Dancing on the High Seas

Dominique danced for the Philadelphia Wings Angels for three seasons and the Philadelphia Fight Vixens for one. Last year she graduated from the University of the Arts with a BFA in Ballet.

After graduations she landed a gig dancing on a cruise ship.  While she was back on land in LA rehearsing for a new ship and a different company, she took time to answer a few of our questions.

UC: How long have you been dancing?

Dom: Since I was 3. So 20 years which makes me sound reallllly old.

UC: I saw your audition video on Youtube. What can you tell me about it and the audition process?

Dom: I auditioned in New York City, and was hired by Mike Moloney Entertainment. We learned some choreography and performed it in front of judges and they recorded it. There were also auditions in Vancouver and Las Vegas. From all 3 audition cities 9 dancers were picked and 4 singers.

UC: How long are land rehearsals before you to sea? You rehearsed in Vegas last time, right?

Dom: Rehearsals are limited to 28 days, not all cast members are US citizens and legally they can only be here for that amount of time. We rehearsw six days a week from 9 am until about 4:30 or 5. Rehearsals were held in Vegas at Mike’s studio. We all lived on the same floor at a local hotel, and drove everywhere together in a 15-passenger van, including down the strip. On the ship we had a one-week period to install the shows and learn the stage fit costumes and such before we performed out first show.

UC: Where did you have you traveled so far? How long were you at sea?

Dom: I was at sea for a little over six months. My itinerary started off in Canada and traveled to Alaska and Seattle. Then we came down the coast of California to Mexico through the Panama Canal and to Central America. I ended as far north as Baltimore and we stopped at all of the major US Virgin Islands along the way, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua. Too many places to name!

UC: What kind of performances are you involved in?

Dom: Three  main stage shows. And the Winner Is (a show full of award winning songs) with the celebrity orchestra, A Touch of Broadway and Dance Around The World.
Theme nights which included a Sock Hop and Groove a 60’s night. We also had Everybody Dance, kind of a take on dancing with the stars. We all chose a passenger as a dance partner. We choreographed and rehearsed our routines throughout the cruise and at the end competed against other couples.

Dominique during “The Lion King” portion of the show, A Touch of Broadway

UC: How do you spend your time on the ship when not dancing or rehearsing?
Dom: The ship truly becomes your home. I had a lot of amazing friends on the ship not only in the cast who I spent my extra time with. We’d wake up in a new city everyday and really try to take advantage of that. Just explore, go on excursions. I have been on an underwater scooter and swimming with dolphins, raced an America’s Cup yatch. Anything and everything. Dancers have the most free time out of all of the crew members, so we like to give back to them. We performed crew shows at midnight so the people working hard not only serving our guests but us as well could relax and enjoy our shows. A few of us became pretty popular in the crew party planning and decorating area. Of course we shopped, worked on our tans and went to the gym.

UC: Is dancing at sea any different than on land? I mean does the ship sway or rock, or is it not noticeable?
Dom: The ship moves a lot depending on where you are in the world. We had very rough seas; you just learn to deal with it. We never cancel a show. Sometimes we wear flat shoes instead of heels, take out over head lifts and jumps if really necessary. Sometimes the sea works with you though, if you catch a wave at the right time, it makes things easier.

UC: Is dancing on a cruise ship everything you thought it would be? How much do you enjoy it?

It really was, I loved my cast. They will be my friends for the rest of my life. So will the girls from the Angels! Living where you work can be challenging. You want to separate business from pleasure, but your coworkers are your family. I loved every minute including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, which i thought would be hard sinceI was away from my family.