Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Karklina.
Hi Laura, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was 10 years old when my dance journey began. I was vaganova trained in St Petersburg, FL under teachers such as Ludmila Kovaleva, Svetlana Ossieva, Sean Musselman, Gail Horton, and Isabel and Javier Dubracq. I performed as a lead in multiple full length ballets including Nutcracker (Clara, Sugar Plum), Cinderella, Coppelia (Swan Hilda) and many more. I also performed the roll of Doll in Nutcracker on Broadway in NYC. I also did a summer intensive at Miami City Ballet.
As I was reaching adulthood, I knew dance was what I was going to do as a career. With guidance of Cheryl Lee, I was encouraged to audition for Disney and other multiple Theme Parks. After my first audition, I landed a role at Busch Gardens Tampa, and then performed at Magic Kingdom Christmas Castle Show.
From there, I performed on Disney Cruise Line as a lead dancer and dance captain along side Jenifer Hudson. There I met my husband and our journey really took off when moving to Los Angeles, California. My husband worked at Princess Cruises and Crystal Cruises while I pursued my dreams to make it as a dancer in Los Angeles.
I was fortunate to be represented by top agents and work with amazing choreographers in the industry including Twyla Tharp (National tour of Movin’ Out), Marguerite Derricks (Dancing with the Stars, Wonderland the musical pre-Broadway, Shiseido commercial , and many more). Throughout my career, I have worked in theme parks, cruise lines, commercial work, broadway, and everything in between. I have always prided myself on being a positive influence and leader which has also led me to be recognized as employee of the month at Universal Studios Hollywood.
After starting a family with my husband, we moved to Orlando in hopes of bringing all I learned from the big cities to my home state.
Here, I have worked as a dancer and choreographer in commercials, production companies, and was credited as an assistant choreographer for the tv show Deal or No Deal. This gave me an insight to how I can contribute to local arts and artists in our community. My husband and I started our own company, Seven Seas Preparatory (a maritime school), which created a platform for me to create my own piece of dance outlet. Creating The Seven Seas Stars and Mentorship classes has been an incredible journey of dance and share what we learn to younger generation of dancers.
The Mentorship courses offer a guide to a career in the dance industry, including headshot/resume revies, guided plan for auditions, audition preparation, dance classes, and all around mentorship.
While the Stars is a company of professional dancers where we offer dance and choreography to elevate any event…because we all know dance makes everything better :).
In conclusion, I am so excited to share my passion for dance and am excited to help to anyone looking to break into the industry.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to being a dancer is very difficult. From early ballet days, your body is criticized and judged, so you have to develop pretty thick skin. Most auditions in the industry you will hear no. If you don’t have the drive and endurance, it’s easy to quit.
Then there is the income, most dancers have to have a side gig. I babysat/nannied, taught ballet classes to earn a living between contracts and gigs. It took me about 5 years to get established as a working dancer in Los Angeles for the high paying big jobs. Before I had to hustle, network and sometimes perform in shows for free. And of course you have to maintain your craft so classes are a necessity and not free.
After having my first child, i realized how difficult it can be to juggle motherhood and my passion for dance. I was very well supported in Los Angeles, but it was more difficult here in Orlando.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am now an educator and choreographer.
Taking from my own experiences, I have put together Mentorship programs to help young dancers follow their dreams.
I am also so proud of my company of dancers and choreography, Seven Seas Stars. This is where I get to create dance for any event that would want that enhancement. I pride myself in understanding clients needs and treating my dancers well and making sure they earn what they are worth. All of the dancers are the highest quality of dancers and humans in town.
I will always maintain a positive and safe atmosphere where we can really focus on bringing the highest quality of dance and choreography to any event.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Everything in the dance industry is a risk. In Los Angeles, I refused to participate in reality/competition tv shows. However, I took a risk on one audition and landed me in front of a choreographer I had been wanting to dance for for years.
There were auditions I would go to that I felt I was in over my head. I treated every audition like a free dance class and sometimes I booked work I never knew I could be hired for.
Creating Seven Seas Stars was a huge risk. I wasn’t sure if people would see my vision, or like my choreography. There is so much entertainment already in town, but what I have learned, there is always room for more. You can’t grow by not taking risks. Even if it feels like sometimes you fail, it never is failure. Just a lesson to learn or a redirection to where the journey is supposed to go.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sevenseasprep.com/entertainment
- Instagram: @seven_seas_stars and @karklinadance
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurakarklina/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5xGzETkEZc&t=9s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaA4LDptY7Q and one more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHHOfNiMO5Y
Image Credits
Angelika Krug Photography
