Phoenix Mitchell

Phoenix Mitchell’s career has not followed a perfectly mapped path, and perhaps that is precisely what makes his story so valuable for young dancers and performers. From beginning dance as a shy two-year-old, to stepping away from training altogether, finding his way back, working to support his performing and eventually building an international career with Disney Cruise Line, Phoenix has discovered that success in the performing arts is rarely about following one predetermined route. It is about developing skills, remaining adaptable and being willing to recognise opportunity when it arrives.

Dance initially entered Phoenix’s life for a very simple reason. “My first dance lesson came around when I was just two years old as more of a social interaction to help me with how shy I was,” he recalls. Before long, dance was joined by gymnastics and circus, and by eight he was training seriously across all three. As the commitment increased, however, he had to choose where to concentrate his energy. “Dance was my choice.”

That decision quickly began opening doors. At 10, Phoenix landed his first professional stage role in the 2013 Brisbane season of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, performing as Toby and understudying Jeremy, while also appearing across all three seasons of Channel 7 children’s television program Pipsqueaks as a dancer, singer and actor. Then, during a period of change in his family life, he stopped dancing and turned his attention to school sport, playing basketball and volleyball for two years before deciding that he wanted to return.

Coming back was far from easy. Phoenix had been away during years of significant physical development and knew he had considerable ground to regain. His return also came with new responsibilities. He needed to organise his own transport to and from the studio and contribute financially to his training, taking his first job at McDonald’s at 14 while also assistant teaching as part of his scholarship. Within a year, he had caught up and was sometimes dancing seven days a week. “It felt right and I felt at home,” he says.

Training at CPAC gave Phoenix the opportunity to expand well beyond dance, developing skills across multiple genres as well as acting for stage and screen, acrobatics and vocals. Just as importantly, he says, the training taught him goal setting, discipline, self management and how to promote himself professionally. Those skills continue to serve him now, particularly when auditioning from overseas. “The self tape skills I learnt at CPAC make the auditioning process easy whilst I am abroad,” he explains, allowing him to remain connected to casting opportunities even while working on contract.
After finishing school, Phoenix knew university was not the direction he wanted to take at that stage, although he was not yet certain what a professional career might look like. Entering full time dance training exposed him to the breadth of possibilities within the industry and he began auditioning. What followed was one of the most testing periods of his development. Again and again, he progressed through auditions, often reaching the final stages, but the contracts did not follow.

“How can I seem to be what they want and not what they want at the same time?” he remembers wondering. Repeatedly coming so close forced him to confront the doubts familiar to many emerging performers, particularly the question of whether continuing to pursue the industry would ultimately be worth it. What Phoenix eventually learnt was that not receiving one opportunity could be the very thing that allowed another direction to emerge. “My goal has never changed, but the path that I am on at the moment was not the path I pictured when I first started full time. And that is okay.”

In the years that followed, Phoenix began building a remarkably varied professional résumé. He performed internationally as an Australian dancer at SIFMA in Malaysia, worked as a dancer and singer in the City Hall Lights Show, performed as a backup dancer for Paulini and later took on the role of Ryder, Show Host for Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol. His screen work expanded too, with credits including Paramount Pictures’ Dora and the Lost City of Gold, where he appeared as a featured dancer, and Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe. Each experience required something different from him, reinforcing the value of the broad training he had accumulated since childhood.

The opportunity that would take Phoenix’s career in another direction arrived with Disney Cruise Line. Joining the Disney Wish in 2023 as a dancer and tumbler, he went on to progress to Dance Captain and tumbler aboard the Disney Fantasy, a position that reflects not only his ability as a performer but the growing responsibility he has assumed within the company. It is a role that draws upon the full breadth of his training, from dance and acrobatics to acting, musicality and the ability to work collaboratively within a large professional production environment.

“I absolutely love being able to step into any of these branches of the entertainment industry with ease, despite each of them requiring a different skill set,” he says. “The hard work and dedication that has been put in across all the years to develop such a broad range of abilities across the industry has definitely shaped me into the performer I am today.” For Phoenix, versatility extends beyond the number of skills a performer can list on a résumé. “Being so versatile and adaptable to different work environments, different work types and workloads, and different colleagues is something that will take you very far in this industry, and help you build the connections you need to keep the workflow consistent.”

Among his professional experiences, one role remains particularly close to his heart. During his first overseas Disney Cruise Line contract, Phoenix was cast as the Magic Carpet in Disney’s Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, a role he has since performed across further contracts aboard the Disney Wish and Disney Fantasy. For a dancer, the opportunity is an unusual one, a leading character created entirely through physical performance.

