Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassidy Ratliff.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started back in 1997 in Little Rock, Arkansas. My mother and father were pregnant with their second child and prayed God would bless them with a little baby girl. What my parents might not have anticipated for was such a headstrong, funny, confident little baby girl, who had no problem speaking her opinion. Looking back and pondering how Cassidy became Cassidy always brings me to the same conclusion. I was blessed with two parents who have been constant examples of what loving unconditionally looks like. Being young parents figuring out how to raise two ADD kids had to have been difficult especially since the very beginning they both were driven workaholics in the best way! I believe this made me become a very self-sufficient kid. Something I found significant about my childhood was the team mentality. My parents always made it clear to my brother and I that whatever life threw at us, we would face it all as a team. I will never take for granted the level of faith my parents created in my household. You hear stories about people growing up in conservative, southern, Christian homes and how parents put lots of pressure on religious subjects where then their faith starts being questioned, but I have to say that this was not the case for me. Sure there were times I questioned my faith or didn’t want to get up on Sunday mornings, but it never took away the amount of inspiration and hoped I saw behind both of my parent’s eyes when they would talk about putting faith in Jesus. They always challenged my thoughts and made it where I would want to take each step to know Him more for me Cassidy, not just because that’s what I grew up around.
This is Cassidy Alane Ratliff. Knowing where my support system and beliefs come from is the beginning to really understanding who I am.
There once was a sassy spirited kid who regularly wanted to tell someone a story or give her thoughts to anyone who would listen. Her parents were desperate to find something to release all of this energy so as you can guess, that became dance and especially it being told that I was dancing from even the womb. When I learned to walk, I am told that any time music came one, I let it loose. Since my first dance class barely scraped the age of two and being in pulls ups still, I found the love for entertaining. I became the recurring act at each family event. If I wasn’t dancing, I was studying it. Having a mother whose occupation is education, it became a norm in our house to constantly be learning or reading something new. This led me to be one of the top of my classmates all throughout school, along with leadership roles in multiple extracurricular activities in and out of school. The older I got the more I felt I could handle more! I began striving for it all. Dance, acting, cheerleading, choir, cotillion, community service, you name it and I was there. By age 13, I was deeply rooted into the Arkansas Repertory Theatre working on new projects on and offstage performing in several shows. The Rep opened up a whole new can of worms with an abundance of artistic friends. Now before you say it, of course I already had artistic friends but having to be alone onstage, two feet planted into the ground, only the power of your voice and expression carried one specific feeling. This provided a new vehicle of expression and overall respect for an art form that I didn’t know I would enjoy! This was one of the first signs that there was so much more than expressing yourself in one tone or color, but endless possibilities only yourself could create.
Shortly after my first few years at the Rep, the tragedy that changed my family forever came crashing down. It was sudden and once one thing began to crumble, it became a ripple effect. It all started with the loss of my Dad’s dad, my Papa Tom. A couple of months into grieving and processing this death, my Dad and Mom went through several valleys of hopelessness that would make other marriages end. My dad was laid off from his job and hit rock bottom. We were forced to move out of our house with the bare minimum needs such as plastic cups, ramen noodles, and four singular forks. We had to sell most things. I would find my mom or dad crying while selling their most precious items including my mom’s wedding ring. They would always explain that nothing was as precious as their children and family but I felt like I needed to do something to help out. It was during this time, I decided to switch dance studios because I wanted more opportunities and technical training in dance. It was a blessing that the new studio owner was willing to work with my parents on payment plans. No matter the financial hardships we went through my parents sacrificed in areas to make sure they could continue to pay for my training.
On a side note and nothing against anyone or studio, good solid technical training was hard to come by at the time in Arkansas’s competitive dance studios. It seemed like a new future of expanding my learning but became another hard struggle. I started being ridiculed by friends, former dance teachers, and overall leaders who I really looked up to due to my wanting to start something new. They felt I was abandoning them but it had nothing to do with them. I had to do what was best for me, Cassidy. I was so confused by all that was happening. It wasn’t enough my immediate family was going through multiple financial attacks but now friends I needed to lean on the most started taking my choices I needed to make for myself and my family very personal to themselves. It revealed very quickly the lesson of who was willing to stand by my side at my families worst. My family found refuge in New Life Church when I was starting at North Little Rock High School and it became our new foundation. Even through all the difficulties God kept us grounded and focused to take another step forward each day.
