![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2024\/06\/Kiana-parents.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\u201cHe is my mentor. I have had five classes with him! Circus and acrobatics with him has been a huge thing (pictured right). Physical theatre\u2013 being able to tell a story without using your words. We did a lot of mask work. All you have are big hand movements, big body movements, your levels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In August, Vazquetelles will enter the Disney College Program and become a character performer. Her physical theatre training came in handy last March when she traveled to Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom in Orlando for auditions.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cThere were about 250 who showed up just for that audition,\u201d she said, noting that there were other auditions around the country. The first assignment was to march as in a parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt went from 250 to 85 in the first cut. Next, they said, \u2018We want to see you act out a day on a picnic, but something happens.\u2019 It could be anything \u2013 a rainstorm, a dog stole your sandwich. They wanted to see us act out something really big without saying anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After six hours of auditions and three weeks of waiting, Vazquetelles finally got her acceptance notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really wanted to be in entertainment at Disney, and to be a character performer was the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As she awaits her departure for Orlando, Vazquetelles will spend the summer at Charlotte\u2019s local theme park, Carowinds, where she has performed regularly since she was 16. She\u2019ll do five shows a day, five days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI always wanted to be involved in live entertainment. I just love, love theatre and live performance \u2013 getting the audience feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Disney College Program lasts six months, with a possible extension of another six months, after which she will audition for Florida theme parks. But she sees a broad horizon of possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn this department you get such a well-rounded education, there are just so many things you can do. I love being a writer. I love directing, too. There are so many things!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You could say that Kiana Vazquetelles owes her very existence to UNC Charlotte. Years before she entered the University as a freshman theatre major, her parents were themselves Niners. Vazquetelles\u2019s father, Darren, played shortstop for the baseball team; her mother, Dee-Dee, cheered on the dance team. Both were psychology majors. After graduating they married and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":40073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_clt_a11y_last_scan":"1778693665","_clt_a11y_has_violations":"0","_clt_a11y_violations":"[]","_clt_a11y_suppressions":"","_clt_a11y_needs_validation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[55,59],"class_list":["post-40063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-coaa","tag-theatre"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Kiana Vazquetelles’s parents are both UNC Charlotte graduates.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Kiana](\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2024\/06\/IMG_5228.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"Kiana](\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2024\/06\/Kiana-V-Carowinds.jpeg\")
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