Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Cristina Brandan.
Hi Mia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In a world of much uncertainty and grief- dance has always been a constant in my life. For as long as I can remember movement has always been my form of self expression, escape, and way of coping through hard times. I’ve been dancing since I was 5 years old, which started with me pacing in front of my mom’s TV learning some choreography from movies or tv shows. I would just stand there for hours, replaying scenes over and over again until, it annoyed my whole family. Then it slowly progressed into me learning skills from YouTube tutorials or episodes from the show Dance Moms. From here, my recreational dance training started at nine years old with an initial interest in hip hop. I was a tomboy for the longest time, so my biggest aspiration was to become a killer B-girl. Eventually, I started training in all styles pre professionally by the age of 12 and began competing nationally both under dance studios and independently. As an introverted kid I finally found the place where I could express myself the most and that was in the studio and on stage. I took a complete 180 by the time I got into high school, with my last two years of my academic career mostly consisting of strict ballet training.
With my parents divorce in 2018, followed by my mom nearly passing away from covid in the year that followed- I took a brief hiatus from the craft as financial struggles struck. It was during this time I decided to sadly put my professional dreams to a rest, especially since I hadn’t gone the traditional dance college program route after graduating high school. Unbeknownst to me, as I slowly paced myself back into dance training up again at 21, I started getting hired for freelance performance gigs. I rekindled my love for it again, probably more than ever before this time. Since then I’ve traveled to Los Angeles and New York for it, working many freelance gigs locally and also had the pleasure of dancing full time with a contemporary ballet company.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Looking back on my pre-teen/teenage years, it truly wasn’t always easy. Especially being in the competitive world and having an introverted personality, those two things didn’t always mesh well. I found myself on the outskirts most of the time from the other girls and the bullying was pretty inevitable. It honestly got to me and I felt pretty alone most of the time. I do believe that it is something that eventually strengthened my character as a person though.
Dance had aided me then through some of the toughest years as a child and has continued to well into my young adulthood. In January of 2024 I lost my older brother Daniel at just 27 and without dance I don’t know how else I could have dealt with the pain of losing him. Prior to this, I remembered a friend of mine had recommended that I audition for a contemporary ballet company in town. I was hesitant, as at this time, I had only been training in commercial dance styles (hip hop, jazz, jazz funk, etc) but truthfully hadn’t touched ballet in years at this point. It was his passing that lit a fire under me. So, I used the pain and I got into an open ballet class every day that I could, just to get back into shape. Looking back it’s weird to think how this next chapter of my life would unfold as some of the last words I heard from my brother were “Mia you’ll be fine. You’re gonna be a ballerina”. It was not even a couple months after him telling me this, that I had attended this audition and was offered a contract.
The year that followed brought a couple of roadblocks that I would have to surpass. The first one being a broken second toe that I would have to tape up for the remainder of the season. It was my first encounter with a serious injury and my awakened reality of being a professional. Along with this, during the start of tech rehearsals for our Decembers shows- I was t-boned by another driver on my drive home on evening. This sent me straight on into a pole and my car was totaled. I was left with internal bruising and a concussion that I ultimately decided to push past during the physically demanding show week that followed. When offered to be taken out of certain sections, I insisted on trudging forward. The thought of missing a performance was the most heartbreaking thing to me and I wanted to show that despite what had happened, I wasn’t going to let it get me down.
As of recent I just had my first major surgery on my right foot and it has been a long road to recovery so far. I wasn’t able to walk for about six weeks and have to do it all over again for my left foot as well. Getting bunion surgery wasn’t ever necessarily something on my radar but as I was born with them, dance just made them expeditiously worse. The pain eventually became so unbearable, I could no longer push past it. Typically it’s something most dancers (at my age especially) push off until they’re completely retired but I’m hoping it’s something that aids in lengthening my career rather than cutting it short.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a freelance professional dancer and creative from Denver, Colorado. I am multifaceted and have trained in all styles (with a strong background in technical styles such as contemporary ballet and jazz).
How do you define success?
I think success can be defined by doing the things that bring you joy and align with your values, while being surrounded by the people you love.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Miabrandan