I’m not telling my story to feel like a victim. There is only gratitude in my heart for my story because it manufactured a warrior. They say it takes hard times to create perseverance and I am thankful because it has evolved me into the person I am today. I had to push through and not give up. I am beyond thankful for the responsibility to bear the weight of such unfortunate events because it always leads to the biggest rewards! God only gives you what you can handle.
Funny enough, I finally realized who my best friend was a week before high school was starting. We had been classmates and in extracurricular activities outside of school but never really hung out. It was that kind of friendship that I had never thought existed. Someone who saw me for me. Someone who laughs at the same humor. Someone who is willing to see me at my worst to appreciate my best and truly loved me for all God made me to be. Let me be the first to tell you, Morgan Seaton has been my soul sister ever since. She is literally my rock. She cheers for me when I succeed and is my support when times get hard.
High school was fun. I met a lot of new awesome humans, worked within as many leadership roles as they would let me, and became my high school’s mascot! Yes, you heard me correctly. The North Little Rock Charging Wildcat! Being inside that nasty catsuit became some of my favorite memories from high school. It was empowering getting to be hidden behind a mask where I had full control over the character I played and another chance to entertain. I was the president of the Show Choir and loved leading and helping choreograph most of our musical numbers for school events. Another opportunity that stood out in school was STARS [Serving Todays At Risk Students]. This program was designed to reach children in at-risk schools weekly to help motivate, support, teach and inspire to reach for their biggest dreams! Some of these memories and students I will keep in my heart forever. We were there to be a constant reminder of hope but in fact, these children became a huge blessing and light in my life.
Entertaining and performing had been the forefront of who I was since the beginning, but once I reached high school I kept convincing myself I wouldn’t be good enough or maybe just minor in the arts in college. I never imagined and only dreamed that I could have a full career in it. My mother always had a way of knowing this was something I couldn’t give up on. So what did my mother do? Well of course, she requested information for a college out in LA called AMDA [American Musical and Dramatic Academy of the Performing Arts]. The information arrived in the mail and by no surprise, my brain started thinking of all the possibilities of moving to LA. She immediately saw in my eyes that nothing would stop me now from going after what I knew my heart wanted and needed. Both of my parents always encouraged me to dream big and no matter what the future and distance would bring, they said to give it to God and they knew I had to follow my dreams. Talk about taking financial faith! If it wasn’t for planting seeds of drive and hope at a young age and then the renewed faith we grew from through the hard times, I don’t know what my life would have looked like.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced was moving to LA. Of course, I was so pumped like “get me there ASAP”, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about what I was sacrificing or leaving behind. My best friend Mary Ellen aka my Melon became one of my biggest cheerleaders and quite frankly my favorite dancer when I had first taken the jump and moved dance studios. She always saw this power and strength in me that I never could see in myself. She had been diagnosed with HLH cancer the summer before my senior year of high school and later passed away halfway through the term. She quickly became my guardian angel and constant reminder to not give up on OUR dream. The fear of losing more loved ones scared me especially knowing I would be thousands of miles away. It was harder than anticipated saying goodbye. My family and I worked our butts off to be the family and team we are to this day and I wasn’t quite sure how that would be affected once I moved. The only thing that has always kept us close and optimistic was our faith and the power of prayer. This was always the driving force when doubt or outside evils got involved. Mary Ellen still is my constant when I get down on myself or think I can’t do something. I am always taking another step forward and dancing for you Melon.
Fast forward. I am now in LA! I am attending AMDA and things are looking up. I started making friends, connecting with my teachers and making it into performances on campus! While little blessings were falling into my lap, my parents back home were dealing with other monsters. Family friends began to ask my parents how long they thought I would last or would try to convince them maybe its a better idea for me to come back home because I wouldn’t make it. The funny thing is, not once have I doubted what I was meant to do. Along the way, I have come across many worries or tried to persuade myself out of the uncomfortable unknown. I got caught up in my own internal anxieties and past depressing thoughts that would halt my growth. The cool thing that helped me get past the uncertainty was understanding the importance of uncomfortability in the unknown. If you begin to feel uncomfortable, live in it because it is exactly where you are supposed to be. Uncomfortability causes the most growth. Once I really listened to this lesson, my focus and yearning for this craft only got stronger at AMDA. I graduated in 3 years with my Bachelor of Fine Arts and was overwhelmed to find out Go 2 Talent Agency wanted to sign me!
It continues to be an ongoing journey with auditioning, finding side hustles, and maintaining a strong healthy mind, but its all been worth it.
