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Answers4Dancers 2019 Year In Review

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Rachel Perlman, A4D Dancer To WatchAs seen in the January 14, 2019 DanceBlast

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GREAT CAREER ADVICE FOR 2020FROM A4D’S DANCERS TO WATCHDancer To Watch Rachel Perlman posted the inspiring photo on the previous page for 2019’s NewYear. She had just closed out the most amazing 2018of performing all over the country, and she wasready to begin again. It’s the attitude of a true pro!There's a lot to learn from all of our Dancers To Watch. Here’s some more great advice:Set a goal; once you surpass it, make another. Doyour homework, do your research, train constantly,stay positive and BE YOURSELF.- Brandon Hudson, Broadway’s Hamilton, Head Over HeelsDon't stop, don't give up. You can'tcompare yourself to the success of others … You have to keep going and realize your time willcome. It took me eight years, but I never gave up.It's made me more grateful for my achievements.- Kate Harpootlian, So You Think You Can Dance, Shaping SoundBe yourself, love yourself, and always go for it … If you have a dream, go for it. You only live once;why not try and see what happens before you “X”yourself out!- Michelle West, National Tour Disney’s Aladdin

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A4D’s Dancer To Watch, Sarah Kaye is one busy dancer. She books one gigafter another and is on top of her game. How does she stay so busy? In a word: Networking.Sarah booked her first cruise ship contract with Celebrity back in 2008. The connections she made while at sea in the early days of her career are still keeping her busy on land today.Sarah just worked at the very large New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, representing the newest ship in Celebrity’s fleet, theCelebrity Edge. It features the most amazing space called Eden with three levels ofsensory experiences completely wrapped in glass with every angle looking out to theocean.Sarah explains, ‘I was hired to showcase my aerial skills in one of their booths forpotential guests to give visitors an idea of what their newest interactive entertain-ment and dining experience in Eden would be like.’ And she’s quick to add, ‘Ieven saw auditions on A4D for this new conceptual restaurant meets atmospheric aerial and dance performance space.’ (Yes, Sarah is constantlybooked, but still checks the Auditions Calendar!)Before one gig is over, Sarah’s got the next one lined up. She’ll be performing witha former Celebrity cast mate in a mini tour of Cabaret Follies, a Parisian showgirlmeets burlesque cabaret production. Through networking and a lasting friendship,Sarah was hired several years ago while living in Miami to perform with thiscompany and now the director wants to work with the original cast again.Sarah says it best, ‘I guess the moral of the story is work hard and be nice topeople and work will always keep coming in ways you didn't expect. Even thoughI haven't sailed since 2014, I still have connections from my first cruise ship contract in 2008!SARAH KAYE'S DANCER TO WATCH PROFILE >

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NATONIA MONÉT ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE!“NaTonia continually reaches for the stars in her approach to her career. There’s no barrier that stops her from visualizing herself reaching her goals.”As seen in the February 25, 2019 DanceBlast

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ANTONIO BOOKS THE MASKED SINGERFIVE TIMES“My definition of ‘LUCK’ is preparation meeting opportunity. A4D was a major key to creating my ‘LUCK’.With audition notices and info from A4D, I was able to create several effective demo reels which then landed memy 1st dance agency MSA in Los Angeles, a national SAGcommercial, a guest entertainer contract, and thingshaven’t slowed down for me since then!”

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When A4D member Antonio Martinez dreamed of relocating to Los Angeles from Oklahoma, he didn’t know what adventures were ahead. Seeing Antonio’s potential from his activity on Answers4dancers,Grover Dale introduced Antonio to three LA agencies (theywere all interested), but Antonio felt MSA was the right agencyfor him and it's working out pretty well.After years of hard work, things have shifted into high gear. Antonio has been booking one amazing job after another. He has an enviable list of credits and has danced alongside Jennifer Lopez, TaylorSwift, Derek Hough, Ne-Yo, and Jennifer Hudson to mention a few. On TV, he’sappeared on Speechless, World of Dance, Dancing With The Stars, and America’sGot Talent plus many others.Recently, Antonio has been very busy working on FOX's The Masked Singer. It’s a new celebrity singing game show hosted by Nick Cannon with panelists JennyMcCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, and Robin Thicke.Antonio has appeared on the new hit show an incredible five times. He performed in The Poodle Performance as an aerialist and as a dancer for Alien, Rabbit, Bee,and Raven!It seems the law of attraction is in full gear in Antonio’s career. The more he works,the more work he gets. It’s a great accomplishment for a kid from Oklahoma who took a chance, left every-thing he knew, and made the big move to LA!WATCH ANTONIO’S COMMERCIAL DANCE REEL HERE >As seen in the March 25, 2019 DanceBlast

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STEPHANIE SCULL BOOKS OLD NAVY COMMERCIALAs seen in the April 8, 2019 DanceBlast

