Transcript
Speaker: Another opportunity came for The Wiz and like i think they called me on a Wednesday. My agent called me and was like, hey, The Wiz wants to know if you can be in l LA on Monday to learn the show because you're going to join the cast. And I was like, well, yes, absolutely. it literally turned around just like that. It was just out of the blue. They called me and I was like, well, yes, I will be there.
Speaker: I'm Kaitlin, a former professional ballerina turned dance educator and career mentor. And this is the Brand New Ballerina podcast. I am here for the aspiring professional ballerina who wants to learn what it really takes to build a smart and sustainable career in the dance industry. I'm peeling back the curtain of professional dance world with open and honest conversations about the realities of becoming a professional dancer.
Speaker: Come along to gain the knowledge and inspiration you need to succeed in a dance career on your terms.
Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Brainy Ballerina Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Sloan, and I am joined today by Kaishan Robinson. Kaishan is a performer and dance captain with The Wiz. I am local to Madison, Wisconsin, and we are thrilled to have The Wiz touring to the Overture Center October 6th through eleventh I am honored to partner with the Overture Center to share this interview to help audiences learn more about The Wiz and Kaishan before they go.
Speaker: Before we get into all things The Wiz, Kaishan, why did you take your very first dance class? I decided to take my first dance class when I was like 14 actually. I ran into my former dance teacher doing a production of Hairspray Junior. Actually, that was my first like introduction to musical theater. And she saw me and thought I had something special and offered me the opportunity to come and train with her. So that was really my first introduction to how I got to take my first dance class. Now, If you ask my family, i have been wanting to dance since I was like two years old, but I just, the thought just never even just came up in my family. Like it just wasn't presented in that way. So I i didn't even know that was a thing. Like I thought that was just something that you saw on TV. Honestly, I would watch Dance Moms, So You Think You Can Dance, and was just addicted. But I would...
Speaker: Literally just could not help but move anytime I could. So that was really like the reason why I started or how I got to take dance classes. And it was really just like a blessing, honestly, that that opportunity was awarded to me.
Speaker: And when you started, what was your training like? So I went to a home studio in Greensboro, North Carolina. And We would do everything. Like we trained in everything, tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, acro. And it was like your typical after school dance program. I would go, we would be there from like four to nine o'clock every night, four to 10 sometimes. We would do about like an hour in every style every week and then do your typical recital at the end of the year. So that was pretty much my training from 14 to graduating high school. Yeah. From there, you went to the University of North Carolina School the Arts for college. Is that correct? Yes, yes. And how did you decide to go there?
Speaker: That was another blessing in disguise, too, because that honestly wasn't my first choice. As any young teenager coming out of college is like, oh I'm ready to leave the nest. Like, I want to go far. So I was really thinking of going to school up north in Philly, New York City. and it just did not happen for me, just financially. It was just a lot for my family. And so...
Speaker: The next best thing was, okay, University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Even though the school was like literally 30 minutes away, 45 minutes away from my house, I had no idea what they really had to offer. I didn't even know the magnitude and how prestigious it was until I got there, honestly. So I decided to go and major in classical ballet. That's kind of like the route that I took in high school. Like I was training in everything, but my passion was... ballet, it just came easier for me and the technique of it all like it just made sense for my body and I just love that style of movement and so I decided to major in it at North Carolina School Arts and yeah it was honestly the best best decision that I ever could have made. yeah
Speaker: How do you feel like that program prepared you for your professional career? Oh, wow. In so many different ways. like School of the Arts is it's one of those rare campuses where we have majors in everything, like not just classical ballet, contemporary dance, but there's acting, there's directing, there's sound design, there's scenic design, there's Wham, wig and makeup. There is props. There's like so many different like even subcategories that you can major in, which is something I didn't even know existed when I got there. And so just the exposure of working on a film set and it being ran by students too, like showing us the real world, the real industry that we are trying to study and be a part of. And so it prepared me for how to prepare 30-minute ballets, two-and-a-half-hour act ballets, the rehearsal process of just like
Speaker: waking up, doing your ah classes in the morning, and then you're in rehearsals from three, four o'clock to nine, 10 p.m. And you're just doing dance. Like you're just a lot learning choreography really fast and spitting that back out at a professional high level. Nutcracker season, doing 13 shows a season that we would do, which is just unheard of for any other art school. I don't really know any other universities that do that many shows and that many productions. And it's all led by students, like our stage managers, our students. So yeah, it's just really opened my eye to the industry and experience.
