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“I LEARNED TO ADAPT AND PAY ATTENTION,” Carlen says.
“You have to be so aware of your surroundings and of other
people’s little nuances.”
So how did Carlen end up in the spa world? Well, being a
Broadway performer left holes in
her work schedule, so Carlen took on
what she called “survival jobs.” She
did things like hand out flyers for
$10 an hour in Times Square. One of
these survival jobs was as a recep-
tionist at Exhale New York at Central
Park South. She fell in love with the
people at the spa and their experi-
ences.
She began to have a change of
heart about her childhood dream
and life’s work.
“I was starting to feel not particularly authentic,” Carlen
says. “You’re told where to dance, and you’re told where to
sing. I lost my innovation. I got frustrated and fell out of love.”
And at the spa, she got something different.
Melissa Rackliff
Spa Director at Tallgrass Spa & Salon
Our ISPA
community is full
of diverse talents
and inspiring stories,
all working towards
the same goal:
a healthier
world.
“It was so powerful to see people affected in every way,”
she says. “At one point, my ex-husband was a musician as
well. One of us had to make a living, and I thought, ‘I love
this spa stuff, I can go back to singing and dancing later.’”
It wasn’t as if this was completely ran-
dom. Carlen grew up near a lavender farm
in France, where she learned about its
benefits and healing properties. This
began her lifelong passion for wellness.
She wound up working in some of New
York City’s most prestigious spas like Ex-
hale, Bliss, The St. Regis New York and
Deepak Chopra. She also launched multi-
ple spas and wellness facilities while
working at the prestigious consulting firm
Lexi Design. She later helped The Ritz-
Carlton, Toronto, win Travel + Leisure’s
World’s Best Hotel Spa.
“It was baptism by fire,” she says of switching careers. “I
learned so much – all about creation, execution. I fell in love
with it. I sponged it all up. Things were getting tough in the
industry. But by then, I realized I loved spa.”
It was admittedly a little heartbreaking to move on from
performing, but Carlen still had plenty of memorable experi-
ences. Among them:
l
ANOTHER DANCER TURNED LEADER:
“As a dancer, I natually took an interest in
the health and wellness of the human
body, mind and spirit. I am not dancing
anymore; but the love remains.”
l
l
When Carlen was in Las Vegas, she took guitar lessons
with Bubba Knight, the older brother of Gladys Knight
and the unofficial leader of Gladys and the Pips. Since
Gladys was so well known at that point, she did her
own show. Tony Bennett was in attendance one night,
and Carlen got to sing with him afterwards for about
an hour in a private party. “It felt like I was part of his-
tory, big highlight of my musical career.”
Carlen waited tables as one of those “survival jobs” in
New York City. She waited on several celebrities, includ-
ing Billy Joel. “He was super, super nice. He was hilar-
ious. … He gave a $100 tip for a $50 check. Years later
on tour, I got a note from him backstage: ‘Hey I think
you were our server back in NYC, great job!’”
Carlen sang in the annual New York Village Halloween
Parade in Lower Manhattan in front of 2 million
people. n
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