Recast and Rise - Career transition stories for artists

Kirsten Kemp dedicated her life to ballet. She trained at the Houston Ballet Academy, earned a BFA in Ballet from the University of Utah, and fulfilled her dream of dancing professionally with the Oklahoma City Ballet. After a knee injury led to an early end of her performing career, Kirsten found a new path. Today, she's the founder of The Confident Dancer, where she helps dancers overcome perfor...

Michelle DiTerlizzi spent years performing on some of the biggest stages in Las Vegas. She danced for Bette Midler, Lionel Richie, starred in Peep Show, worked as an aerialist, and finished her performing career with Criss Angel. But after years of performing, her body was telling her it was time for something different. In this episode, Michelle shares how she began building her next career while...

Former Cirque du Soleil artist Dasha Sobelman spent years building the career she had dreamed about since childhood. From watching Cirque performances on VHS as a kid to performing in The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas, she achieved the goal she had worked toward for decades. But when the show closed, she found herself facing a question many performers eventually encounter: who am I when I'm no lon...

In this episode of Recast and Rise , I sit down with former Cirque du Soleil aerialist and performer Gelsey to talk about the part of career change no one really talks about the messy, uncertain transition in between. After building a successful career across Broadway tours, cruise ships, stunt work, and her dream role in Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles Love , Gelsey was forced to rethink everythin...

Ashley Lafferty spent 14 years performing at Cirque du Soleil, living what many dancers would call the dream. From The Beatles LOVE to Michael Jackson ONE , dance was her identity, her routine, and her entire world for most of her life. In this conversation, Ashley shares what it actually looks like to step away from a career that has defined you since childhood. She opens up about the emotional s...

From 17 years performing in Cirque du Soleil to becoming a registered nurse, and a Senior claims manager later, Chantale’s story is a real look at what it takes to change careers while you’re still in it. She didn’t have a clear plan from the start. She figured it out along the way, while performing full-time, raising two kids, and slowly working toward something completely different. This convers...

From a 15-year ballet career performing at the highest level to becoming a veterinarian and earning a PhD in infectious diseases, Ariel’s story is one of the most intentional and disciplined career transitions you’ll hear. In this episode, she shares how she didn’t wait until the end of her performing career to think about what’s next. She planned it years in advance. While still dancing, she was...

Vanessa, a former Cirque du Soleil artist, shares how she built a career beyond performing by staying curious and thinking about what’s next early on. From performing in multiple shows, to becoming a dance coach, to opening dance studios in Puerto Rico and Canada, she didn’t wait for her performing career to end to start exploring. Instead, she tested different paths, created opportunities from wi...

What happens when your dream career evolves twice? In this powerful and honest conversation, I sit down with my longtime friend and former Cirque colleague, Marjon, to talk about artistic identity, bold transitions, and what it really takes to reinvent yourself without losing who you are. We first met over 20 years ago on Delirium with Cirque du Soleil. Since then, Marjon has navigated an extraord...

Are you actually stuck… or are you believing one of these? In this solo episode of Recast and Rise , I break down 7 common myths that keep artists and performers from moving forward in their careers. 📍Things like: • “If I change careers, I’m starting from zero.” • “My résumé won’t make sense outside the arts.” • “I need to make one big leap.” • “I’ll lose my creativity.” • “I should wait until li...

In this episode of Recast and Rise , I sit down with Tanner Huseman, a former professional dancer who performed with the Limón Dance Company, the Metropolitan Opera, and even made his Broadway debut in Phantom of the Opera. When COVID hit and the industry paused, Tanner didn’t rush into a “perfect next move.” Instead, he tried many things, including medical coding, car sales, retail, UPS, and real...

In this episode of Recast and Rise, I sit down with Erika, a former showgirl who chose to step away from the stage and build a new career behind the scenes. We talk about what happens when performing is no longer the only plan, and those quiet questions start showing up: What’s next? Who am I without the stage? And what else am I good at? Erika shares how a love for calendars, schedules, and stayi...

While she was still in school, Emily McTernan Buchko went to a Cirque audition almost by accident, No pressure, no master plan, and got the job. That single “why not?” moment launched her into a performing career with Cirque du Soleil. And here’s the part that matters: Emily could have kept dancing. She was skilled, employed, and still very much in demand. But instead of pushing for “more,” she tr...

In this episode of Recast and Rise, I sit down with Caroline Lauzon, a veteran performer who has spent 22 years with Cirque du Soleil, while quietly building a full career in real estate alongside the stage. Caroline shares her honest journey of trying different paths, collecting skills, and following her curiosity without rushing herself out of performing. From journalism and event management to...

Former Cirque du Soleil acrobat Mathieu joins me for a fun, honest conversation about curiosity, creativity, and building something new without a perfect plan. In this episode, Mathieu shares how one Instagram video went viral overnight and unexpectedly sparked a 10-year journey that led to inventing a fitness apparatus, building a holistic coaching business, and writing a book. We get into: How h...

In this episode, meet Tina, a former Celine Dion dance captain and longtime Cirque du Soleil performer who has reinvented herself multiple times; from dancer, to real estate investor to NLP mindset coach to co-founder of an intimacy workshop business. Tina shares how she prepared for life after performing long before her final bow, how she shifted her mindset toward financial independence, and how...

In this episode, I sit down with Emily Honegger, a professional dancer turned Osteopathic Manual Practitioner, to talk about how she navigated one of the biggest transitions of her life, moving from the stage to a completely new professional path. Emily shares what led her to make the shift, how she managed motherhood and full-time study, and what it means to let go of a creative identity while bu...

In this conversation, Sasha Harrington shares her unique journey from being a solo aerialist with Cirque du Soleil, The Beatles LOVE, to pursuing a career in physical therapy. She discusses the challenges associated with her career transition, the importance of self-care, and how her background as a performer has equipped her with valuable skills for her new path. She found herself ready for a new...

What happens when live performance suddenly stops? For Zach Manzi, a classically trained clarinetist, 2020 became the unexpected spark for a bold career change. In this episode of Recast and Rise , Zach shares how experimenting with audience-centered concerts led him to discover service design, and how he used curiosity, networking, and transferable skills to make a successful career transition in...

In this episode of Recast & Rise, Maria Failla, host of the #1 houseplant podcast Growing Joy with Maria and author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) shares how she went from Broadway performer to building a thriving business she truly loves. What began as a passion project blossomed into a full-time career, teaching her brand-new skills, fresh c...

What happens when the curtain closes earlier than expected? For Sarah Davison, that moment opened the door to a career she never imagined. In this episode of Recast & Rise , Sarah shares her journey from a classically trained ballerina in France to performing on some of Las Vegas’s biggest stages—including Celine Dion’s A New Day , Le Rêve , and Cirque du Soleil ’s Viva Elvis . When the show c...

From the Met Opera stage to founding a thriving wellness company, Danielle Schulz shows that reinvention can be both bold and fulfilling. In this episode, she shares how she built The Triangle Sessions , transformed creativity into innovative corporate wellness programs, and faced the real fears that come with asking, “What’s next?” If you’re exploring your own transition beyond the stage, Daniell...

Welcome to Recast and Rise! Ready to explore a career after the stage? You are in the right place. Eve Castelo (former Cirque du Soleil artist now working in tech), brings you real stories of performers, creatives, and artists who’ve stepped out of the spotlight and into something new. We go behind the scenes of big pivots, career transitions, identity shifts, and the messy magic of reinvention. W...