Speaker: And then out of college, what was your next step? So right out of college, a week actually after I graduated, i went on to Royal Caribbean as a dancer. I was in Hairspray. I was in the ensemble and I was understudy C.V.J. Stubbs. So literally it was like a quick turnaround. I found out I had booked the job probably like March, April. Graduation was coming in May. And so, yeah, it just timed out perfectly. I asked him, I was like, can I please like I missed like the first like couple weeks of rehearsal so I can walk the stage to get my diploma. And they were so gracious and let me have that opportunity and experience with my family. That was my first big professional job outside of college.
Speaker: So your senior year as a classical ballet major, were you auditioning for all kinds of things? Like were you looking at ballet companies too? Or were you really focused more on going this other route?
Speaker: I was on, if you ask me, like from sophomore year, I was on the strict classical ballet route. Like I wanted to go the company route, dance for a professional ballet company, climb my way up the ladder, core, soloist, principal. Like I wanted to go the full nine yards, choreographer, which I still want to do. Ballet master, like that was, I wanted to excel in the in the ballet world for sure. So senior year, that's all I was doing was ballet auditions. up until I just got a random submission. I saw like a random submission on Instagram, actually, for Royal Caribbean. And I sit in my application and my audition, and I found out maybe like four days later that they were going to offer me a contract. So then that was like, wait a second. I think my senior year, I auditioned for 10 or 11 companies, and I had a contract for about like eight of them. And then I got the Royal Caribbean contract too. At the very last second, it was like,
Speaker: oh, this is a game changer right now. What was appealing about that contract over the other ones that you had? It was the opportunity to travel, dance, do something that I had never done before. And the fact that they even saw that that was something that I could do. I like i had no experience. I had no experience in musical theater like professionally other than like from eighth grade. I so trained strictly in dance, so no singing lessons, no acting classes. I didn't even know how to audition. It was all about timing. I just looked at the grand scheme of things and it was like, well, this can honestly like be longevity for me. And I could see myself actually having fun, not being stressed, um just trying something new. Like that's really what enticed me. It was like, why not? The opportunity's here.
Speaker: Who knows when I'm going to get this opportunity to travel, dance, make money from it. And it was, yeah, it was just the right timing for me. If you're a dancer starting to think about college or a parent trying to navigate the often overwhelming world of dance admissions, I want to tell you about an event that I wish more dancers knew about.
Speaker: CNBC is a unique college recruitment weekend designed to connect dancers with college dance programs in a supportive, non-competitive environment focused on growth, learning, and possibility.
Speaker: Hosted by Detroit Metropolitan Dance, formerly Eisenhower Dance Detroit, at Central City Dance in Canton, Michigan, this two-day event takes place October 3rd and 4th and brings together dancers, parents, and college representatives from programs across the United States.
Speaker: Unlike a traditional audition setting, CMBC gives you multiple opportunities to engage with schools through college fair style booths, master classes taught by college faculty, panel discussions, and workshops.
Speaker: In addition to these classes and workshops, dancers can audition and receive valuable feedback while being considered for admissions, scholarships, and other opportunities. And the programming goes beyond auditions too.
Speaker: Dancers and parents can attend sessions covering topics like navigating the college application process, FAFSA and financial aid, careers in dance, nutrition, health and wellness, injury prevention, resilience, and preparing for life beyond high school.
Speaker: Whether you're just beginning your college search or preparing to audition this year, seeing and be seen offers a chance to learn, connect, and gain clarity on your next steps.
Speaker: To learn more and register, head to the link in the show notes and start planning for an inspiring weekend this October. Did they give you singing lessons or anything like that? Or did you just, were you a natural?
Speaker: No, to my surprise, everybody was a professional. So it was like, I just had to come up there and I was just very observant. I learned that from ballet too at UNTSA, just being very observant in classrooms and really listening to what your instructor is saying to apply this correction, even if it's not for you, it's for somebody else, but you can still take a nugget from that and figure out how that works for you. And so, yeah, I just think my,
Speaker: observation skills prepared me for that. From royal Caribbean. Well, how long were you on the cruise ships? I only did one contract. And so I was up there for about 10 months, nine and a half, 10 months. Yes. And then what was your next step from there?
Speaker: From there, I got off the cruise ship. And then about three weeks later, I had booked the national tour of On Your Feet. So I got off the cruise ship and was like, okay, going to move to New York for a little bit, do the audition thing. And then had did a submission right before getting off the cruise ship and found out that I booked that tour like three days after the ship contract ended, which was insane. And found out that I was going to be joining that tour three weeks later. What's the difference between being on a cruise ship performing and then being on a national tour as far as how the travel goes and and all the logistics and that kind of thing? Yes, I love this question. To me, they're very similar. The only difference I would say with cruise ships is that you are confined to that one space.
