Cassidy Payne Is a Force To Be Reckoned With

Professional dancer, Cassidy Payne, has had her ups and downs in life. From moving from a small town in Kentucky to pursue her dream of dancing with the greats to suffering a knee injury that would put her out of commission for a short period of time. However, no matter what she is tasked to face, Cassidy is sure to overcome every obstacle.

The blonde bombshell turned to the world of social media where she has become a top motivational influencer. Her silly skits paired with her instructional twerk videos cater to the female audience she seeks to inspire.

Small town, Owensboro, Kentucky, had little to bring to rising star Cassidy Payne. As a child, her mother placed her in dance classes that would later advance to a true passion. Jazz, ballet, and many other styles became the focus of her life. Becoming an adult led her into a sedentary life working a typical 9-5 job that diminished the dream she grasped at. Instead of falling into line, she left Kentucky and made west to the city of the stars, Los Angeles.

In 2017, Payne suffered a knee injury that impacted her ability to simply walk. This was a blow to the dancer, as her legs were where her talent remained. Thankfully, after a year-long recovery, she was able to take charge of her life again. She took to guest starring in other influencers dancing videos to showcase her talent and make her move into finding a spotlight of her own. It was her increasing popularity and newfound love of twerking that led her to find the management she has to today.

These days, Cassidy is highlighting her incredible ability to twerk to the masses. Tik Tok and Instagram are the main platforms that Payne has created her loyal following on after the expiration of Vine. To those followers, she hopes to spread a message of embracing your inner goofiness but never hesitate to feel sexy as well. She has committed herself to showing women they can be multidimensional and have the power to overcome anything just as she has had to. The Master of Dance can be followed on TikTok (@cassidyannpayne).

Can you tell me more about yourself? I grew up in a small town in Kentucky called Owensboro. I grew up dancing in studios my whole life and was on dance teams. The entertainment world was always fascinating to me, and I loved to entertain. I wanted to do that for the rest of my life and did whatever I could to make that happen. Around the age of 22, I ended up driving cross country in my Prius and moved to LA.

What’s the story of how you moved from Kentucky to LA? I was working a 9-to-5 job at one point, but I was so miserable. I saw people older than me working these jobs for 30-40 plus years, and I could not see myself doing it – doing the same thing, being on a schedule, living paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t love what I was doing. I had a drive of wanting to dance and to be in the industry. I got in my Prius, and it was a scary experience being young and driving cross country, but I made that leap.

When I first came to LA, it was difficult because I had to navigate how to do what I wanted to do while still being able to afford to live here. I moved to someone’s little loft in their two-bedroom apartment. I slept on an air mattress on the floor for four to five years. I had a 9-to-5 that I ended up getting there, but I eventually couldn’t do it because I was missing out on jobs and last-minute auditions. I wasn’t training either.

At one point in 2017, I had an audition that I went to, but I was physically not in shape to dance the routine because I wasn’t training. I ended up tearing everything in my knee, and I had to go home to get surgery. I couldn’t dance for a year, and I had to relearn how to walk. When I got back to LA a year later, I quit my 9-to-5, and I decided to figure it out by myself. I did side gigs until I got my first contract deal on Instagram.   

How did you start dancing? My mom noticed that I was really into dancing the Macarena all the time and watching these performances. When we went to see The Nutcracker, I remember telling my mom I wanted to be on the stage at four years old. She put me into dance lessons until I was seven. I then later joined a more intense dance studio. I got into serious training for dance, which is what really helped me when I went to LA. I had training in all different types of styles.

What encouraged you to start posting dance videos on social media? I started working with other influencers, which is how I got to that world. Even before I moved to LA, I was visiting every other month, and I knew that some big influencers would do dance skits on Vine. I was doing that with them, and I started to gain a following. I wanted to do my own dance videos, but after my knee injury happened, I realized I couldn’t do super hard-core dancing routines. I went the influencer route instead because there was more to me than just my dancing. I would post silly videos that people liked with my personality. I was really into fashion as well. 

One of my main dancing styles is twerking, which is how I met my manager. I would get really good responses for my twerking videos, and it was great because I could still dance, but it still wasn’t as hard impact as being a full-time industry dancer who goes on tour and has 20-hour rehearsals, which could have been hard on my injury at the time. That’s what catapulted me to the TikTok and Instagram influencer route.

Given your public platform, what are some values you advocate for? For the female following that I do have, I like to inspire and advocate for being a woman. I want other women to embrace feminine power, your body, and being sexy. It’s about loving yourself and not being ashamed to do what you want. I’ve gotten a good response from women on that. Be yourself. Be goofy, but also don’t be ashamed to feel sexy.

Where do you see yourself a year from now? I see my brand expanding and my twerk classes taking off. I see myself venturing into the acting world as well. I never have a direct path that I want to go in. I have an idea of where I want to go, but I never set a direct path because I learned that things happen in life, and you’ll never fully know your destiny until things happen. Things happen for a reason, and wherever life takes me, I go with the flow. I thought I was brought to LA to become an industry dancer, but if I didn’t go with the flow, I probably would have gone back home after my knee injury and given up. I went where life took me, and it took me in the direction of what I do now. 

What makes you strikingly different from others in your industry? What makes me different is that I’m a blonde bombshell. I like to be a sexy public figure, but I also feel that most girls don’t show their goofy side. I post videos of being goofy, while girls on social media stick to being very pretty, and it’s all that they show. Being goofy while still being sexy and pretty is what makes me stand out. There are many layers to me, along with my talents of modeling and dancing.