It never gets easier saying goodbye, but the people still wondering when I will quit or move home fuel me to keep pushing for what I am called to do.
moMEANTum | MEANTality – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Growing up, my parents were incredible examples of setting goals and surpassing their original expectations. My dad especially taught me that you don’t have to be just be one thing. You can wear multiple hats. He would say that if you worked hard enough, put in the time and really wanted it that you could excel at anything! I have had this dire need since I can remember to want to be great at everything I do. I know I get this from my father because I would always see him trying new things until he mastered it, then he’d add it to his “tool box”. A tool box is used to keep all your skills accessible for whenever they’re needed, but that doesn’t mean a certain tool can’t continue to grow and enhance.
There are a couple of stand out skills in my tool box I wanted to highlight!
On any given day, if someone asks me what I specialize in, it would be bringing out emotions and feelings within humans, as a result, creating a bright, positive energy.
I pride myself on being a well-rounded artist who specializes in multiple fields within the entertainment business.
During my time at the Rep, I was introduced to not only what it’s like to be the performer, but all the working hands behind the scenes. I found a love for sound engineering, lighting, spot-op, stage management, prop hands, set screw, runner and one of my personal favorites costumes! Costume crew included: designing, sewing, restocking, backstage dresser, makeup, and wig application. This experience led me to join the AMDA Costume Department while in college. Along with my growth through the Rep onto AMDA, I grew a joy for photography, videography, editing music & film, and the various jobs in post-production on any given project.
I hold the utmost gratitude for the experiences and opportunities God has given me thus far in my career.
My credits are as follows:
– Assistant to Fatima Robinson in Kanye West’s Sunday Service @Coachella [2019]
– Director & Choreographer for moMEANTum’s guest performance @ Hollywood Fringe Festival [2019]
– Assistant Choreographer & Skeleton Crew for the Finale episode of ‘The Good Place’ [2019]
– Assistant Choreographer for AIDA The Musical @ AMDA [2019]
– Assistant Choreographer for 2020 NYE @ Aria Resort in Las Vegas [2019/2020]
– Skeleton Crew & Dancer for Sam Fischer, ‘This City’ [2020]
– Dancer for Meghan Trainor Ft. Nicki Manji, ‘Nice to Meet Ya’ [2020]
– Dancer for Finneas, ‘Let’s Fall In Love For The Night’ [2020]
My passion is fueled by artistic expression.
This leads into my passion project!
moMEANTum: moments turn into moMEANTum that are MEANT to be
This is our mission, better yet, our duty to this life to become better humans. We want to build a group of like-minded individuals who want to band together and create opportunities and a constant drive for better from one another’s form of art. One of the biggest reasons for creating this was the difficulty of coping with mental illness as an artist. In this day and age, it’s beginning to be easier for artists to accept and admit their anxiety/depression, but has everyone found ways to help combat their own struggle spots??? Sometimes we don’t realize that we could be the one thing standing in the way of our own success. Within _moMEANTum_, we will find different tactics, new ways of creating, explore other types of art and discover what is the clearest way to express your MEANT.
We all have the power to capture our moment.
Within moMEANTum, I knew there was something missing. Starting a podcast and creating a platform to use my voice to connect to all and share God’s glory paved a new way of expression through me. This established MEANTality.
MEANTality ‘s mission is to build an ever-evolving healthy mindset by utilizing artist’s ability to unlock endless creative avenues that are MEANT to be.
This podcast is my heart. It allows me to be raw and vulnerable to every person in the world at one exact moment in time. I want a place for artists to share their stories and experiences that have informed and developed their own MEANT. [MEANT: Your calling/A conscious effort to strive to reach the person who God designed you to be.] The more diversity within the artists I showcase, the more opportunity for someone in the world to connect and be inspired.
My ultimate goal is to be a Creative Director for live shows, commercials, television and film! With the inspiration and guidance, my parents have given me, I do not doubt my God one bit that through all the opportunities, jobs, little hobbies I learn, will all add up and lead me to my divine destiny.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is anything but checkpoint achievements to me.
Success is striving for better each day from a loving heart.
Embracing the Fruits of the Spirit [Love, Joy. Peace. Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control] will only create the strongest armor to fight against any negative energy in order to reach your own divine destiny or as said above, your own success.
Success is keeping your eye on the prize and not allowing the little things to waiver you. If you continue to focus on your MEANT, the only result will be success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anchor.fm/meantality
- Phone: 5019400439
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassidyratliff/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassidy.alane/
Image Credit:
Mallory Morrison Photography | @mallorymorrison @moonsevencollective, Irene Ashu | @ireneashu @ireneashucreative, Victor | @littlebrother15
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