to do funk, R&B or soul. But I think that there they are more able to appreciate the artist in that he is different, interesting and they don´t want to take away his personality and originality. And that is super.

Here it is often like: "Do that other style, because this is not very in, we don´t like this one, we don´t want another and we don´t give it much room..." In America it is more colourful. But there is a lot of great musicians on every corner and after my relationship fell apart I found out that I am not able to live and make a career without a stable family life. I am really very much fixated on the family and the Czech Republic.

Brno is nevertheless a much smaller town than Prague. How did you at that time cope with success? It is not so easy to hide there…

It´s been so many years now that I no longer remember the details. But I know that it was terribly strange, people were suddenly looking at me. They looked, turned, looked again and whispered something. We for example went with Honza Bendig into a shopping centre in Bratislava and people were pursuing us. We had to run. It was crazy!

Nine years ago we even had bodyguards. We have not been able to walk anywhere alone. People were crazy, I mean our fans. It was this avalanche of mad interest, we could not even go alone to buy a drink or ice-cream. We had to have someone by us as protection. When I look at it in retrospect, it was in fact really strange. And we were mainly very young. Overnight our faces become publicly known. I think that nowadays it is not so extreme any longer.

People can be wicked and you are partly a Romany. You have experienced any form of racism?

Not much, there were not any great attacks against my person. I am happy and grateful that I meet and am surrounded by mostly fine, great people. But of course, sometimes on certain media servers I have come across allusions, aggressive people exist. But I am pleased that there are also answers which condemn it. Somewhere they have even rejected those racist comments, did not let such people contribute there. But when it comes to my social networks and my fans, fortunately, so far I have absolutely had no problems and I have never experienced anything terrible.

What was your greatest achievement so far? What will be difficult to overcome in your career? You are only twenty four, which is very little, while you have achieved so much already.

I think that the greatest success is that I am still singing and that I can make a living through music. I consider important milestones to be the release of the first album Shining (2011), then the award Achiever of the year within the Český slavík 2011 awards ceremony, the journey to New York, contract with the Japanese publishers and experience with recording in American Studios. Then the second album, Flashback (2017) and, of course, StarDance.

What will you do after another twenty years?

I still have many objectives. I do not feel at all that I have achieved anything. Perhaps it may sometimes look that way, but I have set objectives in music, which I want to achieve.

Can you tell more about these goals?

I would like to continue to do my own heart affair music to the full, as I do now. But at the same time, I would have liked for people here to begin to perceive R&B and soul music a bit more. To find more of those who favour it and will be happy to go to concerts. I would for example like to do in my genre more, huge concerts that would be sold out.

In fact, I am doing music that is currently not mainstream here. But I grew up on it since I was little and I love it. For me it is my heart affair, I don´t have music only as a business, or something that I have to do as ordered. I simply must create according to my feelings and I release songs according to some stage in my life. When I for example released the song Offline, it was about me being at that time hugely and blindly in love.

That plays into my hand; the next question: How about you and men? You have recently broken up with one...

We broke up about four months ago. But at some point, I decided that I will not expose my private life to the media so much, because I think that sometimes it overshadows my work. Instead I will talk about music, my profession and about what I´m planning. And also where I can help, about my new foundation. I think that it is important to somehow keep your privacy separate. Everything is as it should be, I am happy, I am fine and I am very busy. (smile)

What kind of foundation is it?

I want to help animals. It took quite a long time for me to make up my mind to open up about this idea and start to set it in motion. The suffering of animals tugs at my heartstrings, because they cannot speak for themselves and ask for help. We want to focus on specific cases, mainly of abused dogs, but also point out the problems such as for example puppy mills. Everything will be transparent and we want to help to draw attention to this issue. Help people to orientate themselves in it. We want people to see where their money goes if they help. Soon my fans will hear more about it on my social networks.

Have you already got a name for the foundation?

For the time being it will be Foundation of Monika Bagárová.

Monika, thank you very much for the interview. I keep my fingers crossed for you!