Life & Work with Tanner Frisbey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanner Frisbey.

Hi Tanner, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Hi! So my story is a little bit over the place, physically. I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. I am actually from Independence, Missouri. I was born in August of 1998 to two wonderful parents who took the absolute best care of me. I grew up in a family involved in each other’s lives. Whether that was sports, school, or day-to-day life, we were all involved in helping each member of our 5 personal families complete any goals we had set. From about 5 to 7 years old, I watched my sister dance in festivals, recitals, classes, and everything else under the sun. My mom used to tell our families that every time I attended a recital, I could never keep my butt in the seat. I was always up and dancing the whole recital. So when I turned 8 years old. My mother decided that I should give dance a try. She already worked at the studio my sister was currently attending, so she decided to enroll me in some tumbling/acro classes. I took to it very quickly. I started to pick up the skills, the choreography, and the basic ends and outs of being a dancer at a competition studio. However, I knew that only one class a week was not enough for me. So after my first year, I asked my mom to enroll me in what we called a combo class that taught tap and jazz. I fell in love with dance almost immediately.

I started taking tap, jazz, hiphop, acro, contemporary, modern, lyrical, technique classes, ballet classes, and everything I could get my hands on. I became a full-time dancer at my home studio by the age of 10 years old. That’s when I began to compete competitively. From solos to groups, we would compete on our competition team 3-5 times a year and end the year with nationals as a team. I attended the BDC summer intensive for two weeks to take a class from world-renowned dancers, choreographers, producers, and agencies. I got the chance to perform in New York, see Broadway shows, and take a boatload of classes to challenge me. During this time, I got to experience a trip with my mother and grandmother to New York City for the first time.

I remember distinctly looking at my mom one day in NYC while we were out and about, exploring the town, and telling her, “I’m going to live here one day!”. I remember that day so vividly. Once I got into my teenage years, I made a tough decision to switch studios. To another studio that aligns with my beliefs as a dancer and would push me in the areas I needed to excel to the potential of being a working/professional dancer and one day a choreographer. At 16 years old, I started to attend NYCDA’s nationals in New York City as an Outstanding Dancer. That is where I got connected with a dance studio in Indiana. While taking classes, doing auditions, rehearsals, and competing for my solo, I connected and became close to this studio.

Over the 10 days I was there, my mother decided to submit my solo video for consideration with the owner’s daughter of this new studio. The latter was also looking to attend this new ballet school in Indiana. All of this happened without any of my knowledge. To my surprise, on the last day of NYCDA’s nationals. My mom called to tell me that I had been submitted to Indiana Ballet Conservatory with my solo video from nationals. I got in with a full ride to attend IBC’s professional dance time program. I was over the moon and most definitely surprised that my mom had done this without me knowing. Once I returned home, I had one week off before I returned to NYC by myself, this time to attend NYCDA’s summer dance intensive held at PACE University. Once I completed the two intensives, taking from all of NYCDA’s faculty and guest teachers, and then completed a live performance. I headed home. I realized I would be moving across the country to live with the Revennaughs, the family that owned the studio I had been so close to when I attended NYCDA’s nationals that summer. So in just two short weeks, I had packed up my life, put all my belongings into the back of my Ford Escape, and made a move to Indiana. While living in Indiana, I attended Dancers Edge, located inside CSA and also known as Community School of The Arts. That is where I completed my last two years of high school online so that I could dance full-time. I attended Dancers Edge Tuesday through Thursday of the week from 4 pm until 9:30 pm. I then rehearsed Sunday for our group dances and other pieces we performed and competed. At the same time, I attended Indiana Ballet Conservatory as a pre-professional ballet dancer during the day, Monday through Saturday. We would make the hour-and-a-half drive there and back every day. Sometimes we would begin at the ballet studios from 9 am and stay until 3 or 4 pm. All while this happened, I got the opportunity to work with some amazing choreographers such as Sonya Tayeh, Andy Pellick, Suzi Taylor, Brooke Pierotti, Desmond Richardson, Taja Riley, Alyona Yakalava Randall, and many others.

