Ashton Lambert Was Bit By the Dancing Bug After Seeing A Chorus Line - Next on Stage: Dance Edition

We're down to our top 5 contestants in our Next on Stage: Dance Edition competition.

Contestant Ashton Lambert shares more about his charity, a fond memory he has of doing Hairspray, and what he's been up to during quarantine!

Vote for Ashton HERE.

Why did you apply for Next on Stage?

During quarantine what is better than dancing and spreading joy?! I also knew it would be a wonderful opportunity to create content, and receive feedback from successful people in the industry.

What does musical theatre mean to you?

I think musical theatre offers an escape. A place where you can go and forget your troubles for two hours and smile. Particularly in a time where everyone is stressed about what the next day may hold for our country, musical theatre allows us to relax. It offers a place of sanctuary for people who are different - a place where our differences are not only accepted, but encouraged.

What is a fond theater memory you have?

My sophomore year I was told that my school was going to be doing Hairspray, a musical about breaking the status quo, accepting others, and segregation. I was shocked because my school didn't exactly have the right cast for the show. To put it lightly, my school is not very diverse, but then I heard we would be doing Hairspray with another school, George Washington Carver. Carver is a predominantly Black high school, so the collaboration felt like a perfect fit. Our production of Hairspray, a show set in Baltimore, was performed as the country was reeling from the Baltimore race riots.

These types of collaborations are why I love theatre. Two different schools, from two different parts of the city, with two distinct cultures, with two completely different histories came together to perform one important story.

It didn't matter that our skins were different colors. We were all part of the same theatrical community. We helped each other pick up the complicated choreography and the complex harmonies. We shared our theatrical traditions and some other traditions that had nothing to do with theatre, like a game that the guys play in the dressing room before a show called "pelt" to get us pumped up. When we were on the stage, we sang, danced, and acted together, as one community, one unit, one family.

What charity did you pick and why?

I picked the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation in honor of my Aunt Jamie. She passed away over the summer from pancreatic cancer, but she was always one of my biggest supporters. While battling pancreatic cancer she traveled to Texas, Massachusetts, Utah, and Ohio just to watch me perform. I'm always performing for her.

Share a memory from seeing a show.

When I was 11, I saw Billy Elliot on Broadway and then A Chorus Line on tour in the same two weeks. I had been doing theatre at that point, but I had never taken a dance class. I walked out of A Chorus Line, looked at my dad, and said, "I want to do that!" I was enrolled in dance next semester.

Who is your dream choreographer to one day work with?

Casey Nicholaw

What have you been doing during quarantine?

I've been working on creating content and updating my audition book. I've been trying to hone some of my choreography skills, so I've created a few dance pieces that I filmed around the neighborhood. My brother and I also raised over $1500 for The Actors Fund through our walk-a-thon where we each walked 100,000 steps in 24 hours. When not working on theatre, my brother and I watched all 23 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I've binged a lot TV, read some comics (and the new Hunger Games), played a bunch of Catan and other board games, and finished A LOT of puzzles.

Give a shout out!

I'd love to give a shout out to my friends and family. My mom, Duncan, and particularly my dad who started me in theatre when I was three years old. Thank you for all your support, and the hours and hours and hours you've spent helping me make my dreams come true!

Dust off your dancing shoes, because Next on Stage is back with our latest competition sponsored by LaDuca. Following the immense success of our musical theatre singing competition for student performers, we're moving from the recording studio to the dance floor to shine the spotlight on talented, young musical theatre dancers.

Check out all of the contestants HERE!