We hope you have a super awesome and fun 22nd birthday,
and we wish you all the happiness and success this year! :)

~ Kherington Payne Fans

Hi all! Hope you’ve all been enjoying your holiday and New Year breaks! Ok, now on with the update…

As some of you may remember Kherington performed the part of ‘Potiphar’s Wife’ in a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the Lincoln Theater in Napa Valley back in 2010. (Here’s a refresher on how things went – REVIEW)

Due to the success of that production, Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse  and director Matthew Teague Miller (who also directed Kherington in “Joseph”, pictured below) have announced an upcoming production of the famous musical “Cabaret”, which is scheduled to open June 22 at the Napa Valley Opera House. Kherington is currently signed on for the production headlined by Broadway stars Nikki Snelson and David Coolidge. No word yet on Kherington’s role, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted if anything comes up. (You can read the full article on the upcoming production – HERE)

Kherington is currently amongst a select number of principle and professional dancers featured on the homepage of Discount Dance Supply. (You can check out the ads in a slideshow on their homepage – HERE)

She was also part of a Ford Taurus commercial choreographed (again) by Marguerite Derricks, which was shown on Jimmy Kimmel back in December.

An interview with Kherington by Buffalo Dance Examiner from when she was teaching at Extreme Talent Dance Convention. Read it below!

An interview with Kherington Payne

By Lauren Kirchmyer, Buffalo Dance Examiner

While most 21 year olds are working on graduating from college, Kherington Payne is instead working on establishing herself as a dancer. The California native recently was at the University at Buffalo to teach at Xtreme Talent Dance Convention, and set aside time for an interview during her break between classes to talk about her passion for dance and her developing career.

Payne said she started dancing around age two and hasn’t stopped since. “I always loved going to class,” said Payne, who realized she wanted to make dance a career after her senior year of high school.

When she was 18 years old, Payne auditioned for the FOX hit So You Think You Can Dance. “Being a part of the show was amazing just because I learned so much about myself as a person and as a dancer,” she said. “It was the first thing I ever did so that started me into wanting to learn more about the life of dance and having it as a career.” Payne was voted into the top 10 dancers in the show’s fourth season, allowing her to tour the United States and Canada with the nine other finalists.

Not too long after So You Think You Can Dance, Payne traded the television screen for the silver screen when she was cast as “Alice Ellerton” in the 2009 remake of Fame. “That was an awesome learning experience,” she said when asked about her first movie role.

Not only was this Payne’s first time having a role in a movie, this was also her first time acting. “They needed a dancer for the role so I just tried out and it was an amazing journey,” she said, adding that she has since taken acting classes.

“It was a springboard for all different avenues of dance and different career paths that you can choose, and I’m kind of dabbing at every single one,” Payne continued. “I’m enjoying it and loving everything so it’s good.”

Earlier this year Payne also had the chance to work on a reality series for E! on Laurieann Gibson’s series The Dance Scene.

When she’s not auditioning for roles and dance jobs, Payne is teaching classes at studios and at conventions, such as Xtreme. “I feel like kids nowadays take class and it’s all about who has the best style or the best choreography,” she said. “This is really great and really cool and I think that’s a big part of learning, but I just want the kids to have fun and actually learn something in my class, something more than just a combination.”

Payne said she wants to be an imprint in the student’s life and whatever she can give them, they take with them. “I’ll throw certain things at them in class, and hopefully they’ll go on and love the class and have fun with it,” she said. “It’s not a competition out there, it’s fun, it’s just class. They get to learn, have fun and dance. Whatever they take from it I hope they enjoy it and carry it on to their life.”

Payne also said the main piece of advice she took growing up that she applies to her life is that if she really wants something, she has to put the effort and hard work into it. That’s when something will come out of it.

“Whatever it is, you have to put that hard work in it, but have fun along the way while you’re doing it,” she said. “Once it becomes too much work and it’s not fun anymore, I wouldn’t do it. Work really hard!”

Payne is currently teaching a lot and has a few auditions coming up. “I don’t know what’s in store for me, but hopefully it’s something cool,” she said. “In this career you kind of never know!”

Source

Below are photos from two masterclasses that were recently taught by Kherington. The first is from Thrive Dance Center, the pictures were taken by Ronna Kovner Photography (official site). The second is from Xtreme Talent Dance Convention, where Kherington was also joined by Comfort Fedoke from Season 4 of SYTYCD. Click on the links below to view the full albums.

November 13, 2011 – Teaching a Master Class at Thrive Dance Center

November 6, 2011 – Teaching at Xtreme Talent Dance Convention

Below is DanceOn‘s weekly DWTS-FYI recap where every week a well known dancer and a YouTube star give their informal and/or humorous thoughts on this past week’s Dancing With The Stars performances. This week Kherington and Lisa Schwartz (better known as ‘Lisbug‘ on YouTube) lets loose on Dancing With The Stars (Week 8). The recap is pretty funny, especially since Kherington at one point covers a short snippet of Sir Mix-A-Lot‘s ‘Baby Got Back’. Watch the video below.

Below are photos and a ‘highlights’ video from Camp Pulse, Mobile. You can view the full album by clicking on the link below.

October 22-23, 2011 – Teaching at Camp Pulse, Mobile

I’ve added 75 HQ photos from Camp Pulse, San Antonio to the GALLERY. You can view UHQ photos (too big for the gallery) from the event HERE. There are far too many photos to link in one post, so just click on the link below to view the full album.

October 8-9, 2011 – Teaching at Camp Pulse, San Antonio

A few photos of Kherington teaching at Camp Pulse in San Antonio, plus a ‘highlights’ video compilation of the convention. (She can be seen teaching at 0:20-0-29, and having fun with the kids at 1:23-1:29)

October 8-9, 2011 – Teaching at Camp Pulse, San Antonio

I’ve also added to the GALLERY a few new photos from an old headshot photoshoot with photographer Levi Walker, past performances with Katy Perry, and a ‘IV REAL family’ gathering from earlier this year.

A bunch of new pictures have been added to the GALLERY, including a masterclass from back in September at Prestige Dance Company. Feel free to take a browse around!

 

September 17, 2011 – Master Class at Prestige Dance Company

October 1-2, 2011 – Teaching at Camp Pulse, Secaucus

August 12, 2011 – Teaching a Master Class at Lonestar Dance

Dancing With The Stars – Mather Dance Company – The Dance Scene

Kherington recently taught at a Camp Pulse dance workshop in Secaucus. She will also be teaching with the Camp Pulse faculty in San Antonio, Texas (Oct 8-9), and Mobile, Alabama (Oct 22-23). For more information visit Camp Pulse’s website or Facebook page.

(Below are a few pictures of Kherington at Camp Pulse in Secaucus.)