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A4D’s Dancer To Watch Stephanie Scull is currently appearing in an Old NavyHigh-Rise Rockstar Jeans commercial... Only the journey to this booking wasn’tso easy.Stephanie shared how it all unfolded with Answers4Dancers:‘To book the Old Navy commercial, I attended a casting where I had to freestyleon camera in a small room full of people (my worst casting nightmare!) Then I gota callback where I had to dance a solo on camera again, only this time it was to adifferent song, in front of an audition panel. Then I waited to hear if I booked it.Five or six days later, they hired me after all of the other dancers had just finished aten hour rehearsal. I was told to come straight to set the next day... it was a big sur-prise since I already assumed I didn’t book it because I wasn’t called into rehearsal.I had to arrive at 7:00 am to do a fitting and learn all the choreography and sceneson the same day we shot them! It was a very long day and definitely a challengefor me. I think we shot for 14 hours!Fortunately, the cast was so great that we all were able to feed off of each other'senergy and positivity, despite our exhaustion! We also got to work with choreogra-pher, Blanca Li and director Jonas Akerlund which was awesome becausethey’re both so amazingly talented... And with all that said, I think I speak on behalf of everyone in saying we were all super grateful to be there!’It takes a real pro to quickly adapt to the events that landed Stephanie on theset of a national commercial. The hard work she’s put into her entire career prepared her for a moment just like this!WATCH STEPHANIE IN OLD NAVY COMMERCIAL HERE >“It's important to have very direct goals. Write them downand then work backwards. Say the Victoria's Secret show is my goal. Okay, start there. Who choreographs for them?Who dances in them? What classes do they take?Figure out how to reach the goal and then work in strategic and direct ways to get there. ”

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MICHELLE WEST CELEBRATES TWO YEARS IN DISNEY’S ALADDINAs seen in the June 3, 2019 DanceBlast

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Happy Two Year Anniversary to Dancer To Watch Michelle West and the entirecast of the North American tour of Disney’s Aladdin.The tour recently welcomed its Two Millionth guest to see Michelle (and the cast) per-form since it launched in Chicago at The Cadillac Palace Theatre on April 19, 2017.They have played to capacity houses in 25 cities during 869 performances. Futurestops include Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Durham, Fort Lauderdale, Houston,Kansas City, Memphis, Orlando, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C.Michelle is living her dream as part of the Disney family and they're busy makinghistory. On Broadway, Aladdin has welcomed more than 10 million people and hasgrossed over $1 billion. Its global footprint has expanded to include productions inTokyo, Hamburg, London, and Australia.During Michelle’s time in the show, we've seen her win a car on The Price IsRight, pay off her student loans, sing The National Anthem at a PhiladelphiaPhillies game, be interviewed on her hometown news show FYI Philly, and sheeven got engaged!Thanks for the amazing journey you’ve shared with us every step of the way!What a magical carpet ride this has been!CHECK OUT MICHELLE WEST’S DANCER TO WATCH PROFILE >“When I first signed up for A4D, I looked at the auditions all the time. It helped me figure out the whole auditionprocess and I used all the info to get my video reel done. I met a lot of my audition friends through A4D. At auditions,I'd recognize them and go up to them. It was great. And now in this phase, because I book so much, A4D reallypromotes me as a performer ... who I am, what I'm doingwhich reaches out to other dancers.”

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HOW A LETTER CHANGED KARMA’S DESTINY“I dreamed about this moment since I was 6 years old when I made a decision to NEVER GIVE UP AT ANY COSTand that's just what I did!”As seen in the June 10, 2019 DanceBlast

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In the Fall of 2018, A4D’s Karma Stylz came across a flyer on Central Casting that caughthis eye. It was a dancer call for a brand new show on FX centered around the New YorkBallroom Vogue Scene.Knowing he was perfect for the project, Karma began 'playing detective' to find all the insideinformation. Who were the choreographers? Talent coordinators? Head of casting? Thiswasn’t as simple as it seemed, since the new show was POSE and Ryan Murphy was heading the project. But that didn’t stop Karma from chasing his dream booking.Karma picks up the story from here.'I emailed a professional, but personal letter from my heart. I shared my REAL LIFE contribu-tion and affiliation with the New York Vogue Ballroom scene. Since the show would be cen-tered around the original style of Vogue, I felt It wouldn’t be right for an outsider to representmy community on film. So I did everything in my power to get booked!I submitted my headshots, a few eye-catching photos, my updated Performance Reel, andincluded footage to reflect exactly what they were looking for! I wanted in and I promised myself I would do it!Weeks went by and then I received a text from a Pose Season 1 Choreographer, DaniellePolanco. She let me know I was booked for Season 1!'But that’s not the end of Karma’s dream story...When it was time to cast Pose Season 2, The Wonder Woman ... The Queen of Vogue wasnow the head choreographer. How amazing since Leiomy Maldonado is also Karma’s friend.And then something magical happened. Another life-changing message.Leiomy: ‘Hey Luv, Can you choreograph an Oldway Vogue Routine for the Pose Marketing TVCommercial?’ And of course, I said “YASSSS” because that's what I do every day!'The commercial shoot and what happened next.'The Marketing Promo turned out so well that they asked me to come back to appear onSeason 2 to play the role of 'Corey' ... You’ll find out more about Corey when Season 2 be-gins on FX on Tuesday, June 11!As a dancer, this opportunity means everything! Especially because I’ve been booking jobson my own since I arrived in NYC in 2015! I moved from Texas to New York, and in just 3years I’ve found myself on a Time Square Billboard, working with Major Brands, to now see-ing my choreography and artistry on TV screens across the world!'Karma's final thoughts.'I dreamed about this moment since I was 6 years old when I made a decision to NEVERGIVE UP AT ANY COST and that's just what I did! The major lesson I’ve learned is to besteadfast, unmovable, and faithful to yourself and your craft! If Dance is your story, if it’s really your language, if it’s the thing that brings LIFE to you... honor and cherish that first! The rest will follow.'WATCH KARMA’S POSE COMMERCIAL HERE >

