Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadya Borno.
Hi Nadya, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2016, I got what I would call my “jump-start” into the Orlando performing scene with the Walt Disney World company. I was plucked from an audition in Miami where I grew up and went to school for music at Florida International University and was quickly thrown into rehearsals for a show that would change the trajectory of my entire life.
WDW is where I was given the opportunity to work in a very exciting role being one of the first teams on the property to help debut the first Latina princess in the Disney Princess franchise. The show was called Elena’s Royal Welcome (named after Disney Jr.’s Princess Elena of Avalor) and it was comprised of some of the most talented musicians in the Central Florida area (which was hilarious because part of the show didn’t actually require them to play live at all, but you better believe that they could!).
Through those connections, I’ve had the privilege to find work and friendship beyond the WDW company and in the various entertainment opportunities that Central Florida has to offer. I honestly think you’ll not find more entertainment employment diversity than from professionals working in a “Theme Park Town!” My personal credentials include performing in theaters from Winter Garden to Winter Haven, all 4 parks that makeup WDW, Universal Studios, The Holy Land Experience (RIP), Sea World, and dozens of entertainment companies, each with their own interesting and exciting entertainment connections! Not to mention the litany of gig workers I’ve gotten to know along the way who’ve given me the chance to expand my interests beyond the theme parks.
Presently, I have downsized my collection of jobs to do just the things that give me the most fulfillment. I always tell people that my official job title is ‘Performer’ and I’ve had the extraordinary blessing of getting to do largely just that and nothing else since leaving Miami back in 2016. Since being a Disney Princess never really leaves you, I have continued working as a professional character performer and appearing at private events in the South and Central Florida area in a variety of Disney-inspired ballgowns for families who need the magic to come to them from time to time. My character company is called Song Spells Entertainment.
Additionally, I started up a close harmony girl group towards the end of 2019 after having dreamed about creating something like it for many years. The great thing about the amount of talent in Orlando is that everyone is always doing something, and it is so motivating and inspiring to see the people around you manifest their dreams. I finally got the boost I needed to make this dream of mine a reality and now it’s my second most profitable business within just the last few years (major confidence boost for someone who has a hard time believing in herself!)
We are called The Vocalitas (Vo-cah-LEE-tuhs) and my passion for music and fashion come together to form this extremely fun and stupidly talented group of girls that I met while working in Orlando for all these years! While I still work as an independent contractor and gig around town doing a bunch of things that bring me a lot of joy, working as a performer with Song Spells Entertainment and The Vocalitas is nothing short of all my boss babe dreams coming true.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This might be a hot take, but anyone you meet with truly incredible work ethic and talent did not get it by skating by on their skill alone. There were many years there where I was still clumsily navigating the professional performing world in Orlando and had a lot of NOT amazing interactions with people who felt I was undeserving, unprepared, or under-qualified. Whether or not any of that was true, I met just as many incredible individuals who helped me become the person and performer I am today.
Some of my biggest struggles came from seeing a casting culture in which POC roles often went to non-POC performers, rampant favoritism/nepotism in “professional” environments affected people who have worked for years to be noticed and appreciated, and overall a sense of entitlement and arrogance from people who might’ve been working at theme parks for way too long poisoning the people around them into resenting roles and opportunities they once dreamed about.
While I know that competitiveness in the entertainment sphere is not unique to just those in that industry, people’s darkest sides come out when they feel they stand to lose something just because another person exists. That’s super dramatic, but we are all theater kids after all.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Vocalitas?
While I provide a variety of different entertainment services, the one I am most proud of and excited about is my vintage girl trio, The Vocalitas! This group is the product of some crazy talented vocalists in the Orlando area, a very expansive wardrobe, and more wigs than I know what to do with.
Many of these aforementioned ladies I met while working in the theme parks and gigging professionally with other Orlando musicians. One of my main girls is even on an entertainment contract in Hong Kong at the moment! I feel so lucky to get to perform alongside such incredible women, wearing incredible dresses, and singing jazz in crunchy 3 part harmony!
While we may appear like your classic Andrews Sisters style girl trio, some of the girls in the trio and I are Spanish-speaking Latinas who can perform a full show in Spanish (and some Portuguese!). This was an early goal of mine so as to cater to the Hispanic and Brazilian population that make up a very large part of Central Florida. Even the name “The Vocalitas” will not sound unfamiliar to Spanish-speakers because I created it with them in mind (Our non-Spanish-speaking gringo friends however don’t always get it right away haha)
The name doesn’t mean anything specifically but can be interpreted as “cute little singers” which I can’t help but love. My Hispanic heritage has always been something that has set me apart from the crowd and my ability to perform proficiently in my second language was, honestly, a very significant part of my professional journey in Orlando.
I have never been more proud or in tune with my culture than when I first came to work here and I hope to honor that through The Vocalitas.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Do not be afraid to just… ask. Ask for things. Ask for anything. My friends will joke that I am unafraid to ask for things I want, almost to a fault (a sample of the soup du jour at a restaurant, a request to sing a song with the house band, a few minutes to speak to the entertainment manager at a venue, etc).
The fact that I have no reservations about “asking” has led me to where I am today – making my living solely off of performing or working in music in some way, and more people than I ever thought asking me how I ended up doing the kind of interesting jobs I do. I think 2020 and 2021 were a huge wake-up call for a lot of people who have been sleep-walking through their daily lives, working in jobs or industries that didn’t bring them any fulfillment, and renting out their time to people/companies that would replace them in a heartbeat.
I didn’t grow up with a lot of money or anything but I always had a supportive family who knew that coming to this country was their best bet at giving their children a chance to attain these kinds of dreams. There is something inside of me that is so keenly aware of the struggle and sacrifices my parents made to give me a life here in the US and I think that is what fuels my ambition and passion to work in music.
If anything, I wish I knew earlier in my life how absolutely possible it was to be a successful musician/performer because then I wouldn’t have let self-doubt and public perception hold me back for so many of those formative years.
Contact Info:
- Email: nadyaborno@gmail.com
- Website: https://thevocalitas.com/ and https://song-spells.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevocalitas/ and https://www.instagram.com/songspellsent/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevocalitas and https://www.facebook.com/songspells
Image Credits
Michael Cairnes, Joseph Shiloh, Phillip Adams, and Andy Painter
