Growing up, Olivia Ceci had big career aspirations, but Broadway wasn’t one of them. For one thing, she didn’t sing or act. In fact, she knew nothing about the world of musical theater. But when her chance to win Season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance slipped through her fingers, her dance teacher Beth-Anne Rossi used the loss as a chance to light a new fire. “I know it’s your dream, but I really think you’re going to be on Broadway someday,” said Rossi, who the dancers affectionately call “Miss Beth.” As it turned out, she was prophetic. Cece went on to have a thriving Broadway career. You can actually catch her The heart of rock and roll on Broadway right now!
Born and raised in Rhode Island, Ceci spent most of her training at the Atwood Performing Arts Center. There she meets Rossi, a woman who will become the most important teacher in her life. After spotting Cece at a middle school talent show, Rossi invites the 7-year-old to dance in her studio. “It was a great school with amazing teaching,” Ceci says. “Miss Beth [was a ballroom dancer known for her old-school jazz classes. She was phenomenal.”
During her senior year of high school, Rossi told Cece she had cancer. “She told me to meet her at the studio early so it would be just us. Then, she showed me her hair falling out and said, ‘Miss Bette’s got a little bit of cancer.’ ” It was stage four, and just four months later, Rossi passed away. “She told me that I was one of her proudest accomplishments—it was one of the last things I remember her saying to me,” Cece says. Before her passing, Rossi gave Cece a necklace with a small bird on it. “She said I was her free spirit. She told me to go off and fly and do all the things that she and I had planned. I got that bird tattooed on my hand.”
And fly she has. Cece earned her BFA in the commercial dance program at Pace University. While there she expanded her training to singing and acting, and built relationships with major choreographers in Los Angeles and New York City. Through her senior showcase, she signed with Clear Talent and started working straight after graduation. Her first job was American Dance Spectacular, with Al Blackstone, followed by dancing on “Saturday Night Live” with Miley Cyrus (choreographed by Nick Kenkel). “Those jobs felt like gifts to me as I crossed the bridge from student to pro dancer,” Cece says. From there, her career took off. Her film and TV credits include Disney’s “Better Nate Than Never” and Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Big City Adventure,” and her theater credits include Kaylee in the first national tour of The Prom, the 5-week workshop of Andy Blankenbuehler’s Only Gold, the first national tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway. “I was asked to come in and do [Moulin Rouge] for a quick three weeks in December 2022 and I just never left.” That is until February 2024 when Cece booked her current job in the original cast of Broadway’s The heart of rock and roll.
When booking: The heart of rock and roll: “My whole audition was in one day. They had us do a full mix of 80’s jazz technique with some stepping as well as some improv before they did a cut. Then they asked me to stay for a partnership before they did a new cut and they asked me to stay and sing. I sang some Stevie Nicks for them and left feeling great about it all. I even wore clothes from: my own 80s dancewear line with Ilogear: a high-cut leotard with a bandeau style sports bra and flared pants over it.
“I didn’t hear anything for four weeks before I got an email from my agent saying I was still in the mix. My mother said she would pray for me and if it was meant to be, it would be. The following weekend I received: to: a call from my agent. The office was about to close, but she didn’t want me to wait. “You will be in the original lineup of: The heart of rock and rollshe said. I was absolutely thrilled.”
On Rossi’s impact. “Miss Beth will always hold the biggest place in my heart and in my life for many reasons. I spent more time in the studio than at home. My family was going through different challenges at one point and the studio was my rock. Miss Beth was a strong, solid figure in my life and the studio was where I felt most noticed and comfortable. Not only did she train me and give me everything I could need as a dancer, but she was also a role model for me as a woman. We had a beautiful friendship. If I could have one person there to look at me right now, it would be her. I remember while I was doing Moulin RougeI would look out into the audience and sing ‘Come What May,’ and I would get emotional imagining her there, seeing what she imagined come to life.”
About her dreams for the future. I would like to continue to be a part of new performances and processes in the theater. I love the creative collaboration I found in this show and hope to do more of it. I’d also love to create some sort of theme song that really highlights the dancers. In addition to implementation, I would like to use my leadership and business experience to lead or manage a program. I have a degree and would like to go back and get a master’s degree. I could see myself running a school like Pace or something someday. It would be so cool to go back and share the things I wish I had more of when I was in school.”