NATALIE WAITS 13 Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts
Due to her love for musical theater Natalie Waits has performed/competed dance solos to mostly Broadway hits. It was her privilege to play the role of a student in Disney’s High School Musical in 2008 at Dallas Summer Musicals as well as participate in the Hoofin Crew in 2009.
Natalie had the pleasure of interviewing several “four legged” stars of 101 Dalmations last fall when they brought the Doggie Palace to the Music Hall. On press day for Mary Poppins she learned “Step in Time” from several members of the chorus from the show.
Natalie plans to continue her training in dance, voice and acting with hopes to one day perform professionally in a Broadway show. She pursues every opportunity to gain experience with Musical Theater.
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This year’s theme at DSM Academy of Performing Arts was:
I WANT THE LIGHTS, THE STAGE, THE STARS!
This theme fits me perfectly. Most little girls dream of being a “star” and performing on stage.This summer my dream came due to the generosity of Dance Council of North Texas and Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts.
I began the intensive knowing I was a stronger dancer than singer or actor. My goals for the camp were to improve my acting skills and become better at dancing and singing at the same time. Also, I wanted to become more comfortable on stage.
Our days were jam packed with classes, rehearsals, and guest instructors. I particularly enjoyed the classes on stage combat and make-up. People were surprised to see so many “wounded and scarred” kids being picked up from the theater that day! At the beginning of camp, placement auditions were used to divide campers into three small groups so more attention could be given to each student to develop their talent.
In Musical Theater classes my group worked with scenes and songs from Dreamgirls, Xanadu, Phantom of the Opera and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber-(CATS). When I was told I was going to perform CATS, I was overjoyed! Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to perform CATS. My group performed a melody of two songs: “Jellicle Songs for JellicleCats” and “Macavity the Mystery Cat”. Our dance was very strenuous and singing at the same time was a challenge for me. Our teacher made us do jumping jacks and run while singing our songs. The exercise helped and we did a great job in our showcase performance.
We were assigned several scenes and a monologue in acting class. Each day we worked to improve diction, voice projection and memorization of material. A college theater instructor was invited to our Scene Slam where everyone performed their scenes and received critiques. I was surprised I could get up on stage, act, and project my voice without having stage fright. I feel more comfortable now acting on stage.
It was an honor to attend the summer intensive and perform “Curtain Up 2010” on the historic Majestic Theater stage. Besides gaining experience in Musical Theater, I developed new friendships and had a great time. I feel I gained years of experience in just three short weeks.
I would like to thank Dance Council of North Texas and Dallas Summer Musicals of Performing Arts for providing me the opportunity to strengthen my skills and lead me closer to my dream of becoming a triple threat.