The arts are everything.

The arts are our release.

It's how we express.

It's how we share.

It's our superpower.

It was my superpower.

It is my superpower.

Art is everywhere.

Hi, I'm Karla Puno.

Garcia And this is how art changed me.

A lot of core memories about the arts.

My dad was a musician, so he was a guitarist and pianist, and so he would play all the time.

And so I kind of grew up around music and when I was three, I was in my first tap dance class.

Didn't know what I was doing, but I knew I enjoyed the lights on me.

Like they were like really hot lights on me.

One of my first performing experiences was with a Filipino traditional dance company called Pak US.

I grew up in a very heavy Filipino community.

I grew up learning all of the traditional dances at a very young age.

I was definitely a shy kid, but I remember knowing that when I went to my dance studio and I would go there like 4 to 5 times a week, I would feel so powerful.

Even though I was shy, I knew that I was really good at dance, and I knew that when I danced I was super human.

It was something that no one could take away from me.

That was my power foundation.

In my last year at NYU, I started going to open casting calls and there was a notice for a huge open call for a new dance musical called Hot Feet.

And so I went to this open call and I danced my heart out.

And Maurice even, you know, picked me out of the crowd and told me, like, I could really dance.

So I felt very good about it.

And then the day of the callback came and I didn't hear anything.

And so I actually called my parents and I was like, you know, I guess this is what they tell you when they say if it's not right, it's not about your talent.

It's about many other things, because I felt so good about it.

You know, I kind of had this cathartic one on one with my dad and my mom.

I remember we talked through it and I kind of accepted it.

Then I checked an email that I don't normally check, but I remember it was the one on my resumé and it was from Paul Hart casting.

He said, Carlo, we've been looking for you.

We dialed this number.

We can't get a hold of you to go to the callback.

And one digit on my phone number was incorrect on my resumé and so they could not track me down.

Oh, Carlo, we've been looking all over for you.

You know, Maurice loved you and want you to come to callback.

He loved you so much.

You booked the show.

So it was really magical, really unrealistic, and spoiled me for many auditions to come because I thought it would just be that easy.

The bottom line is, make sure your resumé is correct and your phone number is right so they can find you.

From there, I continued to perform on Broadway in national tours like Wicked, Addams Family, The West Side Story, Revival, and eventually Hamilton on Broadway.

That show in general brings something out of you when you're performing it each night or even when I'm I was swinging and I was just in the building hearing the words about legacy and empowerment.

And, you know, it just brings some kind of drive out of you And I. I definitely think that that is a huge reason why I became a choreographer during that time was because I was in that building.

Specifically, there was one moment where I was on and we were doing the number wait for it.

I was going through a big change.

I knew, you know, my dad was never going to see the show.

It had been a few years since he had passed.

I knew he would just like love it so much and I was just evaluating myself.

I think I was going through a growth spurt in every way possible and I was on stage and I was singing Wait for it.

Those three words, wait for it just resonate it so hard in every way.

And then there was just like the gratitude of being able to feel that cathartic moment on stage doing what I love.

I grew from those 3 minutes of really being present and feeling wait for it.

That night, the 76th Annual Tony Awards, I was asked to choreograph.

It was the year where there was no writing.

There was a writer's strike, and so I was given the task to choreograph the opening number with no script.

With the guidance and collaboration of Ariana DeBose, we were able to build a really exciting opening and something I was really proud of.

I was able to lead with dance and music.

The things that I started out with, the things that I was surrounded by when I was young, you know, from my dad and my Filipino culture.

So full circle.

Because when I was eight years old, another core memory is my father introduced the Tony Awards to me.

I was eight years old and they were on the television and he said, You should watch this.

You would love the Tony Awards.

I had no idea what Broadway was.

And so he just knew that I like dance.

And he said, There's a lot of dance on this.

You should see it.

If he knew in this moment.

And he does that.

I was choreographing the Tony Awards.

He would be so proud because he is the reason why I was there.

Once the number completed, I was walking with Krysta Hibbard, and Krysta goes, Well, you have to apply for the Emmys.

And I think throughout the year I was like, Oh, that mean I'm very proud of my work.

So let's just, you know, let's just see what happens.

We're like, whatever happens, happens, and it happens.

And I won the Emmy and I was so excited.

It was icing.

Icing, icing, icing on top of a cake that was already so sweet.

See, the object I brought today is a very special photo of my dad singing to me as a baby.

Obviously, I don't remember this, but when I look at this picture, I feel like I remember it.

My dad is very proud of me and I think he would be really excited for all the things that I'm doing.

But more importantly, I think he, you know, he would want me to be happy.

And so if it's bringing me joy, I think that's good enough for him.

I do think of him when I'm creating cause I'm like, what would he what would he think of this?

What would you think?

Is it good enough?

You know, and and I know, I know he's always around.