Becca Perron is Proof That Hard Work Always Pays Off - Next on Stage: Dance Edition

We're down to our top 5 contestants in our Next on Stage: Dance Edition competition.

Contestant Becca Perron shares more about her charity, the first Broadway show she's seen and how it changed her life, and what theatre means to her!

Vote for Becca HERE.

Why did you apply for Next on Stage?

I love a good challenge and I never miss out on a chance to dance and perform! Especially right now. I'm so glad that I entered!! I've had so much fun these last few weeks and it's been so exciting hearing from the incredible judges. Thank you to the judges for giving all of us such thoughtful advice to help us grow. I really hope to make it to the next round to show them more of what I got!!

What does musical theatre mean to you?

Musical theatre really truly means everything to me. Especially theatre dance. Of all of the marvelous things in the world it's what makes me feel the most alive. It's what gets me up on the earliest mornings. I could never ever imagine my life without it which made it an obvious career choice. I'm so incredibly heartbroken for all of the theatre professionals that are unemployed and am praying for the day that Broadway can safely reopen. The show must and WILL go on and I hope that when that day comes I can be a part of it.

What is a fond theater memory you have?

One of my absolute favorite performance memories was going on an international performance tour to South Africa with my performing arts company, Encore Theatrical Arts Project. I was only 12 years old and my parents couldn't go, but after begging for weeks they let me go without them. My favorite performance was at an outdoor amphitheater in Cape Town. That trip brought us all together like family and made me want to continue theatre not only for the performance aspect, but for that sense of community. Theatre beings people together in a way that nothing else can!

What charity did you pick and why?

I chose my charity, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women because human trafficking, and specifically the trafficking of women and children, is such an important cause to me. There are very few things that pain my soul in the way that human and sex trafficking do. The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women is recognized as the first organization to fight human trafficking internationally. If my charity money could help them save even one life, that would be an incredible thing.

Share a memory from seeing a show.

When I was 13 I saw my first Broadway show, 'Something Rotten'. It's an incredible show. The music, choreography, and writing are all absolutely genius. At age 13 I was about 80% sure that I wanted to be a professional performer. After seeing the show, I left thinking, "...I could do that. Not right now, not in a year, but in a few more, I could do that." At the time I was a good dancer, but not great. But I was definitely a hard worker. It gives me such pride knowing how proud I've made 13-year-old Becca and how far I've come. One of the biggest lessons I've ever learned is that hard work ALWAYS pays off.

Who is your dream choreographer to one day work with?

There are countless choreographers that I would LOVE to work with. Some of my favorites are Andy Blankenbuehler, Al Blackstone, Warren Carlyle, Casey Nicholaw and Chip Abbott. Each of them have such a unique style that I adore and I would be absolutely honored to work with any of them!!

What have you been doing during quarantine?

I had COVID-19 in March, at the very beginning of quarantine, and ended up at the hospital with pneumonia. I had intense symptoms which knocked me off the horse for almost a month. After working hard to gain back my strength, I've been continuing to train train train as much as I can. I've been taking advantage of the online BDC and Steps classes that are now available internationally. I'm trying to make the most of each day and come out the other side better and stronger both physically and mentally. I won't let this less-than-perfect situation stop me from continuing to improve!

Give a shout out!

A huge shoutout to my incredible dance studio, Encore Performers and my performing arts company, Encore Theatrical Arts Project. I owe everything to them and to my mentor and studio director, Raynor van der Merwe. I am SO proud to be representing Encore and ETAP in this competition!

Dust off your dancing shoes, because Next on Stage is back with our latest competition sponsored by LaDuca. Following the immense success of our musical theatre singing competition for student performers, we're moving from the recording studio to the dance floor to shine the spotlight on talented, young musical theatre dancers.

Check out all of the contestants HERE!