We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kayley Thompson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kayley below.
Kayley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
I’m glad that my parents homeschooled me, and I definitely feel that was something they did right. They were able to spend more time with me, and I feel like I learned so much about life, history, and knowledge of and appreciation for the past. I also got to watch so many movies throughout my childhood and teenage years, that I wouldn’t have been able to, had I gone to a public school. I and my parents shared a love of film, particularly classic films. These films inspired me to want to act, dance, be creative, and learn more about history.
My parents also believed in me and encouraged me to do my best as a dancer and as a student in dance class. They aren’t rich, but they worked hard to provide me with the dance classes that I needed to improve as a dancer and go into the competitive field. I was always a shy kid, and they used dance as a way to get me out of my shell, and be bold. It took a few years, but I can definitely say that it helped me.
When I decided to direct my own dance company they were very supportive, and have helped me during every show of mine, with concessions, ticketing, and loading props in and out. It’s a team effort and I’m very grateful to them for all that they do.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I started dancing when I was 5. I was trained in tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, ballet, acro, and hip hop classes until the age of 18 at Royal Dance Works. I wasn’t the best dancer there, because everyone was so talented. However I loved dance very much, and I had the drive to pursue a career in dance and choreography in any way possible.
I was a member of Glendale Community College’s Verve Dance Company from 2009-2013, and of Grand Canyon University’s Ethington Dance Ensemble in 2011, and 2013-2015. Under the GCC dance program, I won several top awards for my choreography at the Maricopa Community College’s Artist of Promise competition. My work has also been showcased at the Center Dance Ensemble’s American Voices concert several times, and at Scorpius Dance Theatre’s Kick-A show in 2013. I graduated with an AA in Fine Arts-Dance in 2013, and a BFA in Dance Education in 2015. I founded my dance company ClassicalFusionDance locally in Phoenix, in 2016. I have also been teaching dance since 2008, in multiple styles for all ages of students and abilities. I have strengths and weaknesses in which styles that I teach as everyone does, but I can definitely teach tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, lyrical/contemporary, line dancing, and musical theater at all levels. My strengths grow over time as I teach for sure.
In addition to being a director and teacher, I also consider myself a part-time actress. I’ve done short films and have been cast in local musicals, and have taken acting and film classes, and I always try to incorporate some degree of acting, or films into my choreography work or company’s dance concerts.
My creative hobbies also include being a DJ for online radio stations such as Qsky Radio, Sonic Radio Rocks, and Lucky 7 HD/Mix 96.9 FM (which is both a local station in Mississippi and online as well). I also do interviews for another Youtube channel of mine and have a film review show called The Total Film-Critic. I love editing videos and photos in Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop, and am currently working on editing a music video for an indie music artist, which is a lot of fun. It also comes in handy for my work in promoting my dance company’s work on social media.
What sets me apart from others? I’m pretty versatile and am enthusiastic and determined to pursue all my interests, and give my best work possible to everything I do. I want to give the best to my students, and encourage them to be their best as well. That often includes slowly pulling them out of their comfort zone, and showing them their potential. I help and demonstrate movement for students no matter how much of a beginner they are, and I find that they usually quickly excel.
I’m most proud of my dance company and what we’ve accomplished in the last 6 years. ClassicalFusionDance’s motto is fusing the best of the past and present together through dance. My love of classic films, acting, and classic dance styles, all inspired my desire to start this dance company. We usually have around 6-9 company members, including myself. Our next show “Deux” will take place in September of this year., and I will be inviting other local dance professionals and companies to perform in our show as well. I’m proud of all my dancers and am always excited to see what they bring to the table as far as their performance, skills, and movement are concerned. Then when I see their choreography in our concert, I’m always excited for them and proud of them as well. I’m most proud of my career and multi-tasking all my interests so that I can feel complete and stimulated. Sure it gets stressful at times, keeping deadlines, but in the end it’s all worth it.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Jerry Lewis has been a tremendous influence and role model in how he handled business and how talented and driven he was. He was an actor, comedian, dancer, director/filmmaker, singer, editor, author, teacher, producer, script writer, and inventor. He did it all when the occasion called for it, and he was eager to learn everything he needed to do to make his vision come to life. People told him that he couldn’t be everything and do it all, and even criticized him for doing so. But I admire him for not listening to those critics. Sometimes the project would come out very successful, and other times he experienced failure, but he never stopped working and trying to achieve perfection. I feel very much the same, and have sometimes had to do a lot of different roles myself in putting on dance concerts. Sometimes it saves money, but sometimes when something unexpected comes up, then I have to step in to save the project. There are so many times, where I could have given up, but Jerry Lewis gave it his all on projects despite the odds being against him sometimes. So I definitely learned from him, and in regards to interviews and books that have inspired me, many of his interviews on YouTube and other sites I watched and was encouraged by. His books Jerry Lewis: In Person, and The Total Filmmaker also have inspired me. I would say Jerry’s comedic movement and dancing, also influenced some of my choreography in some pieces that I’ve done in the past. He changed my outlook on life for sure.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think that society can treat artists as having valid and equal careers to any other hardworking job. It’s very toxic to tell an artist that their job isn’t a “real job”, that their degrees aren’t worth anything, or that they aren’t smart or well-educated by becoming a choreographer, actor, artist, photographer, etc. I know quite a few people that have told me or other artists, something like this. There is a certain sector of the population that also views artists as supporting certain politics or viewpoints, and that’s just ridiculous. Everyone is different. I think they’re afraid of artists and what they have to say. I think at times there is a certain resentment towards artists for following their dreams and loving what they do. It’s peculiar because you don’t hear the phrase “get a real job” said to other professionals living their dreams. It doesn’t upset me when I hear people saying stuff about artists, it just makes me feel sorry for them that they want to make other people feel as miserable as they are. We need to be more supportive of artists and of people that want the career of their dreams, no matter what that is. Even if people are simply doing a job for a paycheck whether that is a creative job or not, society also needs to be more encouraging and supportive. I think that verbally supporting artists comes first and foremost, then supporting creatives/artists by coming to their shows or donating funds or supplies to artists. That’s always helpful because everything can get expensive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://classicalfusiondance.tumblr.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/classicalfusiondancecompany/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalFusionDance
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqi_HsKZRzE3cvt1Dsw2CIg
Image Credits
Kayley Thompson and Nathan Pallace