Interview: Meet Canadian-American Dancer Camryne Quinn

Camryne Bryce Quinn is a classically-trained Canadian American contemporary and commercial dance artist based in New York City. Since graduating from the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in 2025, Camryne has worked with top brands and artists like Spotify, Disney, Sting, Susannah Joffe, and The Beaches. She’s also made appearances at and worked for iconic venues like the Lincoln Center, Waldorf Astoria, and Brooklyn Museum.

Known for her captivating presence, free form, and expressive movement, Camryne works closely with decorated choreographers like Madison Hicks, Baye and Asa, Greg Lau, Jason Williams, Chris Hernandez, and Yoshito Sakuraba. Her work has spanned millions of views across social media.

Can you share a little background on your artistic journey and roots?

I started dancing when I was three or four years old and grew up in the competitive dance world. I spent most of my life training in that environment before pursuing professional dance training. My journey to New York City was a leap of faith—I had never even visited before moving here. I initially enrolled in the Ailey Independent Study Program, but only a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic forced me to return home. During that time, I completed the Lines Ballet Training Program remotely before eventually making my way back to New York, where I trained in the Joffrey Jazz Contemporary Program, graduating in May 2024. Since then, I have remained in New York City on OPT, continuing to build my professional years. Over the last three years, I have been finding a lot of joy and excitement in commercial dance as well as working with choreographers such as Jason Williams, whom I first met while taking classes in the city.

How has your experience stepping into the freelance world been as a New York-based dancer?

I went from having a structured nine-to-five schedule at Joffrey to having no schedule at all after graduation. Suddenly, I realized there really are 24 hours in a day—and I had to figure out what to do with all that time. It was incredibly freeing. I started auditioning in person and sending in online submissions. 

A lot of the work I've booked has come through Instagram and people discovering me online. I quickly realized the importance of taking classes—not only to meet new choreographers and build connections, but also to gain valuable footage to share on social media. Even while I was still in school, I made an effort to build relationships because I knew I wanted a network in place by the time I graduated. I also sought out specialized classes that I could continue

returning to and growing within after school.I've had the opportunity to work with Madi Hicks, whose work continues to satisfy the concert dancer in me. As I've mentioned, I'm also very close with Jason Williams, having learned so much about the commercial dance world from him over the years.

Although I'm dancing less than I did during my training, I'm a completely different dancer than I was when I graduated. Freelancing has allowed me to explore a wide range of opportunities, tapping into different sides of myself as an artist.

How did your original connection to choreographer Jason Williams occur, and how has your artistic relationship grown over the years?

The first time I took Jason's class was in September 2023. I stayed in the back corner the entire class because I was new and a little intimidated. The next week, we did the second round of a combination for one of his Spotlight classes. At that point, I wasn't very comfortable being on camera, but when I came back for that class, Jason called me out to perform the combination as a solo. It was the first time I had ever been filmed dancing by myself, which felt like a pivotal moment in both personally and professionally. I had always been confident in my abilities as a dancer, but performing for camera in front of 60 people brought a completely different level of vulnerability and pressure than performing on stage. Jason constantly emphasizes confidence in his classes, and learning to trust myself in that environment is a lesson I've carried with me ever since.

Shortly afterward, I danced in one of Jason's Christmas video projects. From the very beginning, we were collaborating on creative work together, which eventually led to his first live production, Jason Williams Experience Live, where I performed at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre. As my first professional performance outside of Joffrey, it was an incredibly fulfilling experience. Jason's teaching style, choreography, and energy resonate deeply with me. Whenever I perform his work, it feels like a natural extension of who I am as an artist. His choreography challenges me while still allowing my own personality and movement quality to come through, and that balance is something I value tremendously.

What was your experience performing in Jason Williams' Séxperience Live, and how did the creative process influence your growth as an artist?

The process of putting the show together happened fairly quickly—we created and rehearsed everything within a month. My first rehearsal was on April 2, when we created my solo, and we opened on May 2. Everything came together very organically, which I think was a testament to the cast Jason assembled. Many of us had worked with him before, so there was already a familiarity to his work and style. There was a lot of artistic freedom throughout the process. I had never heard the song for my solo before, so I spent time getting familiar with it, and Jason trusted me to bring in my own interpretation to the space. He gave me a lot of landmarks for staging, props, costumes, and the space, but much of the movement developed through improvisation and collaboration. It felt less like being given choreography and more like having an artistic conversation, which made debuting the work incredibly exciting.

Photo Credit: Hannah Mayfield, Jon Taylor, Stephen Crousillat

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