Speaker: So you're traveling and get to see the different wonders of the world, but you are really, it's still a controlled environment. You have to eat what they provide you. You have to sleep where they provide you. They're very similar in the way of that you're performing with a close group of people for a long, extended period of time. You're traveling and traveling.
Speaker: Working together, living together, all the things such as that. But touring, you just get that extra sense of life as well outside of performing too. So in the morning, if I want to wake up and go to a gym and not use the hotel gym, or even if I don't want to stay in a hotel, if I want to stay in an Airbnb, it's just more personable than being on a cruise ship, in my opinion. But still great opportunities to both, yes.
Speaker: How did you join the cast of The Wiz? I joined the cast of The Wiz. Like I said, timing is everything because I have probably been auditioning for The Wiz since it got announced. So it got announced in like 2022 and had just graduated and I was on the cruise ship when it got announced and I was like, oh yes, I'm definitely going to be sitting my audition in. Sit my audition in from the cruise ship. I got to the final rounds of it and then just wasn't able to even make the audition because of being on a cruise ship. So opportunity fell through getting off the ship
Speaker: There was more rounds of the Wiz, just kept calling in, going back in, getting seen, making it to the end, and just not hearing anything. And so it was like, okay, like, maybe this isn't. Poor me. And so long story short, we get to 2025 this past year when the first national tour went back out, did the audition, got all the way to the end, did not make it and was crushed. But timing was everything. And so without booking that job, I wouldn't have booked the other jobs that I got to do in between.
Speaker: that time. And that was just the eye-opening experience too, just knowing like everything happens for a reason and trusting the process. And so another opportunity came for The Wiz and i think they called me on a Wednesday. My agent called me and was like, hey, The Wiz wants to know if you can be in l LA on Monday to learn the show because you're going to join the cast. And I was like, well, yes, absolutely. it literally turned around just like that. It was just out of the blue. They called me and I was like, well, yes, I will be there. And I think that's a good lesson for dance dancers to remember that no isn't always no, it could just be a not right now. Right now, yes. Keep auditioning, yeah. So I'm sure that everyone listening to this knows the story of The Wiz, but just in case there's people who need to know a little bit more about the background or the history, can you share that with us?
Speaker: Yes. The Wiz is it's the familiar story of The Wizard of Oz that we all know and love. It's just told through the lens of African-American culture. It's a love letter to African-American culture. And we're playing homage to the Black experience. Our Yellow Brick Road, they're going based on drum majors derived from the HBCU culture. Our...
Speaker: Townspeople are munchkins like they just have that Louisiana New Orleans feel. It's the story of community. It's the story of love, hope and knowing where home is and and how we cultivate that energy for an audience and bringing you guys into our world and just the exposure and the experience of people who don't get the opportunity to see these types of shows.
Speaker: So what does a typical day on tour look like for you with The Wiz? What would you do starting when you wake up in the morning? For me, I'll probably wake up Go get some coffee for sure. I love to find the local coffee shops and while we're out here on the road and just see what they're offering.
Speaker: If there's a studio in in town, ballet studio in town, I will go take a class if they are offering that. If not, go to the gym. Just make sure that my body is prepared. Write down any notes that I have just make sure prepared for the show later in the day. In between that, if we have rehearsals, I'm going to rehearsal to tighten things up. Make sure somebody's ready to go into the show when they are expected to be. if a new cast member joins, making sure that they are confident with all of the material that's being thrown at them. So yeah, that's typically like the first half of the day. And then after that, lunch. And then we start preparing for the show. We get there. We do our sound, our sound check, our lift call. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Then we do the show. Can you explain more about that? Like what that means for you to do sound check and lift call? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that means that we get to the theater about an hour and a half earlier, right before the call, and then we will do our sound check. Especially in a new venue, you want to go in and just make sure that the levels are correct for everybody. Some theaters are bigger, they absorb sound differently than others, and just making sure that those are balanced so the audience is getting the best experience.
Speaker: possible. And then a lift call is where we perform all the lifts that we do in the show prior to it so that any ensemble member swings can address that.
Speaker: If there's injuries happening, figure out modifications for that. So yeah, just making sure that everybody's safe before we perform for the audience. How do you take care of your body? I know you mentioned that you like to go find a gym or take a ballet class. What else do you to take care of yourself when you're performing the same choreography over and over again?
