Show & Tell: Meet Ashton Joseph of ‘Bite’

Q: "Bite" is your first professional dance job?

A: It is. I moved here to Vegas for an audition (in July). I was a dance performance major at Oklahoma City University, so I've been training my whole life to do a show.

Q: When did you start dancing?

A: At 2.

Q: Can you even stand up at 2?

A: You can dance at 2: shuffle, hop, step. They couldn't keep me off of the dance floor. And I was horrible. I had no balance, I had a big, round belly ... .

Q: You were 2 ... .

A: I was bad for a long time, until, like, high school. Then I grew into my limbs, you know?

Q: What is it about dancing that appeals to you?

A: I love being onstage. I'm really kind of shy and quiet. And, then, when you get onstage, you can be this character and people watch you move, and if they can't take their eyes off of you, you did your job right. ... I don't want anyone to notice me unless I'm onstage. Then I don't want anyone to not notice me.

Q: How did you end up in Las Vegas?

A: My college is considered, like, a Rockette factory, so most of our girls graduate and move out to New York City. I wanted to support myself, and New York is a bit expensive and I couldn't really afford it. I decided, "Las Vegas, there's a lot of work there, and I'm tall, and the showgirl thing." ... So I moved here the day before the "Bite" audition.

Q: You came out here cold?

A: Yes. I was hoping to be in "Jubilee." That's the only show I had ever heard of in Vegas -- tall, glamorous (dancers) -- and "Bite" was sort of my test-the-water Vegas audition. It's intimidating going to a new city and auditioning, so I thought I could get my feet wet. And I had never seen the show before.

Q: How'd it go?

A: You have to be OK with yourself onstage (working uncovered), you have to be confident enough to be onstage, so it was important that they see that. But I wasn't. I was terrified. ... But "Bite" has great dancing in it. It's hard to find a Las Vegas show where you're technically challenged. That's what drew me to it.

Q: What character do you play?

A: My character's name is Ice. She's considered to be the cold bitch vampire, basically.

Q: As opposed to a warm, cuddly vampire?

A: There are more flirty vampires. There are more sexy vampires. There are more angry vampires. I'm supposed to be kind of untouchable, so I'm a little sly, a little sneaky, and (act) a lot better than everybody.

Q: Does Ice ever come out offstage, like when you're in the checkout line at the supermarket?

A: (Laughs) No. But, actually, we were stretching in our hallway, and some people were in the hallway who were not supposed to be there. I'm getting ready for the show, stretching, and all of a sudden this man walks in and I scream at him, "Get out of here!" Then I'm, like, "Oh, I shouldn't have." ... I just don't let (her) come out too much.