BWW Blog: Actor, Singer, MOVER?!

Hi BroadwayWorld, Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade! (For the Broadway performances...of course!)

With the fall semester coming to an end, as performers we are all excited to add our recent shows from the season to our most coveted sheet of paper, our resume. Have you ever glanced at your resume in awe of all of your accomplishments? You should you have so much to be proud of. Recently, however, I've begun to look at my resume in a different way.

Toward the bottom, I have 6 years of dance experience written down, but it's from when I was ages 3-9 which really has no affect on me nowadays. I've always known I couldn't dance. I'm just awkward and ungraceful, and it was a skill I lacked. I knew I was meant for the roles with minimal to no dance, and as soon as I auditioned I would count myself out. I jokingly was always the one who would have all the worst dance moves at parties or when the music came on. Everyone knew this about me because I was loud and proud of it. As time passed on, I realized as a musical theatre performer, this was holding me back. It was all just a block I had put up in my head that I just couldn't do it so why try. That is NOT the mindset to have.

As a performer, we are constantly learning and growing and whether we realize it or not no one is perfect. While I may lack skills in dance, another person may be a beautiful dancer but lack confidence in their vocal ability. It goes both ways. I figured the only way to get better was to first rid myself of this block and refrain from warning people that I couldn't dance, but rather approach any choreography with confidence and determination. After all, that's the only way to get better! Practice truly does make perfect, and making mistakes is the best way to learn! It's so important to hone in on the skills you already have, but also work on those you feel less confident in. Most of all, remember to not let your weaknesses drag you down. There are so many times I thought to myself I could never make it because I couldn't "dance", but realistically there are so many versatile roles that don't require much experience in that area. It's certainly possible, but of course it's more popular in today's industry to at least be comfortable and flexible in all three aspects.

I'm on the road to becoming a "mover." I believe the first step is becoming more comfortable in your own skin so I've started trying to get more flexible by going to the gym a few days a week. For our most recent college show, I challenged myself by practicing the choreography in the wings before we'd run the numbers and wrote down every step in my script to ensure I had it memorized. I even pushed myself completely out of my comfort zone and went to a new studio to participate in a Broadway master class. Next semester I've signed up for ballet too! Anything is possible if you work toward it.

See you all soon from the stage with a leotard and gold hat dancing to "A Chorus Line." (;

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