Dance Mogul Magazine had the opportunity to catch up with Kat Cruz after her audition for Missy Elliot. Kat is a young talented dance instructor from Camden, New Jersey and on 10/6/2012 she decided to take a risk and go after her dreams.
Dance Mogul: What was your ambition for going to the Missy Elliot audition?
Kat Cruz: My ambition for going to the Missy Elliot Audition was to fulfill a longtime dream of mine to dance for Missy and to capture the experience first hand of what it would be like to audition for such a respected artist in not only to the music world but also the dance community.
Dance Mogul: Were there a lot of people when you got there?
Kat Cruz: When I got there, there were only 2 people. I arrived around 10 am, call time being at 11 am. Which to me, was beyond shocking.
Dance Mogul: What was the process like?
Kat Cruz: The audition around 11 am, most of the dancers that were there were put in a waiting room. A few minutes later, we were asked to fill in a sign-in sheet, paperwork, and hand in our resumes. Then, in groups of 20, we were taken to a separate room to learn the choreo. Around 12:30, we started getting called in groups of 6 to perform. We were told that we would get a call that night to confirm whether we made the call back for the next day, or not.
Dance Mogul: How was it learning the choreography?
Kat Cruz: Learning the choreography was pleasant and very fair. I use the word fair because it was not like other auditions were they teach it, review it, and move on. The choreographers were very patient with my group, which was the first group, and answered everyone’s questions. It seemed like they wanted us to be able to see them and understand the choreography to the best of our ability.
Dance Mogul: Did you have to perform for Missy?
Kat Cruz: We did perform the choreo for Missy, followed by all of the dancers free-styling to the track one by one.
Dance Mogul: Do you think you learned anything from the experience and if so what would you pass on to someone to help them?
Kat Cruz: I learned so much from this experience, personally. I had never been to an audition where people were helping each other so much, starting with the choreographers. This was the first audition I ever went to by myself, without people from my crew, so with that said I am so happy I took the risk of venturing to NY from NJ by myself and experiencing something that a lot of people might never. If I had not gone to the audition I would have always wondered, what if. So I encourage anyone who ever has an opportunity to do something that will get them closer to their dreams, to just do it. “Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” Author Unknown
