All That Jazz! Viral Sensation Keira Redpath Shines
Story By Kristyn Burtt
It only took a few seconds of Keira Redpath’s unexpected moves in her 2024-2025 competition solo of “All That Jazz” to go viral. She proved that style, precision, and charisma can stop a TikTok scroll dead in its tracks.
The 18-year-old dancer always had a unique sense of movement, but her path to recreational dance was an easy one—she followed in her big sister’s footsteps at the age of three.
“I would go tag along to the dance classes just to watch with my mom,” she explains in a recent interview with Inside Dance. “But I actually ended up learning all of her dances. So, then they were like, ‘Oh, we should put her in dance as well.’”
By age 5, she started dancing competitively. “I’ve just loved it ever since. And haven’t looked back, haven’t stopped,” she adds. Redpath is a part of the Larkin Dance Studio legacy in Maplewood, Minnesota, where other famous dance faces have trained, including Ava and Ellie Wagner, Eva Igo, Taylor Sieve, Madison Jordan, and Savannah Manzel.
Fans know these names from various seasons of So You Think You Can Dance and World of Dance, but Redpath represents a different generation, who were raised on TikTok. Still, she shares her admiration for the incredible dancers who paved the path for her at Larkin.
“I always have looked up to the older dancers and it’s so fun because we were able to be in production dances with them,” Redpath shares. “I think that is a huge thing in the Larkin Legacy, it’s about the relationships from the littlest ones to the graduating seniors.”
Of course, Redpath has Larkin Dance Studio owners, Molly Larkin-Wagner and Michele Larkin-Symanietz, to thank for “seeing something in me from the beginning.” She says that without their support and guidance, she wouldn’t be “the dancer I am today.”
The Dance That Shook the Internet
That brings us to her competition solo, which took the internet by storm this year. If you were paying attention, you couldn’t scroll past a clip of Redpath without hearing the snazzy notes from Chita Rivera’s version of All That Jazz. It would stop fans in their tracks every time.
The dance, choreographed by Season 11 So You Think You Can Dance winner and Broadway star, Ricky Ubeda, was a dream come true for Redpath. Ubeda completely changed the path of what her senior year solo choreography was going to look like. “I originally thought I was just going to get an instrumental contemporary piece,” she explains. “But he was like, ‘Let’s do something that no one’s going to expect. Let’s blow everyone away.'”
And blow everyone away, they did!
Instead of a contemporary piece, they worked on her musical theatre side because she “loves to perform.” She adds, “I trusted him right away. And he said, ‘If we don’t like it, we can like go back to the basic contemporary.’”
The dynamic duo never looked back. “But I ended up loving it right away and he’s just so creative,” Redpath praises Ubeda. “It was mind-blowing the way he would hear certain parts of the song that I’ve never heard before—and then he would choreograph to it.”
Redpath might be underplaying her part in interpreting Ubeda’s work, though. Her movement quality and musical interpretation skills are pretty spot on. “When I hit my teens, I started to dance differently,” she explains. “I would listen to the music in a new way. That’s when I started loving music and listening to different accents in the beats and rhythm.”
Her performance level for All That Jazz also evolved over the season as she danced it “a little bit different every time” she hit the stage. “I feel like my facials is what evolved the most.” Redpath reveals. “I still get nervous before I dance on stage, but honestly, this solo kind of changed that because it was so fun to do and it was so silly. I can be myself on stage, I just went for it.”
To keep herself on track, Redpath made sure to stay focused on the work and not let the noise of social media distract her, especially when she went viral. It’s a situation she described as “an unreal feeling” throughout the season.
“Obviously, I’ve gained a following on social media now, but I love making dance videos and posting them on TikTok,” she says. “I would see the videos, but I don’t let that influence the way I feel about my performance.”
Redpath knew she had a big goal ahead of her anyway: “Senior Best Female Dancer” at The Dance Awards in Las Vegas. Redpath revealed the pep talk she gave herself before competing to us: “Well, since it was my last year, I thought, ‘There’s nothing to lose. No matter what happens, you can keep dancing. You’re still going to college, do it for yourself. Do it because you love it. It’s your last time as a competitive dancer, at such a prestigious competition.'”
“I didn’t put too much pressure on myself,” she says. “I did it because I love to perform, and it was so fun to be with such talented people.” That savvy plan turned out to be the right recipe for a win because she came out on top at The Dance Awards.
Next Stop, College!
Many dance fans have followed the Wagner sisters as they competed on their college dance teams—Ava at the University of Minnesota and Ellie at The Ohio State University. It might seem like a natural fit for Redpath to follow in their Larkin footsteps, but she had another goal in mind after high school.
“I was back and forth for a while because I know so many people from my studio go and do dance team, and it’s such an amazing environment,” she says. Still, she was looking for a conservatory approach to her dance career and that’s why she landed at University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance (USC). The esteemed program was the right fit for Redpath because she knew it would set her on a path toward her professional career.
It was love at first sight for Redpath—one glance at the “gorgeous” studios was enough for her to know that this was the right dance home for her for the next four years.
“It’s a good place for me to get into choreography, because I am really interested in choreography. I definitely want to start exploring that. I really love L.A.,” the college freshman says with a laugh. “Yeah, I’m happy to be surrounded in this new environment.”
Sunshine it is for Redpath, who didn’t apply to many schools because she was “just so interested in USC.” She’s just a few months into her college career and the “busy schedule” is already keeping her on her toes.
“I am really grateful that we get so many versatile classes rather than just sticking to ballet and modern,” she explains enthusiastically. “We get to have hip-hop and then I also have improv class. I get to work with the upperclassmen on their pieces and do a bunch of partner work. So, it’s nice to experience all these different classes with a new group of people, who are on the same level of commitment.”
Get Ready For The Future
In addition to her dance goals, Redpath, who Keira was voted America’s Favorite Dancer 17 & Under at the 2025 Industry Dance Awards, is excited about connecting with choreographers, including Robbie Blue, who won his first Primetime Emmy for his work with Doechii and is the creative behind The Gap’s recent commercial with the girl group, Katseye. She hopes to take his class and explore other styles of dance that the vibrant Los Angeles dance scene offers.
On the personal side, she’s also adapting to living in the USC dorms as an 18-year-old dancer. “It’s definitely been a shift,” Redpath laughs. “I felt like I had to set a routine for myself from the very beginning so I could like stick to what I need for myself and what will help me stay healthy.” She also knows mom and dad are just a phone call away.
“My parents are so helpful and I’m able to call them whenever I need anything,” she shares. “I’m an independent person, but it’s still a shock to the system.”
Redpath seems to be handling the next chapter of her dance career with complete confidence, and she’s already thinking about her future legacy.
“I want to inspire younger generations of dancers to find their own style and teaching them to be authentic,” she sums up. “I want them to dance for themselves just because they love it. Find your voice, find your power.”
