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

Alright, Kaitlyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

INTERVIEW

Around the age of 2 years old, I was diagnosed with very low muscle tone and a syndrome called hypotonia. My mom would take me to physical therapy to help strengthen my muscles, but she said I would just scream and cry so they suggested she put me in some sort of movement class to help improve my muscle tone. I started taking ballet classes and my mom said I ran up to her after my first class and I told her I wanted to be a ballerina.

As I became a teenager, I truly began to take ballet very seriously. My mom would drive me to classes right after school got out and I wouldn’t get home until 8pm or 9pm at night. Just in time to get homework done and go to bed and do it all again the next day. It definitely wasn’t your typical adolescent upbringing. At this point in my life, my family and I were living in Chapel Hill, NC and I knew there was a performing arts high school called North Carolina School of the Arts (now known as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts). The ballet high school program was audition-based so I knew I had to pass the audition to get in. My mom was immediately supportive but my dad’s response was “over my dead body.” I don’t think my dad was as on board with the whole idea because he didn’t want his daughter to leave home at 16 and was afraid I would lack parental guidance being so far from home. The fact of the matter was though, I was a straight-A student, never had gotten into trouble in my life, and promised to come home every weekend if I got accepted. He stood firm by his decision and I ended up going to public high school my freshman year. I think he saw how miserable I was and that summer he came to see me dance with Miami City Ballet where I had been training all summer. After the final performance, he came up to me and said “okay, you can audition.” It was at that moment I felt like I was about to embark on my journey to become a professional dancer and I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life. I had the support of my parents and I was taking my training to the next level.

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 began my professional dancing career when I moved to New York City 10 years ago. While in New York, I was auditioning for musical theater roles while working odd jobs to make ends meet. During my years as a dancer in New York, I think my proudest moment was when I made my Off-Broadway debut in a show called Crashlight. I also was asked to choreograph the show and it was the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life. I would spend nights choreographing after working my day job and setting choreography for the show while also rehearsing my own parts. The show was so rewarding and it was during that process that I finally felt pride in myself. As a dancer, one of the biggest difficulties is knowing your self-worth. It is definitely challenging to know your self-worth and believe in yourself when you are being told no all the time. As one of my teachers said, “dance is not for those faint of heart.”

After years of injuries, I decided it was time to move on from dance but I knew I wanted it to be a part of my life still. I began to look at arts administration. I feared I would never be able to break into that world though since I had little experience. As luck would have it, there was a job posting for a role with The Ailey School (the official school of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater). I applied on a whim hoping for at least an interview. After two rounds of interviews, I recevied a call that I had not gotten the job but rather they were hoping I would be interested in a different role. As they say, the rest is history. After working at an administrative assistant, I was able to work my up as the production manager of The Ailey School. In this role, I began to find my love and joy again with dance. As the production manager, I oversee all the operations when it comes to the student-based performances at The Ailey School. This includes managing the entire production process from start to finish with rehearsals, dress rehearsals and ultimately the final performances. It’s one of my biggest joys now to see these young dancers perform onstage and go on to have such amazing professional careers. Seeing how hard these young artists work on and off-stage is so encouraging and the amount of growth they achieve in their years at Ailey is astounding. I love to feel like I am a small part of it in some way. I especially feel akin to these students having gone through the whole process as a young dancer myself. It almost is full circle for me and I constantly am trying to tell them to believe in themselves, listen to their intuition, and take chances. I wish someone had given me that life advice as a young dancer. I feel like I may have been a bit more confident as a dancer. But perhaps that’s why I was put in this position now, to shed more light for the path of these young artists.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think one of my most resilient moments in my career occurred the day after I moved to New York City. I had already had so many trepidations about moving and was so scared about the entire move. My mom and older sister had made the journey with me from Texas to support me and get me settled. We were reorganizing my studio apartment (that I was sharing with another girl) and decided to move an old tube TV to a different table that must have weighed over 200 lbs. Moments later, the TV was falling and the next thing I know I was howling in pain as it had landed on my left foot and broken 4 out of my 5 toes. I immediately took it as a sign that almost all of my toes had been broken and I had just moved to NYC to pursue a career in dance. But in that moment, my mom (who has always been one of my greatest supporters) looked me in the eye and said “Kaitlyn, you were born to do this and you can do this. I believe in you.” It took everything inside me to persevere and continue through the pain of having to rehab. A few months later, I attended my first audition Broadway audition call and while yes a little painful, it was a moment I’ll never forget. I had worked so hard not only to be there but to overcome multiple obstacles. In hindight looking back, I can’t believe how resilient I was.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being a dancer is being able to share the gift with others. When I was actively performing, there was nothing more I loved than hearing or seeing the audience’s reactions. To me, the arts are one of the greatest gifts in life we get to experience. I think the true art of storytelling and the beauty of life can only truly be told through art. We learn through art, we share experiences through art, and we can also heal with art. To me, if I can be a part of the journey for anyone, on or offstage, that just means the world to me. I love helping people, and what better way to help them through one of the most magical things as dance? It’s always been one of my greatest loves, and it always will be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamballet/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaitlyn.moise/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlynmoisemiller/

Image Credits

picture #6 – Photo by Caity Colvard-Slutz