I would attend NYCDA’s nationals two more times while living with this family in Indiana. In my junior year, I got the opportunity to audition for college scholarships, where I received a $100,000 offer to Pointe Park University in Pittsburgh. My senior year is when I began auditing for NYC-located schools that I could want to attend, such as Marymount, PACE, NYU, etc. I ended up getting into all three while still having the offer for Pointe Park on the table. That is when in March of my senior year, I got the call that I had gotten into PACE University for the dance program. Next week, I signed up to attend PACE University as a Commercial Dance Major. The summer before I went to college, I attended NYCDA’s nationals in NYC for the last time. I got the opportunity to audition for college scholarship money from the NYCDA college scholarship foundation, where I was awarded $10,000 to the college of my choice to help pay off my student loans. After all that, I went to NYC to attend PACE University as a dance major for four years. While at PACE, I worked with amazing choreographers and dance companies. I worked with Rhonda Miller, Lauren Gaul, Scott Jovovich, Michael Cusamono, Kelby Brown, Alexandria Demani, Jess Hendricks, Paul McGill, Desmond Richardson, Jon Bond (who did my senior solo when I was graduating), and many more. After my sophomore year of college, I got my first taste of regional theater work in Laguna Beach, California. I got the job through an audition process called StrawHats held in NYC. I performed Mamma Mia for two and a half months while living there over the summer. Then in the spring of my junior year, we attended our LA semester, where we lived in LA from January until May of 2020. I took choreography, dance on camera, extra classes, and ballet/jazz daily with different instructors. I worked with Mandy Moore, Jen Hamilton, Ray Leeper, and many others. Unfortunately, covid cut our stay out there short in March, and I returned home to complete the rest of the semester online. Same as my first semester of senior year, in the fall of 2020. But during this time, I got to reconnect with studios in the Kansas City area and continue my passion for creating and teaching dance. I went on to complete my degree in May of 2021. I graduated Cum Laude with my BFA degree in Commercial Dance with concentrations in Performance, Choreography, and Pedagogy. After college, I began choreographing for dance studios in New York City, Kansas City, and the midwest. At this time, I was also in the process of auditioning for numerous dance jobs. In August of 2021, I got a call from Royal Caribbean to become a dancer and aerialist for one of the newest ships in the fleet, Odyssey of The Seas. I was performing in a show called “The Book: Seven Chapters, One Adventure.” I was a featured dancer in the show, performing an extra duet entitled “Immersion” and performing as an aerialist in an apparatus called Squalls or puppets. I was on the ship from September 2021 until June of this year (2022). I traveled throughout the Caribbean for the first six months, and for the last three and a half, I traveled throughout Europe. It was an amazing experience because I got the opportunity to travel the world as a performer and see many places I’ve always dreamed of going to, all while being a dancer. Once I returned home to the states, I jumped right back into teaching and choreographing for the midwest area. I filled my time with guest classes, intensives, pop-up classes, and choreography. I choreographed solos, duos, trios, and group routines for a couple of different studios. I continue to do that while still auditioning as a working dancer. Back in Kansas City, I got the chance to submit for a talent agency in the area called Next Paige Talent Agency, which represents artists in the midwest region for dance, modeling, acting, and all things arts. I got signed with them at the beginning of July 2022. I moved back into my apartment, and I hit the ground running. Since then, I have continued teaching, choreographing, dancing, and working as much in the arts field as possible. Actually, in the last two weeks, I have made the jump back to New York. I am beginning to teach at a studio out here called Jump Dance Studio while auditioning as much as possible. With the help of Next Paige, I have been attending auditions out here while still making sure I, myself, am still making it to class to hone in on my craft. I will frequently travel back and forth from New York to Kansas City. I still have classes to teach and choreography to set in both locations. It’s also a huge plus that my family still lives in Kansas City, so I visit them as often when I am still at home for work.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been a smooth road for myself or my family. Dance is extremely expensive. So while growing up, my parents sometimes would have two jobs each to allow my siblings and me to partake in as many extra circulars as we wanted inside and outside school. I began a part-time job at 16 and worked that part-time until I left for my cruise ship contract with Royal Caribbean in the fall of last year. Throughout my childhood, my mother was sick numerous times. She was on and off with her battle against cancer. Thankfully she beat cancer twice and has been in remission for over 10 years. She is a strong, independent, fierce woman. Who taught my siblings and me that the sky is the limit and that we would do whatever it took for her children to achieve her dreams. My dad would mow yards on the side to help bring in extra cash to pay bills, dance tuition, and soccer gear. My dad eventually turned that part-time lawn mowing business into a full-scale family function and business! Frisbey Lawn and Landscape LLC! Check it out! Whatever it took, my parents would make sure that the three of us never had to worry about continuing to follow our dreams, to my them a reality. My parents taught me that following your dreams can be difficult, but no matter how difficult, they would always be there to ensure they watched as their children succeeded. My family is not perfect, no one is, but I wouldn’t trade my home team for anyone else. They have had my back, and I have theirs.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So now that I am officially out of college for over a year and have completed my long-term contract with Royal Caribbean, I am basically what you consider a freelance worker. This means I pop between gig to gig, or what we call “gigging.”

