Hey Quintessential Readers! I’m coming to you with the first set of Quinn Oslo music updates. I’ve got two biggies for you. First, my first single Ocean Water comes out this Friday on all platforms.
Pre-Save button
Listen to the epic tale of being taken away by a siren to his lair in Atlantis.
Second, and the actual story of this post, is that I went to my first audition as Quinn Oslo!
…A dance audition.
Why Go to a Dance Audition?
The town I live in does not have a big arts scene, so getting hooked up with one audition was like getting hooked up with all of the auditions. A buddy at work is cousins with a gal who works at a local downtown venue known for their cabaret variety shows and open mic nights. This buddy at work knows very limited information about me, though, one nugget of my personality being my casual enjoyment of K-pop.
When it comes to K-pop, I’ve just scratched the surface of what it means to be a fan. Katseye was like my gateway drug. Today you can find me doing some Le Sserafim and Katseye dances and listening to groups like New Jeans and BTS, but not much beyond that.
What I didn’t expect from getting into K-pop though, was to find out I can slay some choreography down. Dances that were featured on Katseye’s survival show like Antifragile and Fearless, and Katseye hits like Touch, Debut, and Gnarly live in my muscle memory like walking and breathing. My more experienced K-Pop stan friends compliment me on my facial expression and performance ability, while my dancer friends are stunned by how I learn and deliver the moves. Doing these dances also brings me a level of confidence unmatched by any other music-based activity – even more than singing or producing.
To me, that is the mark of a dancer. But can I claim being a dancer??
My Dance Background
I took my first dance class in the fall of 2024 at 25 years old, adult beginner jazz at the community center. I had a great time learning the basics, moving across the dance floor, stretching a little bit on a Tuesday night. I liked it so much, I took the class again the following fall in 2025.
Does two semesters of dance classes make me a dancer, though?
Okay, maybe I’m selling myself a little bit short.
I’ve taken two prior dance classes in my life, both cut short by unfortunate circumstances. My college jazz for musicals class was cancelled after I broke my arm, and during freshman year of high school my jazz/ballet combo class at the local arts after-school program gave me too much anxiety so I couldn’t go anymore after a few classes.
Plus, I did two dozen or so musicals as a kid. I never had any featured dancing roles and was usually in the back, but I did my fair share of three step turns and jazz squares by the time I graduated high school that I was at a “strong mover” level when it came time to audition for college theater programs.
What Makes a Dancer? Am I a Dancer?
As I was sitting in the car outside the audition after arriving 30 minutes early, I grappled with this question.
Was I in over my head? Was I about to tarnish the Quinn Oslo name before it even existed?
But I decided that these people don’t know me, dancing makes me feel fun and free, and a rejection doesn’t scare me.
So, yeah.
I am a dancer.
I Manifested Singing Too, Just In Case.
It isn’t me going to an audition unless I’m overprepared and half an hour early, so I of course had 10 songs prepared, my guitar, original tracks, my own speaker, my own mic, my laptop, my keyboard, and my original demos available for the audition. Thank you to my Mary Poppins bag.
My smart guitar is what caught their attention, I pulled it out when I was explaining the full package of what Quinn Oslo the character had to offer, and they were intrigued by its ability to play drums, bass, and guitar all at once, so of course I had to offer to play a little song for them. One straight off my Phoebe Bridger’s cover album that I could send them a professional recording of.
Worked like a charm.
I Booked it – Soft Launching a Singing and Dancing Quinn Oslo Show
Like I mentioned before, this venue is known for their cabaret and variety shows, and their open mic nights. They’ve invited me to perform a song, a dance, and a song and dance at their next cabaret show and prove to them I can handle the crowd and take on a solo evening show.
If any Quintessential readers are local to Kansas, shoot me a message if you want to come. I’ll give you all the deets.
In the meantime, I’m manifesting hard and plotting my hard launch when I book that solo show singing and dancing.
Thank you for reading!
What do you think it means to be a dancer? Did you pre-save Ocean Water? Are you interested in hearing more about my creative journey? Let me know in the comments!
About Quintessential
Thank you so much for reading! Quintessential is a collection of personal writings about how I am managing to live my life authentically as myself. You may be interested in this publication if you:
Are a young woman trying to make it in this world;
Enjoy niche topics;
Care about your communities around you;
Don’t take life too seriously; and
Want to know what makes me, me!