Voice of Heivy : Meet & Greet Kailei Sin
By Jill Preston
Model: Kailei Sin
Photography: Michael Shi
This week for our Meet and Greet series, we’re chatting with Russian Pointe dancer and future Juilliard student, Kailei Sin.
Kailei is a New York based dancer who moved to the city to pursue a career in professional dance.
In this interview, Kailei Sin shares her experiences staying healthy, motivated and inspired while social distancing in quarantine.
"I started to totally love it."
Heivy: Hi Kailei and welcome! Thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
Kailei: Hey Heivy, happy to be here!
Heivy: First, let’s start with the basics. Who is Kailei?
Kailei: Well, I’m Kailei, I’m 18 years old, and I love dance of all kinds. In the fall I’ll be attending Julliard to continue studying and practicing dance.
Heivy: Congratulations on Julliard! Before Julliard, were you in New York City?
Kailei: Well, I’m originally from Virginia but my family and I recently moved to New York so my sister and I could pursue rigorous dance training and take advantage of all the dance resources New York has to offer.
Heivy: Amazing! New York really has so many things to offer artists. Before quarantine, what kind of dance did you do around the city?
Kailei: Well I love all kinds of dance, but I’m mainly focused on ballet, modern, contemporary, and hip hop, plus some tap and ballroom as well. Before quarantine, I was teaching and mentoring kids at Steps on Broadway and apprenticing at Gabrielle Lamb’s Pigeon Wing Dance company.
Heivy: And how did you get into dance?
Kailei: I actually started “late” for a woman in dance. Generally, children start at around 8, 9 or younger, but it took me years to get into dance. I actually started with soccer and played for like 9 years before even taking a dance class, but I was always dancing to music around the house. The first class I took was a hip hop class and I was obsessed. I told my mom “I need more of this in my life!”
Heivy: And then you were hooked on dance?
Kailei: Not exactly! I rejected the idea of ballet for awhile because of the tights and style, but people suggested I take ballet since it's the foundation for all dance. Of course, I started to totally love it.
"I’ve been maintaining my bones and muscles with supplements."
Heivy: It must be a strange time for a dancer right now --how do you stay motivated, both physically and mentally?
Kailei: Well, here in New York we’re still social distancing, and many businesses are closed, so this has been an interesting social experiment about self-motivation. And I know it’s something a lot of dancers have been struggling with for the past few months.
Heivy: How do you mean?
Kailei: Quarantine has really rekindled my love of dance and helped me take responsibility for being there each time. Before social distancing, my motivation wasn’t necessarily tied to myself, I might have had other things holding me accountable, like signing up for a class ahead of time or sticking to a company’s dance schedule. But now, I have to hold myself accountable. I know a lot of dancers are struggling to stay motivated to take classes and get out of bed in the morning. Unlike before, there’s no one to push me but myself. It’s been an interesting experience to reflect on my motivations.
Heivy: Speaking of motivation, what’s inspiring you at the moment?
Kailei: One of my favorite things to do nowadays is experiment with movement improvisation. Usually, I’m too busy to find new music, but in quarantine I’ve had so much more free time to discover it. When I do, I’ll test my limits and let myself improve with the music and create new movement out of that. Also, sewing! Since most of my creativity is movement based, it’s been great to try a different kind of outlet. Plus, I’m making dance leotards with my sister! Functional and fun!
Heivy: So fun! When you’re out of fun mode and back into your routine, how are you keeping your body strong and healthy nowadays?
"To avoid injuries I take Heivy’s blue bottle, the skin, joint and bone formula."
Kailei: For a dancer, nutrition and staying strong are really important. In terms of food, I eat what gives my body energy. Sometimes that’s a very typical healthy meal like lots of veggies, and sometimes that’s a bowl of cereal. I believe the mind has to stay happy too!
Right now, a lot of dancers are struggling with injuries, like shin splints from landing on their floors without their usual cushioned sprung floors. Especially now, I’ve been maintaining my bones and muscles with supplements. To avoid injuries I take Heivy’s blue bottle, the skin, joint and bone formula. To stay healthy I take this to strengthen everything from the inside out. Plus, with my whole family in the house, the bottles are small so they don’t take up much counter space and they’re easy to store.
Heivy: You’ve shared with us how you stay self-motivated -- Do you have advice for younger dancers out there?
Kailei: I know it sounds cheesy, but be yourself. And what I mean by that is, go and do what you know. In auditions, classes, wherever, dance like you’ve been training to dance, don’t try to be anybody else. You’ve done the work, your body knows how to dance -- so leave it all on the dance floor!
Heivy: Thanks so much for talking to us today! Good luck at Julliard in the fall!
Kailei: Thank you! Stay safe and healthy.