Performing And Travelling The World With Sydney Brown

Sydney Brown makes her living by travelling the world and performing on cruise ships. TheatreArtLife caught up with Sydney to ask her for her favourite locations and what are the best and worst parts of her job.

You are a world traveller. What is your favourite place to visit and why?

I have a top 3! I can’t choose just one.
Australia, Philippines, Santorini

I backpacked the east coast of Australia with my best friend and have so many great memories with her. The weather was perfect and we met so many young backpackers throughout our travels.

I went to Coron in the Philippines with my family a couple years ago. It was stunning! Everywhere we seemed to go was breathtaking with hardly any tourists. It’s very cheap and the locals are super friendly.

Santorini, Greece was amazing as well. A small island with a sheer cliff on one side and beaches on the other. The white and blue coloured towns are so pretty and the sunset in Oia is incredible. The best thing to do is rent a scooter and drive all over the island.

Your day job is that you are a performer. How did you get started in this industry and how did you get your current job?

I started gymnastics when I was one and a half years old. After high school, I sent my demo video to Royal Caribbean and began performing on the world’s largest cruise ship at 19 years old. I knew performing was always something I wanted to do since I saw my first Cirque du Soleil show when I was nine years old. After a couple contracts on the ship, I wanted to try something different and performed in Franco Dragone’s The House of Dancing Water as well as Cirque Du Soleil’s La Nouba. After Cirque, I accepted another contract with Royal Caribbean and I’ve been enjoying ship life ever since.

What is the best part about being a performer? What is the worst?

The best thing about performing is that I get to do what I love and travel the world. I love being on stage and learning new skills in the training process. I’ve met so many amazing people along the way.

The worst thing about performing is that I don’t get to see my friends and family very much. It’s hard being away during the holidays and special occasions. I’m thankful for technology which makes it’s easy to keep in touch regularly.

What has been your favourite show/event/gig that you have worked on? Tell us about that.

The best show I have ever been part of is The House of Dancing Water in Macau, China. The entire show from start to finish is incredible. I got to work with so many talented people from all over the world. Overall, my favourite contract would have to be the Harmony of the Seas. I was part of the original cast and we had three months of creation in Miami and then joined the new ship in France. We toured Europe for six months before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern and western Caribbean. It was fun to be part of the creation process and experience a take out on the world’s largest cruise ship.

Your Instagram, @sydneybrown_xo has a huge following. Did you plan this or did it just evolve? If it was planned, did you have a strategy to attract followers?

It kind of just evolved. About three years ago there were big fitness, gymnastics, and dance accounts reposting my photos and giving credit to my Instagram. From then on it became a regular thing and now a couple of my videos have gone viral. I think people choose to follow me because I am not living a traditional lifestyle. I literally have the dream life… getting paid, doing what I love and travelling the world. I can’t complain!

How do you keep yourself performance ready while travelling so much?

I’m definitely always active while travelling. I choose to walk everywhere I can and I love adventurous activities. If I’m in one place for a couple weeks I try to find a gymnastics gym where I can go flip around for a couple hours. Whenever I’m home I pop into my gym and train there. I try to maintain my fitness level as best I can while travelling.

What does the future of Sydney Brown hold? Do you have a post-performance career planned?

Oh, that’s the million dollar question. I have no idea. I am fascinated with the entertainment industry. Maybe be part of casting one day or help install new artists into shows. On the other hand, I can see myself working in hospitality and potentially running my own bed and breakfast. As for right now, I know I’m not ready to leave the stage. I’m living day by day and we will see what happens 🙂