There’s magic happening backstage. Real glam happens under the spotlight, but that magic makes being backstage so much fun. You can see the dancers getting excited and emotional. Trophies are being built and shined. It’s nerves and accomplishment in a fabulous collage of feelings.
These moments never make the sage, but they’re special. Backstage excitement is unbelievable. It’s athleticism. Dancers stretch and warm up. It’s fashion. Dancers are changing, and moms are repairing and assembling costumes. It’s theater. Dads are moving props into position. The hustle and bustle is a show of its own.
There’s no feeling like being a dancer backstage, ready to go on for a performance. I hope that our Backstage Issue opens your eyes to this other world and reminds you of your own backstage experiences. You’ll remember those moments forever.
— Debbie Roberts
Founder, Showstopper
The magic is in the making. It’s in the moments before anything begins: a dancer running a section under their breath, a pre-audition pep talk, or a burst of laughter in the middle of a long rehearsal.
This issue is a love letter to those in-between moments. Talking with dancers, creators, and the people who keep the work moving behind the scenes reminded us how much of someone’s art comes from who they are when no one’s watching.
You can feel it in Carmen Sanchez remembering the tiny hallway where her mom gave her that first pep talk. In Bostyn Brown’s stories, about the people she’s kept close through nearly a decade of working in the industry. In Ella Horan’s creative chaos—the sketches, the air-mattress years, the hours spent making things just to see what might happen.
That spirit lives everywhere in the dance world: in designers stitching characters into every costume, in backup dancers building entire worlds before the headliner shows up, in studios, audition rooms, rehearsal floors—even on NFL fields.
Groups like KATSEYE carry that energy too, with the training and togetherness that shape everything the world eventually sees.
And our cover star, Taylor Swift, understands the “making” phase better than almost anyone. Every era begins in notes, drafts, and half-formed ideas, long before the spotlight.
The work you see is always built on the work you don’t. The small moments shape the big ones. That’s where the magic lives. And we’re so excited to share it with you.
— Holly Childs
Editor-in-Chief, Showstopper Magazine
As we began planning the backstage issue, I had a lot of questions about what it means to go backstage. Sure, we are all eager for the details behind people who live dazzling lives and create incredible projects. What is it like to live in a house with KATSEYE? How does Taylor Swift plan her Easter eggs?
But if, as Shakespeare tells us, “All the world’s a stage,” then going backstage is more than uncovering industry secrets or pining after wealth and fame. Having a backstage pass means having an appreciation for detail and hard work. The planning that goes into your favorite music video or how someone starts each day to find happiness, at work, in school, or on stage, that’s backstage glam. Those little efforts make our interactions and our passions fabulous.
In this issue, we go behind the scenes with dancers, singers, and actors who love what they do—and of course, we deep dive into the passion that makes Taylor Swift the ultimate showgirl. For me, love and passion are where we find real success. It’s the glitter that makes our work sparkle, no matter who we are. As you read this issue, celebrate their wins, but I also hope you think about the “backstage” details that make your life fabulous, too.
— Veronica Good
Managing Editor, Showstopper Magazine Online
