TAMLYN SAMUEL

The Online Adjudicator

Hi I’m The Online Adjudicator – My mission is to help as many dancers have the winning edge!

Here’s a little bit about me…

I’m English, I started dancing from the age of 2 and I lived and breathed it every day.

I started to really get the dance bug at around 11 when I realised, I was actually pretty good and I started winning lots and doing great in ballet exams. I then literally danced every day in my school lunch break. I'd have a private, as the dance school was around the corner to school and I'd go straight there after every night and allday Saturday. It definitely was my second home and I owe a lot to my wonderful dance teacher Kim, who still teaches at home now which is so great.

I won a prestigious RAD ballet scholarship, where I had to drive an hour every Sunday morning to have lessons with the best That was such a great experience

Tamlyn Samuel

We called our competitions, festivals, and we would do probably around 4-5 a year but we definitely didn’t do the things you do now at such a young age. As 6-7 year old dancers we were doing spring points and gallops, not ariels and fouetté turns like some do now. I think Dance Moms changed a lot of things and I do think there both positive and negatives to this. The stress on their little bodies can be a lot, we need to remember that as mums.

I decided at 15 that I wanted to audition for a top dance school in London, I successfully got accepted and I’m so forever grateful for my parents. I promised to myself I would dance every day to my fullest and not let this opportunity and my parents’ money be wasted.

Three years of Laine Theatre Arts were some of the BEST years of my life. I LOVED the school. After 1 year, the school offered me a scholarship as they saw my work ethic and talent. That felt amazing to be able to take that extra stress off my parents.

I could talk for years about my time at Laine but let’s just say I grew into the young woman that was ready to take on the world with passion, determination, grit but most of all grace and gratitude.

After the 3 years at Laine, at 18, it was time to start auditioning. My first audition was for a cruise ship travelling around the Mediterranean and I GOT THE JOB I couldn’t believe my luck! Off I went as an 18-year-old, and this job was one I can remember Such amazing friends were made and memories that are so clear today, it was the start of my travelling bug for sure

During a USA tour of an Opera (I was a CanCan dancer), I had a life changing moment happen, I wanted to dance on Broadway even if it was just a jazz class to say I had been to Broadway and danced

The only thing that was on the day we were there was an audition for CRYSTAL CRUISES a 6-star luxury liner and I BEGGED my best friend at the time to come with me as I didn’t want to go alone She wasn’t keen as it was our day off, but I won! Off we went in our matching hair extensions (they were so the thing to wear then, straight hair ponytails and we were both very curly)

We were there ALL DAY, we did Ballet, CUT, Jazz, CUT, Jazz harder style, CUT, Commercial, CUT and then we could do pointe work or singing if we wanted to show them our specialities We did it all WHY NOT we were there already!

So, they said they would be in touch, When we told them we were contracted until a certain date with the opera they were visibly upset as I think they wanted us to start ASAP.

Anyway, we had a call a few weeks later saying as soon as our contract was up, they wanted both my friend and I to fly to LA and start rehearsing for a year’s contract onboard Crystal Cruises.

Thank goodness I begged my friend to come that day as both our lives changed forever.

I performed with Crystal Cruises for a few years and it was the BEST job EVER, but it was 2004 when I decided that my dream of performing in a West End show needed to happen so I left Crystal and went back home to start auditioning.

This is where I did so many different jobs from backing dancing for Geri Halliwell from the Spice Girls and I was a featured dancer in her iconic “It’s Raining Men” video I was a dancer every week on a TV show called “The Paul O Grady show” That was so fun I auditioned for a musical called “The genius of Ray Charles” and got the job it was a 3-month tour of the USA and possible West End Transfer after This was an incredible show and I loved dancing all the fantastic Ray Charles Songs It did transfer to the West End so my Bucket List was about to be ticked off. We stayed in the West End for a while with this show it was amazing

Once that was over, I auditioned for Joseph and th Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End had to sing for Andrew Llyod Webber himself at h house, very surreal and I got the job. I stayed wi this musical for a few years and just loved my life

After the show had finished its run, I got a messa from Crystal Cruises asking me if I wanted to ass them on their audition tour looking for dancers a Singers. I jumped at this opportunity, and there I w back in New York in the same studio that I on auditioned in but this time I was the one taking the audition! This was so great, we travelled all over the globe and I was offered a job to move to LA and help teach the shows and put them onto the ships This honestly was such a dream come true job.

Before I went to LA they asked me jump on the ship for 3 months to fill in for my friend Laura the Dance Captain.

I walked on that ship so excited and the first person I saw was Andrew (my now husband). When they say LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, I guess that’s what happened with us. I had some big decisions to make the move to LA wasn’t as appealing now I'd fallen in love I decided to stay on the ship as assistant dance caption and see where this relationship would go

We had the best few years together on the ship and with my best friend Laura until the dreaded night happened! I was in the middle of a show and I was dropped in a dance lift and I felt something in back go and that was it, my career literally ended overnight

As I laid on the cabin floor that night not being able to move my legs, tears streaming down my face holding Andrews hand I knew that my life was about to change forever

I truly was broken; I was flown home in a wheel chair from Singapore - Hong Kong and then onto London I guess the hardest thing aside from leaving Andrew on the ship was that I was replaced like a heartbeat, as I was disembarking the ship my replacement was arriving The show truly does go on with or without you

The diagnosis was my L5 and S1 discs in my back had bulged and I was told I wouldn’t dance again properly I lost my identity, I only knew dancing and to have it taken away was the worst thing ever.

We dec beautiful family a now and thriving

I had auditioned here in Australia for Crystal so I did know a few people and secured a job teaching for Trish Squires (Spectrum Dance College) doing Audition technique and I loved this. One Day Trish asked me if I wanted to cover her judging job as she was busy and that’s where my Judging journey began This was 11 years ago and that’s where my passion has been ever since

I thought one day after a comp - I love positively impacting young dancers with my knowledge However, giving a 2 minute voice critique and the fact that I don’t judge for every competition out there, wasn’t enough of an impact That’s when “The Online Adjudicator” was born A space where I can add value and all my knowledge of judging for 12 years in a safe and fun environment

I honestly love what I do, and be able to still be a part of the dance world without being able to dance to my fullest is honestly a dream come true

My vision for what “The Online Adjudicator” is HUGE I won’t stop until every dancer has been impacted in a Positive way by me

Please if you are reading this come over and join us on Instagram @theonlineadjudicator and you will find so may tips and fun things happening! I run workshops all over Australia teaching dancers and Mums/Dad why they lose points in competitions and what will give them extra points together with what judges are looking for It’s been incredible to see the lightbulbs go off and see them put that into practice in their next comps and see the results

I have collaborated with the wonderful Keelia Grace @Keelzcreative who’s so passionate about creating very strong dancers and she works on flexibility and strength at our workshops! If you are near the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast come see us in June, we will be coming all around Australia so keep an eye out for your city!

I also run Audition Technique workshops where I run the actual real audition for Crystal Cruises so dancers can see how they would do in a mock audition, this is priceless for dancers that actually want a profession in the real dance world I just LOVE doing these

I am so passionate about mental wellbeing in dancers and I have section in my workshops that covers this, as giving parents and dancers strategies to cope with everything being a dancer brings, is so important when they are young and also for the older dancers who are facing growing up in this profession.

The learning is never up for the pro and I will always keep striving to being the best I can be so that I can impact your dancers positively and passionately.

I am so excited to meet you one day and stay strong, stay true to yourself and stay fully you as there’s only one you out there and you are enough.

All my love Tamlyn x

@theonlineadjudicator

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