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From Bakersfield to Broadway

Voltaire Wade-Greene stars in "Hamilton"
From Bakersfield to Broadway
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The Broadway musical, "Hamilton," is a hit. For the 70th annual Tony Awards held this June, the Broadway show took home 11 awards including Best Musical.

"I wasn't expecting it to be as big as it was, but I knew it was special because of the way it affected me," said Voltaire Wade-Greene.

Wade-Greene is Dance Co-Captain, yet faced numerous obstacles in his journey to the Broadway stage.

He credits his mentors in Bakersfield who ignited his love for music and encouraged him to perform.

"The dude is a total inspiration for me," said dancer, Mason Trueblood. 

Trueblood is the son of Civic Dance Center owners and it's at this dance studio where Wade-Greene started dancing.

His love for music all began at Thompson Junior High.

"He started with alto-sax, and then it switched to bass guitar, and then started doing some performing on the keyboard as well," said Former Band Director, Randy Miller. 

Wade-Greene credits Miller and his band days for opening up his eyes to a career in music.

"That just kind of introduced not being stuck to one thing, but having options and so that was...yeah, he started all of it," Wade-Greene said.

Around the same time he discovered his gift for music, he started dancing after watching his neighbor, Marvin St. Pierre, dance in The Nutcracker.

"You know Voltaire, you could do this," St. Pierre recalls telling Wade-Greene in one of their first conversations about dance. 

Wade-Greene was into athletics, but "My Mom wouldn't let me play football unless I took a dance class," he added.

Kristen McLaughlin, who Wade-Greene considers a mentor, recalls the early days of watching him dance.

"He was charismatic and fun to work with...and the girls loved to partner with him. He was just so cute and he was just a bundle of energy," McLaughlin said. 

McLaughlin also remembers how focused he was from an early age. 

"He's so open-minded and listened to teachers with just this attitude of, please tell me everything you know. And that's Voltaire," McLaughlin explained. 

After junior high, he enrolled at Bakersfield High School. 

"He was also a very determined, but also bright, very happy young man," said Bakersfield High School teacher, Jeremy Adams. 

Wade-Greene attended BHS for 2 years, before getting a full scholarship to The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. 

"I was proud that he was choosing to continue following this thing that I just truly thought was a gift," added McLaughlin. 

She explained that the road to Broadway isn't how it's often perceived. 

"Sometimes you think you just take a plane to Broadway and audition and that's how it should happen or you should stop, and he didn't do those things," said McLaughlin.

Instead, Wade-Greene explored various opportunities. 

At one point, he took a break from performing and started teaching dance in Virginia. 

"That's when I realized how much they (Bakersfield mentors), played such a significant role coming up and really fueling my love for what I do and pursuing it," Wade-Greene said. 

He took that motivation and headed back to The Big Apple. 

After some uneventful auditions and show runs, he was eventually cast in "Hamilton," which was originally an off-Broadway production. 

Adams loves the fact that Wade-Greene is starting in a show about Alexander Hamilton. 

"Hamilton and Voltaire are very similar. They're both people who are scrappy, and hardworking and they kind of have that essence of America. That inspirational nature. This idea that I have a dream, and if I work hard enough, and I believe enough in it, I can absolutely make it happen and change the world," said Adams. 

Wade-Greens offers this final piece of advice for those who dream big, "Put in the work, love what you do, and be relentless...and it'll all workout."

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