Kalie-Ann Has Disney “Shook!”

Since she was 10 years old, Kalie-Ann Nassoura ‘21 has had a passion for dance. Refining her talent as a competitive dancer in New Hampshire, Nassoura chose to continue growing her skills in Elon’s BFA program.

Over the summer, Nassoura came across an incredible opportunity. After taking a dance class with choreographer Alexis Beauregard, Nassoura was approached about auditioning for a Disney show called “Shook.” 

“The audition was invite-only, so it was fairly small in comparison to other auditions I have attended in LA,” Nassoura said. “Beyond that, it ran just like most auditions would; we learned a few different movement phrases and performed them in small groups.” Nassoura said there were many people from Disney Channel observing which was “nerve-wracking.”

After her audition, Nassoura received a call letting her know that she had been cast as a dancer in the hip-hop crew for “Shook.”

She started filming the very next day and “each day on the set was different, but they were generally about 10-hour days where we would film each scene a handful of times.” The show filmed throughout August, and although Nassoura was supposed to leave Los Angeles on August 5th, she remained in California until the end of the month and missed the first few days of her junior year.

“I learned so much from working on the set with so many talented people who pushed us to be our best each day,” Nassoura said. 

Nassoura said there were times when the dancers would learn a new dance only a few minutes before they had to shoot it, or they were told to improvise and fill space. In order to do so, Nassoura said “you have to be confident in your movement vocabulary and on the spot performance ability.”

Nassoura said through the Elon dance program, she has “been able to learn a lot about how to work in professional dance settings from previously working in faculty rehearsals and with guest artists.”

For anyone looking for similar opportunities, Nassoura said “never let someone telling you ‘no’ stop you. In this industry you are going to hear ‘no’ way more than you hear ‘yes’, but don’t let that stop you.” She said if she could do it as a competition dancer from New Hampshire, anyone willing to work hard can do it too.

Be sure to check out Disney’s “Shook” on their YouTube every Saturday at 12:45 P.M. EST!