Speaker: Honestly, for me, it starts mentally first. Physically, yes, you have to pull up for yourself. You have to make sure that you're eating right, staying healthy, just doing the proper recovery time for your body. For me, mentally, it's just making sure that I have moments of like stillness and moments to myself. If I want to go get a massage, if I want to just go watch a movie, just mentally making sure that you are at level and making sure that that is...
Speaker: clear first so that you can be your best self on the stage as well. And I think that translates into the movement, into the body as well, too. We also have a fabulous PT here that travels with us, too. And so just checking in with them if anything hurts, if anything aches, and figuring out the right steps to make sure that I am willing and able to achieve this at the highest level possible every night.
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Speaker: Head to the link in the show notes and use code BRAINYBALLERINA for 10% off your order of Orza Ballet Slippers today. Do you favorite number to perform? so Yes, says yes, My favorite number, I would say, is definitely He's the Wiz. So that's the very first time that you see the full ensemble on stage. Glenda sings the song. And it's just so fun that that's the first time that we are all connected with each other. The first time on stage, the audience is receiving the energy from us. That's the first time that we can assess how the audience is feeling about us. He's the Wiz is it it's your classical musical theater number, in my opinion. And I think that our choreographer, Jaqueline Knight, did a very fabulous job of Piecing that together with the transitions and the set pieces and the munchkin feel. Yes, it's just ah beautiful work. Love it.
Speaker: Do you have any crazy stories from tour? Things that have happened? i feel like people always want to hear like, not when things go wrong, but you know, the crazy stuff that we don't see as an audience because you're covering it up so well behind the scenes. I mean, there's so many different moments, like from being on stage and something going wrong and us having to like stop and redo it. Having the audience realize, wait, this is actual like, it's live theater. So anything's possible. And then us going back out, coming 10 times harder. A lot of the moments for me, it's like off the stage.
Speaker: We had a really big Thanksgiving party last year that was so fun and everybody brought food and we just got to just be together and experience the holiday together, even though we wanted to be home with our loved ones that we made it. something where we were at. Yeah, just a lot of moments like that off the stage is what I would say we have the most memories. Being in the airport every Monday, like just seeing everybody show up and and just being like, wow, we are really doing this. We're traveling to this next city, getting ready to perform for these awesome crowds. And yeah, those little moments like that, like just even walking each other's dogs, whoever brought them on the tour, we call them our little totos of the tour. Yeah, just like little moments like that. Yeah.
Speaker: As the dance captain for the performance, what exactly do you do and what does your role look like on The Wiz? Yeah, so as the dance captain, I am the one that's responsible for upholding the integrity of the show, making sure that once we leave our creatives, me and the stage manager are on the same page of making sure that every city that we go to, the show is still being received the same and everybody is still sticking to the story that we are here to tell.
Speaker: That looks like how I mentioned earlier, getting to the theater earlier and just making sure that actors are prepared and clear. Clarity brings confidence. I always tell them that. So like just making sure that they feel prepared so they can be their best self on stage. We're already thinking about a lot is that the last thing you want to go out there is be also thinking about, am I going to hit this right step? Am I going to be on the right number? Am I going to be in the right spot? Like all of those things, just making sure that that is the base level for them so they can go out there and do their best job, making sure that we stay safe as well, recover our bodies, take care of ourselves, not pushing through things when we should not be doing that and just being that voice for
Speaker: the ensemble too. Yes, I am there to make sure that they do hit the set, but I'm also there to encourage. like I want to make sure that they are leaving here being better artists, even once that maybe dancer is not their first language, and I want them to leave feeling like a confident dancer. So that's my job as the dance cop, it is to keep it strict and make sure that we are still doing the show, but also teaching and inspiring and making sure that we are all on one accord the entire time that we are out here.
Speaker: Do you find it challenging being both a colleague and a leader, kind of having a switch between roles, being in the show, and then sometimes having to be like, I'm giving you a correction now, but we're friends? Yeah, yeah. Honestly, not really. I've been teaching since I was probably like 16. You know, coming from the dance world, you start teaching pretty young, and you pull those tactics from back then, and you involve them from watching your teachers and mentors over the time and working with choreographers. So I think I had a lot of experience prior to this, also in leadership as well. So I don't think those moments are that difficult, but it's like I said, I'm not here to be the dictator, the headmaster, the principal, like I'm here to support them. Yes, I want you to do the right steps, but I'm also here to recognize that we are human and that I'm going to make a mistake, you're going to make a mistake, and let's just figure out how we can not do that again. And understand people are different learners as well. Everybody's not a visual learner. Some people need to be verbally told. Some people need to read it. Some people just need to take more time than others and respecting that and then meeting other people where they are. And I think that comes off in my presentation when I am in the room that I want them to be comfortable too. I don't want them to feel like if I make a mistake, oh my gosh, like, is he going to say something? It's like, no, like...
