We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Romine. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

In 2007, I created my first film, ing, danced by the lovely Audrey Mitts. It was a deeply personal project, and to my surprise and honor, it won the Gran Prix at the Asolo International Arts Film Festival in Italy. But the real impact of the film didn’t fully hit me until I heard the story of a man who attended one of its screenings.
At a film festival showing, the film’s Director of Photography was in the audience with a young man in his 30s. As the film played, she noted that his hands were trembling. By the end, he was visibly shaken. Without a word, he left the theater as soon as the credits began to roll.
Concerned, she followed him and found him outside, facing a brick wall, his shoulders heaving as he sobbed. Gently, she placed her hand on his back and asked if he was okay. His reply was raw and haunting: “How did she know? How did she know?”
He was speaking about me, the director. It turned out that the story of the film mirrored his own. Its themes had struck a chord so deeply buried that it unlocked a flood of emotions he had long suppressed. The pain he carried was so profound that it had isolated him—from the world, from others, even from himself. But in watching the film, something shifted.
He saw himself in the story, in the struggles of the protagonist. He saw someone navigate a journey through darkness and anguish and emerge on the other side. And for the first time, he felt seen. He realized he was not alone in his suffering.
The film gave him something unexpected: hope. He had walked into the screening on the edge of despair, contemplating ending his life. But he left with a newfound perspective. He began to understand that pain, when faced and embraced, could become a source of strength—a catalyst for transformation and freedom. The film didn’t just tell a story; it became a lifeline, a reminder that even in our darkest moments, we can find connection and purpose.
To this day, that young man’s reaction remains one of the most powerful affirmations of why I create. Art has the power to heal, to connect us, and to remind us that we are never truly alone.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have spent my life immersed in the magic of the dance and theatre world—a realm filled with intense love and passion, sweat, tears, and heartbreak. My love affair with ballet began when I was just eight years old, and I knew with that I wanted to be a dancer. I often say that dance is a calling; if it isn’t, it’s best to find something else that is. My career has been wonderful —first as a professional dancer and later as a choreographer and director.
I create shows. I work intensely with artists, encouraging them to draw from their inner worlds so their work resonates deeply with audiences. I develop the story, work with composers, work with artists to design costumes and sets. I am always striving to open hearts to the beauty of the world around us and, more importantly, to the beauty and promise within ourselves.
There is no formal school for becoming a choreographer. I didn’t attend film school or any program that teaches you how to create theatrical productions. Instead, I learned by doing. I danced because I had to, because my love for music and movement is how I feel alive. I began creating choreographing because the music inspired me. And shows came out of pieces I created. I love the power of movement. We all dance through life. Some of us do so more gracefully than others—I admit to walking into more than a few of glass doors.
When it comes to obstacles, my greatest challenge is invariably myself. I’m a master of distraction, procrastination, often inventing excuses to avoid the work that is in front of me. The most painful excuse is telling myself that it doesn’t matter—“Why bother?” I hear that nudge internally but I resist my creativity as though it were a gnarly troll. And the problem is, I rather like trolls, warts and all. The key is to overcome these moments—to stuff the troll in the closet and sit down to work anyway: to write the script, to listen to a piece of music thirty times then write the composer about what needs to be changed, to show up and do the work no matter what.
Years ago, I wrote a story to better understand the self-destructive characters within me. I gave them names: Justify, a seductive, bare-chested male in a corset and long skirt who wields a riding crop; and Self-Pity, a luscious female draped in melancholy. There are others, but naming these unscrupulous characters allowed me to work with these inner saboteurs rather than fight them.
My theatrical production Moon is my dream—the culmination of my skills as a dancer, choreographer, storyteller, and a woman who has walked through tragedies and triumphs. Creating Moon has asked everything of me, especially integrity and perseverance.
Perhaps the most important aspect of creating a work like Moon, is the ability to connect with the human journey, the common ground we all walk of dreams and hopes. What we wish our lives to be and how so very often they aren’t what we had hoped. But that in the end, every life is a promise, and our lives do matter in ways we will never know.
I see so much hopelessness in the world today. We must continue to dream and to create and to become no matter how hard it is. We must remember to dream. To imagine.

My impossible dream is Moon. Producing a theatrical production of this magnitude requires an extraordinary group of people. The stories that unfold during its creation are often as remarkable as the production itself. But the final outcome isn’t really up to me. While I’ve worked tirelessly to bring Moon to life, the process has taught me the art of letting go—trusting that my job is to do theist work I can. Sometimes, that means getting out of bed at 3 a.m. because I suddenly know what a character needs to say. Perhaps that’s the essence of life: to show up and give it everything we’ve got even when we just want to pull covers over our head and stay in bed.
In the meantime, Moon has already created magic. Collaborating with artists on music, visual concepts, artwork, and choreography has been exhilarating. So much love has gone into this project from so many souls. Even if it never reaches the stage, I’m filled with gratitude for what it has already achieved.
One moment stands out. Lilia Yurchuck, one of Moon’s composers, created a piece called “Canticle of the Stars” during the COVID-19 pandemic. We brought together four singers over the internet, worked on it for months, resulting in an astonishing work. When the war in Ukraine broke out, Lilia, who lived in Kyiv, was forced to flee with her young son, leaving her husband and family behind. After an horrific journey filled with more courage than I will ever know, she found refuge in Germany.
Months later, during a gathering to grieve the war’s devastation, “Canticle of the Stars” was chosen to be played alongside a video of war-torn images. Lilia sent me the video and the audience’s response. Watching it brought me to tears. It was a profound lesson: Moon had already touched lives in ways I could never have imagined.
No matter the outcome, Moon has already woven some magic.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have not walked the easiest path, as a young woman I struggled mightily with never being ‘good enough’ and my inner critics were brutal and vicious. I chased after ‘success’ thinking that if I worked hard enough and finally ‘made it’ I would be ‘ok’.
From the outside, my life looked wonderful, but my internal world was full of self doubt and self hatred really, although it is painful to admit that. In spite of myself, I still managed to accomplish a great deal. But my internal battles became so severe, I was eventually forced to seek help.
The path of recovery opened up an entirely new world and fortunately, I was open to it. Surrender is a good word.
I vividly remember the day I realized that I knew nothing about life, and that most of what I thought I knew was wrong. I started from scratch like a kindergartner and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
My greatest fear was that I would never be able to create anything again, but I was so very wrong! When I finally had the courage to walk back in the dance studio, I rediscovered my connection to life, to others, and to the vast, intricate beauty of the human experience.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The arts hold unparalleled power to transform, to heal, and to inspire. They connect us to the shared tapestry of our existence, reminding us of our resilience, our creativity, and our boundless potential. My deepest desire is to create and share work that speaks to this truth. To offer something meaningful, something that opens hearts and minds, and perhaps even changes lives. I want to do the best work I can—to honor the magic of the arts and to share its beauty with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nicoleromine.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beaur%C3%AAve-z

Image Credits

Rita Leroux
Alisa Uzunova
Anisa Sinteral-Scott
Dorota Szlezinger
Paco Guidice
Anton Oxenuk
Milton Das
Ed Flores
Giovanni Magana