“Very rarely do you get to be just a dancer and have a lead role,” Phoenix says. “This role is a tumbling role with no speaking or singing, just pure storytelling through movement and acting.” The experience has reinforced something fundamental about performance for him, the ability to communicate without words. “Connecting with an audience and making them laugh without saying a word is something very special and magical and are memories I will always hold very close to my heart.”

Alongside performing, teaching has remained an important part of Phoenix’s career. It began when he was young and continues to fill much of his time whenever he returns home between contracts. Interestingly, teaching has also strengthened his own technique, particularly in acrobatics. After losing access to formal acrobatic classes during his two year break from dance, Phoenix admits that he took matters into his own hands and taught himself skills in his school’s long jump pit, something he is now very quick to discourage his students from attempting.

“For those of you reading, no, I know what you’re thinking, please stay in class and learn safely,” he says. Becoming an acrobatics teacher required Phoenix to understand the mechanics and correct technique behind each skill rather than simply being able to execute it himself. “Being a teacher, I was now seeing everything from a different point of view and gaining knowledge that benefited me as both a teacher and a performer.”

For Phoenix, the connection between teaching and performing comes back to adaptability. A teacher must recognise that students absorb information differently and find ways to communicate accordingly, while a performer must constantly adapt to new choreographers, colleagues, environments and demands. “For teaching it’s being adaptable to each student’s way of learning to help them best understand each technique and movement, and for performing it’s being adaptable to each unique work environment and skill requirement.” Understanding safe technique has also given Phoenix greater awareness of how to maintain his own body through the physical demands of a professional career.

That same practical outlook shapes his attitude towards longevity. Phoenix does not believe a sustainable performing career is necessarily built by being the most impressive person in every room. Instead, it requires self awareness, cooperation, initiative and an understanding of where your particular strengths sit within the industry. “A career is rarely built from a straight and easy path and having alternate routes to get to where you want is instrumental in developing a sustainable career,” he says. “Having a plan A, B, C, D and so forth is a great way to gain interest and experience across various parts of the industry.”

He also believes there is enormous value in being willing to learn beyond what is immediately required. “Displaying a willingness to learn more, even when it isn’t required has also helped me to step into higher duties that will only be beneficial in the long run,” he explains. It is an attitude that has particular resonance now that his own Disney career has progressed into the additional responsibilities of Dance Captain.

Learning where he personally fits has been another important part of that process. Phoenix recognised that his youthful appearance allows him to portray younger characters and began choosing audition material that works with that strength rather than against it. “It took me a while to figure out that that is where I fit for now, but once I did, I have never felt more comfortable auditioning and stepping into roles.”

It is an insight he hopes younger dancers and performers will consider as they prepare for their own careers. His strongest advice is to cross train, remain curious and resist narrowing possibilities too early. “My best advice for all dancers is to cross train and be as versatile as you could possibly be. The more diverse your training is, the more employable you will be as you can fit various job descriptions.” For a performer whose professional credits now span dance, acrobatics, singing, acting, screen performance and leadership, it is advice grounded firmly in experience.

Phoenix also cautions against dismissing opportunities simply because they appear small or because someone else believes they are not worthwhile. “Never disregard the small things or the jobs that people tell you aren’t worth it. There is always something to learn from every experience.”
Most importantly, he encourages dancers to invest in the person and performer they genuinely want to become. “Do things that you want to do and that interest you, rather than things that you think you should do to meet someone else’s expectations.”

There is still one particular dream sitting firmly on Phoenix’s horizon. Ever since seeing Newsies on Broadway in 2012, he has wanted to perform in the show himself. “I knew that I wanted to be part of that show,” he says. Until that opportunity comes, Phoenix is continuing to develop his career and knowledge with Disney Cruise Line while auditioning for musical theatre productions coming to Australia and building a presence within the acting industry.

Perhaps the greatest lesson of Phoenix’s journey so far is that no experience is entirely wasted. The years of training, the time away from dance, the auditions that almost resulted in contracts, the teaching, tumbling, screen work and performances at sea have each contributed something to the artist he is today. It is why he encourages young performers to remain hungry for knowledge, even when they cannot immediately see how a particular experience fits into their plans.

“Sometimes we are in situations where we aren’t doing something that we overly enjoy, but I promise, if you really look deep there will be at least one per cent from that situation that you can take away and learn from,” Phoenix says. “To do things when you can and not when you have to will help keep your career moving forward and opening opportunities that you had once dreamed of.”