Speaker: Yes. Yes, I'm going to say something, but I also am just doing it to help you. And I want you to leave being a stronger artist than you came here. Yeah.
Speaker: Has being a dance captain changed the way you think about your own dancing and your own performance? Yes, definitely. Just making sure that we're setting the tone and the example. And if someone needs help, that you can be there as a reference. So, yeah, I definitely think it is challenging me and elevating my mindset when it comes to it. Like I said, University of North Carolina School Arts really prepared me unknowingly. Just the observation levels that they really required of us at such a high level has really prepped me for this moment, I would say. Well, we're really excited to have you in Madison. Is there anything specific in Wisconsin that you want to experience while you're here? don't know. I mean, I know of Madison Ballet, so I would love to hopefully take a class out there if that is being offered. I teach at Madison Ballet, so come out and see us. Oh, yes. I would love to. Yeah, let me know. Please, I would love to.
Speaker: Yeah, I don't know much about Madison per se. We went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the last tour. And I absolutely love Milwaukee. like Anytime anybody asks me, like what was your favorite city on tour?
Speaker: That is always a city that I bring up because I just had such a good time. The vibe was so good. The audience was amazing. we were at the... Marcus Center? Is that what it the Marcus Center. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were at the Marcus Center and it was, yeah, it was amazing. I got to take class at Milwaukee Ballet with the second company. That was so fun. Just getting to like be back in that, at that level and like being like, oh, wait, this is very familiar. Like I am obsessed.
Speaker: Yeah, that's what I'm really looking forward to. It's definitely taking class at Madison Ballet getting to see the different coffee shops and just the vibe of Madison. Yeah, yeah. Have you tried the cheese curds?
Speaker: I did have the cheese curds and they were really good. And I had them in Milwaukee. And i don't know what restaurant I was at, but they had a hot honey, like a hot honey cheese curd. Yeah. Top tier.
Speaker: Top tier. Yeah. There's a lot of great local spots downtown by the Overture Center and it's a college town. So lots to do, lots to check out. It's really a great area. Okay. Awesome. Awesome. Okay, last question I have for you.
Speaker: If you had to give aspiring dancers pursuing their professional career one piece of advice, what would you tell them? Take that leap of faith and trust yourself, like fully trust yourself, not halfway. leading with that too, knowing that every moment isn't for you, but what is for you will show up and it will be right on time and you'll learn so much from it. So just take that opportunity, take the leap of faith and trust that.
Speaker: it's all gonna work out, which was something that I had to do my senior year too. And it was like, well, I'm literally about to abandon everything that I have been doing for years. I don't know where this is gonna take me. I don't even know anything about this industry, about this side of things. But I'm so glad and so thankful that I did it because it's just opened to me artistically to so many other different things like theater, jazz, hip hop classes, like It expanded me so much. like I just never even thought like in a billion years that this would be me speaking in front of people, even here having this conversation with you. like That was just never me. It's definitely just trained me and awarded me the opportunity to
Speaker: just grow as a person and connect with others too. It's so many different people that come into the musical theater world. It's crazy because it's such an open form. Like, yes, you have to have training and whatnot to do this, but it's just such an open form of all walks of people that it was the best thing i ever could did. Yeah.
Speaker: Love. Amazing. This has been so fun talking to you today, and I am so glad we got to learn more about you and get a little preview of The Wiz before it comes to Madison. For anyone local to Madison, be sure to come on down to the Overture Center and see The Wiz October 6th through 11th.
Speaker: I am partnering with The Overture Center to give away two tickets to the performance, so head over to the Brainy Ballerina Instagram to enter that giveaway. and we can't wait to see you here soon, Kayshawn.
Speaker: Thank you so much.
Speaker: Thank you for tuning into the Brainy Ballerina podcast. If you found this episode insightful, entertaining, or maybe a bit of both, I would so appreciate you taking a moment to leave a rating and hit subscribe.
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Speaker: I'll be back with a new episode next week. In the meantime, be sure to follow along on Instagram at The Brainy Ballerina for your daily dose of dance career guidance.
