We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kaitlyn Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kaitlyn, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I think I get the majority of my work ethic from my years of studying classical ballet. I started creative movement classes as a small child due to low muscle tone as a child and after taking my first ballet class, I never wanted to stop. I continued my training with Houston Ballet Academy as a child then went on to study at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for high school and then on to dance with Ballet Austin’s Trainee program before moving to New York to do the Broadway audition circuit. Training in classical ballet is obviously very physically demanding but it’s just as physically demanding as it is mentally and emotionally in my opinion. You are constantly striving for perfection which makes you want to work harder and harder each class, each rehearsal, each time you step out onstage. And there’s always something you can improve on in your technique so you’re always looking to improve. You are also given a lot of feedback as a dancer (sometimes not always positive) which again just makes you strive to work harder and try and achieve that next level!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I was born in Houston, Texas and from an early age fell in love with dance, specifically ballet. I knew I wanted to try and become a professional ballet dancer and I spent my whole adolescence striving for that one goal. I spent summers studying with ballet companies around the world. My sophomore year of high school, I was accepted into the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for their high school ballet program in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Throughout my three years at UNCSA I had the most amazing opportunities to study with some of the finest artists in the world and perform repertoire from countless ballets. It wasn’t always the easiest journey having to balance living away from my parents in a dorm, academic classes, dance classes and then rehearsals at night but I truly believed it helped shape the artist I could become.
After graduation, I went back to my home state of Texas where I was accepted as a trainee with Ballet Austin in Austin, Texas. I spent a year with Ballet Austin honing my craft and blossoming into a young professional dancer. After a year with Ballet Austin, I decided to shift gears and get my degree in Communications at St. Edward’s University. It was at St. Ed’s that I realized my love of acting and musical theater. I hung up my pointe shoes for the time being and switched gears to a whole new world and my eyes were opened to a new love of dance. It was also while in Austin, that I found my love choreographing and choreographed for several productions throughout Austin.
In 2017 I finally decided to take the big leap and move to my dream city, New York. I was met with a few setbacks along the way (including dropping a 300lb TV on my foot the third day I moved there and broke 4 toes). I began attending Broadway auditions while trying to work a day job of temping, nannying and being a restaurant hostess at night. Not an easy life! It was in 2018 that I had the amazing opportunity to dance and choreograph in a new Off-Broadway musical called Crashlight. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and one of the most eye-opening. I eventually came on as producer and juggling all those hats became a lot and probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life.
I have now since hung up my dancing shoes, but now have transitioned to a life of arts administration where I serve as the Production Manager at the The Ailey School with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation for the past five years. This has been one of my greatest joys seeing young dancers flourish from their training to their professional careers especially onstage. As production manager, I am responsible for all performances that occur with The Ailey School and have had the privilege to work some of the most amazing choreographers and crew in New York. It’s with Ailey that I have once again learned a whole new art form, modern dance. While I may not be onstage as much these days, I love being behind the scenes and making sure everything is flowing naturally and diligently. I feel like I get the best of both worlds in my current position because I get to experience the art form I fell in love with from a young age and see these young budding artists as they take their next steps in the world of dance.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the three qualities that were most impactful in my journey have been: #1 – My passion – If you aren’t passionate about something you are working towards then why are you doing it in the first place? There are definitely days/moments that the passion isn’t there but at the end of the day, I’ve always felt it’s what drives my forward, passion.
#2-Persistence! If you don’t have persistence then you’ll always be stuck. You have to always constantly being moving forward and thinking ahead! That requires persistence. One of my favorite ballet teachers growing up always told me, you may not want to get up and go to ballet class but you have to push yourself and persist if you want to achieve more and grow! So, whether I liked it or not, I would be in 8:30am ballet class at the barre despite what I was feeling that day.
#3- Courage – I don’t often associate myself with this word, but when I look back on the career I have had, I definitely think I had a lot of courage in doing what I did. I think often times, people associate courage with thinking “you’re the best” at something but I don’t think that’s true. Courage requires showing up and doing your best. Courage requires you to tell yourself, okay, I may be struggling right now, but things will get better. You have to have courage in your career to always to progress and feel proud of yourself.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I think one of the most impactful things my parents did for me was to believe in me and allow me to take such huge risks as a young adult. Never in a million years did I think my dad would let me go to a boarding arts high school and live away from home starting at the age of 16. I remember when I asked him if I could audition his exact words were “over my dead body”. I think he thought an arts school (living away from home) would somehow corrupt me and I’d fall in with the “wrong crowd”. Later that summer he came to watch me perform with Miami City Ballet and after my performance, he said “okay you can audition.” I remember my mouth dropping to the floor. I think he finally saw how dedicated I was to my craft and from then on he’s been nothing but supportive. My mother has been nothing but supportive since day 1. She drove me to every rehearsal, physical therapy appointment, audition, you name it. She truly has never stopped believing in me and I strive to be a mother like her to my own children.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamballet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaitlyn.moise/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlynmoisemiller/
Image Credits
Bottom Right family picture: Al Gawlik Photography Headshot: Anastasia Strate Photography