Right now, my audition realm is quite large. This means I am auditioning for commercial work, TV, film, print work, dance jobs, dance companies, and acting jobs. I have a few huge dreams I’d love to fulfill in my performative career. That being, working in a broadway show in any capacity is a character on a TV show or movie where I have lines, and I also would love to be able to perform in select shows or gigs that I’ve always dreamed of doing. As I get older, I’d also love to start branching into choreography for TV, film and live performances. Creating has always been such a huge passion of mine, and it only grew stronger when I did my LA semester in school and took choreography on camera. Most recently, I have been leaning more into my guest teaching and choreography side of myself. It is something I find extreme joy and pride in doing. I love to create and work with the upcoming next generation of dancers. I specialize in teaching and choreography in contemporary, lyrical, improv, and jazz. These are the styles I love to teach and create pieces in. While I still do dabble in other genres and areas of dance.

Regarding my performative career, I specialize or thrive in contemporary/jazz settings. For jobs that come with that movement style, I excel tremendously. However, I like to stay well-rounded and move into other genres/styles of dance. I am most proud of how hard-working I am and how goal-driven I am. Whether performing or teaching/creating, I am known for having a positive, can-do attitude to keep myself going and help those around me achieve our end goals. Whether in class, creating a piece, or on a set while we film or shoot a project. I like to set my sights on my dreams and work as hard as possible to achieve those goals. What sets me apart from others is that I’ve started honing in on my personal brand. I am finding what works for me as a dancer and artist. My brand says a lot about who I am as a person. In the art field, you will find that as much as you are trying to sell yourself as a dancer and choreographer/creative, you are also selling yourself as a brand. It takes a lot to find what makes you an asset to a team or production, but once you find that, you will be able to find your niche in the market and work from there.

What do you think about luck?
In dance and the arts, luck is everything. You could walk into a room for an audition and hear no to a job. But you might not know what they no are for. Maybe you weren’t the right height, or they don’t want that kind of hair color for this production. Or they could tell you no in this audition for this particular job because they have you in mind for another job you are much better suited for. The arts industry is all about chance and fate. It’s about creating and leaning on those connections to make working possible. Luck worked in my favor because years ago, I was given a chance by a couple of studios to allow an 18-year-old to come in and teach guest classes, which helped me launch my choreography career in the Kansas City area. You will hear no about 100 times in the arts and entertainment field before you get that one yes that can change your life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tannerfrisbey/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/3KdIPICdsQs (performance reel)

Image Credits
Dance pics from Odyssey are Krichardson Photos photo. From Senior Year at Ballet School is Jason Lavengood.