Getting a dance career off the ground isn’t easy. Especially not in the middle of a global pandemic. A4D loves to feature stories about our members who have one common thread… Their determination to succeed knows no bounds.
Michelle West, currently in Broadway’s Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, is one of the most determined dancers we’ve ever met. Did you know at the start of her career she commuted from Delaware to NYC for auditions? She woke up at 3 a.m. to catch the 4 a.m. bus for the long trip to NYC. She’d arrive by 7:30 a.m., audition until 6 p.m., buy a bus ticket home, get back at 11 p.m., and go to bed at midnight. Then back up at 3 a.m. to start all over again …
five days a week! She began booking jobs, but imagine what she would have missed if she decided it was just too hard to get on that bus every day?
Michelle’s determination is enviable. Shortly after the industry shutdown that ended her three-year run in the Aladdin National Tour, she developed a YouTube fitness channel to help inform, motivate, and inspire a healthy lifestyle. Check her out here.
Brandon Hudson, who booked a dream job on Broadway in Hamilton, didn’t begin to dance until he was 20 years old. With such a late start and living in the Midwest, the odds of launching a successful career were not in his favor. But he worked hard in the studio, took some chances, and booked his first job at a theme park as a dancing Bugs Bunny. He went to Florida to attend Disney’s college program for more experience. And as he dreamed of becoming a dancer, who could have imagined he would dance on Broadway one day in a giant hit show and work with amazing talent like Jennifer Hudson and Dolly Parton and appear on TV on Saturday Night Live, This is Us, and The Voice?
During the industry shutdown, Brandon expanded his skills as a multi-service creative for artists and musicians. He even appeared as the host for an Answers4Dancers IG Live session for us with celebrity choreographer Vincent Paterson. You can watch that session here.
Michelle and Brandon share one important trait … Their determination drives them. They reached for the stars and are living their dreams. It’s our hope that you’ll be inspired to follow in their footsteps and find where your dance adventure takes you!
