Today we’d like to introduce you to Julianne Mundale.
Hi Julianne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be a dancer. At age 12, I saw my first Broadway Tour Production of 42nd Street. It was then I knew musical theatre was my calling.” Thanks to my supportive parents, they made that a reality for me. With hard work and perseverance, I have performed in over 40 productions regionally and nationally. I have also been a dance and theatre educator and choreographer for over 30 years. I have been in productions with The Children’s Theatre Company, Ruby’s Cabaret, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Ordway Center, Disney Productions LLC, Buffalo Gal Productions, The Flying Foot Forum, and numerous live industrials locally and nationally. I have been a Professional Actors Equity Union member for 25 years. The studio space I have opened, Sol Creative Performing Arts Studio, is a space I have loved for years. I aspire to expand into the event space next to my studio to turn it into a performance space for all performing artists. I love to create new choreographic work and storytelling, teach dance, acting, and performing, and provide pure entertainment. I wish to inspire and “pay it forward” to anyone who desires the performing arts or even if you love to dance for the pure joy of it! I want to give back all I have learned and continue to learn from the numerous amazing mentors in my life journey. To all of those artists still with us and those who have passed on, your legacy lives within me. Thank you!
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The life of an artist can go through many peaks and valleys. The peaks are great, but you learn more about yourself and why you’ve chosen this path in life with the valleys.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
From a very young age, there was always music in the house and activities to partake in, and my parents nurtured those interests. I was fortunate. I don’t recall ever saying, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do!” We were not a wealthy family. My parents sacrificed so much for my brothers and me. My parents’ strong work ethic was instilled in us. They were perfect role models in that area. I was in dance classes, theatre, Musical Trolley, and Brownies, played clarinet in band and choir, and dabbled in basketball and swim team, but musical theatre and plays are where my heart was. I remember repeatedly watching Singin’ in the Rain in my parent’s basement, trying to learn the choreography (on VHS, mind you). In my senior year of high school, I received a Performing Apprenticeship with the Children’s Theatre Company after I graduated. I got to dance a lot, wear a Lion “pod costume” for the first time, fly across the stage as a ballerina puppet, play a 500+ year-old dwarf, and take dance, acting, and voice classes. I met and started my journey there, learning from dancer/choreographer/director Myron Johnson and Wendy Lehr (whom I got to double for her as the Old Lady in Babar) and taking acting classes with her.
That year was quite the educational and honest life in the theatre world. I went on to perform at the former Ruby’s Cabaret, where I had the pleasure to work under Myron Johnson’s direction and choreographic genius once again. I started teaching dance at a suburban dance studio. I continued to “hit the auditions,” which led to Medora North Dakota, then finally Chanhassen Dinner Theatres in 1995, where I joined the cast of “the” show that started it all, 42nd Street.
I was hired at the Ordway Center Oklahoma, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Terrance Mann’s Romeo & Juliet, The Rock Musical, and then moved to NYC in 1999. I went to my first dance, “Cattle Call,” where I was chosen out of 475 girls as a featured dancer in the 2000 Super Bowl Halftime show. They hired 12 dancers. 8 men and 4 women. In 2001, I moved back to Minneapolis and started teaching at another dance studio. I performed in Anything Goes Back at the Ordway Center. I then met Perrin Post, who owns Buffalo Gal Productions. I started performing with her at the former Loring Playhouse and became a choreographer for some of her productions. In 2003, I returned to Chanhassen for Cats, Anything Goes(Chastity), Beauty and the Beast(Silly Girl), West Side Story (Anita), Singin’ in the Rain(Lady in Green), Easter Parade, 42nd Street(Anytime Annie), Swing, The Producers, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Joseph Technicolor Dreamcoat(Apache Dancer) Jesus Christ Superstar, Hairspray(Velma), Mary Poppins(Mrs. Corey/ensemble).
I’m known for my musical theatre knowledge; I study my craft and constantly learn. I’m known for my teaching abilities and choreography. I’m most proud of all the students I have helped in their dance and theatrical education, from numerous high schools and community theatres, where I have choreographed over 50 musicals to fellow performing colleagues in auditions and ongoing dance training.
What sets me apart? I don’t play games. It’s the real deal—the truth. I work hard. I keep climbing, and even though I may fall (and I have), I get back up. I’m unsinkable. One of my favorite quotes is from Debbie Allen in the movie Fame. “You got big dreams, you want fame? Well, fame costs, and right here is where you start paying with sweat.” I’m not looking for fame. I want to do what I was born to do—dancing, singing, acting. Let me entertain you; let me make you smile.
What matters most to you?
The outcome doesn’t really matter, as long as I know I have given everything I have to it.
Pricing:
- $20 per class
- $120 class card (8 lessons)
- $60-$120 Private Lesson Rate
- $150 Wedding/Partner Dance Lessons
- $350-$750 Choreography Rates
Contact Info:
- Website: solcreativepas.org
- Instagram: solcreativepas
- Facebook: SolCreative Performing Arts Studio LLC