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IN THE HEIGHTS FILM BOOKS A4D'S YOUNGEST DANCERWhen Delaney was just ten years old, she auditioned for Mariah Carey’s Christmas Showand booked it… and returned to the show two more years. Delaney has been seen in national commercials, performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade twice, earned her SAG-AFTRA card, and was signed by MSA in NYC… all before turning 12!As seen in the August 12, 2019 DanceBlast

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Meet A4D’s youngest member, Delaney Diaz. When she was just ten yearsold, she auditioned for Mariah Carey’s Christmas Show and booked it… and returned to the show two more years. Delaney has been seen in national commercials, performed in the Macy’s Thanks-giving Day Parade twice, earned her SAG-AFTRA card, and was signed by MSAin NYC … all before turning 12!Now we’re thrilled to announce her most impressive booking to date! Thirteen-year old Delaney will be seen in the Lin-Manuel Miranda produced In TheHeights film, set for release June 26, 2020.A4D asked Delaney how the adventure unfolded.'I got the call from my agent the night before the audition. It was so exciting to audition for a movie and what a bonus to dance in front of Christopher Scott! That was in January and I didn’t hear about the booking until May. My Mom found out first and called me when I was at the mall. I didn’t care I was in a store … I screamed so loud with excitement! I couldn’t have been more blessed that the rehearsal and shooting days this pastJune didn’t conflict with other important events like my dance recital, StarpowerNationals, or Dancer Palooza!Working in rehearsal and especially on set were the best days of my life… I feltlike it was a dream! The choreography team included Christopher Scott, DanaWilson, Ebony Williams, Emilio Dosal, Eddie Torres Junior, and Princess Serano. Of course rehearsing and shooting in front of Lin-Manuel Miranda made us sohappy. We’re all such fans and in awe of his brilliance. The choreography teamand director Jon M. Chu were super supportive and inspiring. I really hope towork with them all again!'It’s no secret why Delaney is so talented. Her great grandparents met in Vaude-ville. Her grandmother was a dancer, and her mother was an elite gymnast anddancer. Delaney has the best pieces from each generation mixed with an impec-cable work ethic. And now she's growing into the most fierce and driven dancer!We can’t wait to see what else you accomplish, Delaney. See you in the movies!

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IT’S YOUR FIRST PRO AUDITION ... NOW WHAT?As seen in the October 21, 2019 DanceBlastIt’s your first audition ...What should I wear? What shoes should I bring? What about my hairand makeup? What should I expect? We've got great news! The answers you're looking for are right here on A4D!

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At A4D, we get lots of questions about auditions. Just last week, weheard from Sarah. She's a brand new member about to audition for her very first professional job during a first-ever visit to New York City.Like Sarah, many of you probably have the same questions as you contemplate taking that first important step in your career.What should I wear? What shoes should I bring? What about my hairand makeup? What should I expect? We've got great news! The answersyou're looking for are right here on A4D!If this sounds like you, make sure to do your homework by studyingthese pages:How 2 Overcome Audition Fears - This article will give you 3 key take-aways that you can implement right now to become more confident—andmore resilient—using body language. Walk in the door and take these 3steps with you.Best Makeup 4 Auditions - In this article, professional makeup artistand long time A4D member Emily Dann gives you tips and tricks to keepyour makeup flawless for the most demanding auditions. Watch her step-by-step videos to learn how to apply sweat-proof makeup.What 2 Wear 2 Auditions - Not sure what to wear? Read valuable infor-mation in this article from Grover Dale, award-winning director andfounder of A4D… There’s lots of tips including what should be in yourdance bag for every audition.Be sure to search the site until you find the info you need to walk into anyaudition with confidence. And remember, your audition begins when youwalk into the room… Enter the room with poise and a positive attitude.And no matter what happens, you’ll gain valuable information you canapply to your next audition!FIND MORE TOOLS 4 AUDITIONS HERE >

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Join Answers4Dancers Now and Get 2020 Off to a Great Start!A4D Is About More Than ‘Jobs And Auditions.’ It’s a Vibrant Community Where We Become Faster, Better, And More Productive Versions Of Ourselves.Questions? Contact ladance@pacbell.net