Many young students dream of making it in the big city, but Indiana’s own Alyssa “Lyss” Rinehart made that dream come true. She is the youngest performer in Cirque du Soleil’s “Mad Apple” show in Las Vegas, and after graduating from Plainfield High School in 2024, she has been thriving there for a year now.
“Starting off, I was a little worried about being the youngest,” Rinehart says. There are many types of performers in the show, including singers, acrobats and dancers, and she was afraid she might not fit in with them.
“But it’s actually a really welcoming cast. They’re all funny, regular people, and it’s great to be around that energy: where everything’s lighthearted, and I’m not having to be on my toes all the time,” she says.
Some Cirque shows have a base story, but *Mad Apple* is themed around New York. It features live singers performing classic songs associated with the city. It’s more atmospheric than narrative.
“The show I’m in is the most intimate group of dancers for Cirque du Soleil in Vegas. Our cast only has six dancers on stage at all times. I don’t have to play a role when I get to work; I get to be myself, just enhanced on stage. We do a wide range of styles — west side ballroom, vogueing, whacking and hip-hop. We don’t just stick to one thing, and I feel like that kind of challenges my brain every night,” she says.
Her workday starts around 4:30 p.m. Hair and makeup take about an hour, followed by a 30-minute warm-up with the dancers. They perform two shows, each lasting 90 minutes.
“I really enjoy Las Vegas. I’ve always wanted to live a city life, but it’s not as crazy and hectic as it sounds. It’s pretty calm, unless you’re on the Strip, and I never really go there.”
She plans to continue with Cirque du Soleil for another year or so but eventually would like to get into choreography and artistic directing. Rinehart has never received formal training for choreography; it’s all been learned from her own firsthand experience. She choreographed for a Las Vegas show called “Carnival” last year and would someday love to choreograph for music tours, like Ariana Grande’s.
“Growing up in Indiana, and especially my community, there aren’t a lot of people who take risks like this in the arts community. For example, there are tons of dance and arts schools in L.A. and New York, but in the Midwest, we’re raised to go to college and work. I feel like having the passion I did was kind of rare,” she says.
She started dancing at three years old and continued in competitions and classes throughout high school at the Infinity Dance Academy. She joined the dance team and decided to pursue dance as a career during her senior year.
“I always had support from my friends. My mom really wanted me to go to college. I’m her firstborn, so she wanted me to do the things that she wasn’t able to do. But now she’s very supportive, and her Facebook is filled with all kinds of things about me that I didn’t even know were posted,” Rinehart says, laughing.
“It’s great to have that support now, because at first, I was feeling a little bit of resentment from family because I wasn’t going the college route — but now, being able to prove that I can actually do it, it feels really good,” she adds.
“Of course, you’re always going to get people who say, ‘Oh, well, dance isn’t really a career.’ Hearing that, and then being able to make it work, has helped me to gain confidence and believe in myself, that I can pursue what I want.”
More of her work can be found on @lyssrinehart. For more information about Mad Apple, visit cirquedusoleil.com/mad-apple.
