The Professional Bio
“Amanda, I just want to say thank you again for the Musical Theatre Workshop you taught. I had a lot of feelings then that I wasn’t able or ready to articulate. Most of all, I am so grateful and overjoyed to have reconnected to the woman I was before I had breast cancer. She was a woman who felt confident and competent. She was a woman who felt she had something important to say and was excited to share her perspective and thoughts. She was a woman who knew she could have anything she wanted without apologizes. It was my hope and prayer that by getting involved with musical theatre that I might find that woman who got sick and went missing 13 years ago. Well my prayer was answered. That woman reappeared at the workshop. You have given her back to me and I’m forever grateful to you. Bless you and all that you do.”
Jackie: adult student and community theatre performer
Personal Mission: I strive to build fun, inclusive spaces where folks can explore, experiment, and expand under patient guidance.
Amanda Trusty (they/them) is an artist, educator, and advocate equipped with extensive performing arts training and a gift for working with youth. A neurodivergent individual with disabilities, Trusty is sought out for their creative choreography and intuitive teaching skills, always customizing communication to serve individual learning styles and reflect the current sociopolitical climate. They have performed in esteemed venues across the country, captivating audiences as a musical theater actor, stand-up comedian, and tap dancer “sitting in” with jazz bands. Trusty has been a dynamic leader in the Hawai’i theatre community for the last decade, building tap dance and musical theatre programs for underserved communities and nonprofit organizations. They are especially passionate about empowering women, children, and trans folx with holistic vocal training, helping them find their voice and connect with their bodies in a unique way. Named one of nine women bringing body positivity to dance by the Huffington Post, Trusty is a published writer, public speaker, and serves on the judging roster for Impact Dance Adjudicators. A dog mom, avid hiker and adventurer, Trusty now resides on the east coast and freelances as a creative and a teaching artist.
Additional Professional Victories:
Collaboration with Oxford University Press to write a book on culturally competent dance education: Ongoing
Innovative arts leadership for the Big Island of Hawai’i (read more about my work here)
Musical Theatre and Tap Dance programs | The Dancing Tree, Kainaliu: 2013-2016
Co-Founder & Artistic Director | Kona Dance & Performing Arts, Kealakekua: 2016-2019
Aloha Teen Theatre Advisor | Aloha Theatre, Kainaliu: 2019-2020
Trusty Tap & Vocal | Virtual & Kailua-Kona: 2020-present
Named Nine Women Bringing Body Positivity to Dance by the Huffington Post: 2014
Nominated for Best Choreography in the Berkshire Region alongside Gerry McIntyre: 2012
Co-Founder & Artistic Director of Company 1B Theatre Co-op in NYC
Produced and choreographed first revival of Lucky Stiff in NYC since 1989 | Sage Theatre, Times Square: 2008
Competitive multi-genre dancer as a teen; on the judging roster for Impact Dance Adjudicators as an adult
A plethora of students who have gone on to perform professionally and internationally; attend esteemed liberal arts colleges and universities; or be recognized and awarded at performing arts competitions such as JUMP and the Miss Kona Coffee Festival