Meet Kimberley Hudman

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

Kimberley, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I am an Aussie artist who moved to New York to be a performer in January 2019. I left my friends, family and career at the age of 29 in hopes of fulfilling a life long dream. I spent three years gaining the hardest visa you can attain, the O1- labelled as, Alien with Extraordinary Ability. I am now on my third O1 visa and every time it is a feat, it doesn’t matter how long I have lived or worked in the States. Knowing how hard this visa is, it gives you this hunger and drive that makes you push harder than maybe you normally would in any other situation. When I am auditioning against many other Americans for a Broadway show, I know I have sacrificed a lot to get here, to be in that audition room at that moment. I travelled across to the other side of the world, with no prospect or job in sight, in hopes of one day making it on Broadway. I have trained for over twenty years and worked professionally for 17, ready to show my skills to an audition panel and fight for my right to be there. Amongst hundreds of American dancers, I am one Aussie, fighting to be seen and show what I can do and represent my entire country.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a professional performer working in the music theatre industry. I sing, dance and act in musicals, as well as choreograph. I started my career in Macau, at the Sands Casino in 2008, from there I travelled the seas on cruise ships as a dancer, performed at Universal Studios in Singapore and gained my first music theatre production in Australia, on the Dirty Dancing National Tour as Vivian Pressman. When I moved to New York in 2019, I was lucky enough to gain my first Off- Broadway show as Swing (cover of all roles) in Oscar at the Crown, which we later toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since my first show in New York, I have also performed in well-known musicals such as: On Your Feet, The Wedding Singer, Cabaret and Escape to Margaritaville. My newest and main highlight of my career has been, being Katie Spelman’s (Broadway Choreographer of The Notebook), Associate Choreographer for The Music Man this year. Venturing over to the creative side has been extremely rewarding, getting to see behind the scenes, the artistic process and how a brilliant choreographer’s mind works. Katie is also an exceptional human being and a beautiful person to work for.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Honestly, this is big in Australia, but being versatile in all styles of this industry. Shows coming out on Broadway are such a mix bag of Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Voguing, Ballet etc. You have to do it all and be good at it! In Australia, we train in various styles, as our teachers really do push to be exceptional at multiple facets of the arts. You can’t just be the best at Jazz Technique, it isn’t enough. You need to show the creative team that you are a blank canvas that can have any style thrown at you, and you not only handle it with grace, but show the personality behind each technique. I am thankful for my Aus teachers in that sense, as I know our country does this better than anywhere else. My advice for artists starting out would be, take as many classes as you can, even styles you aren’t interested in or don’t think you would be good at- Ballroom, Funk, Precision Jazz etc.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

I grew up on the Gold Coast, Australia and my mum was a performer. She also owned a performing arts studio that is highly recognised for young performers. She always encouraged my aspirations but let me make my own decision about being in the performing arts industry. She never pushed or forced me to go to classes. She said, if you want to do this, you have to want it on your own. I remember one day I said I felt sick ( to get out of going to class). Her reply was as simple as, “Ok, quit. If you don’t want to commit and aren’t ready to, then quit.” That is all it took for me to turn around and say I am not quitting and I went to class. She taught me to fight for things on my own and if I really wanted something, I needed to put in the work to get it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Kim.c.hudman

Image Credits

Kamerashoots.nyc
Ugly AF Media