As the daughter of Hobart dance stalwart Jenina Evans – who runs Jenina’s Dance Workshop and has taught thousands of Tasmanian dancers since her popular school opened more than 30 years ago – Taylah grew up immersed in the world of dancing and performing, something she has always loved.

She performed in eisteddfods then musicals, before heading interstate to study musical theatre in Melbourne and has since gone on to work in various musicals and Christmas cabaret shows, as well as working as a ringmistress for Silvers Circus and as a cruise ship performer.

And while she has loved all of those roles, Evans says it’s time to stop playing the role of someone else and explore her own true self, releasing her original music as a singer/songwriter.

Evans released her debut single, About You, in June, followed by a second single, Honeymoon Phase, in July. She has a third single, Fall Easy, coming out on September 15, with an album set to be released later this year.

“Releasing my own music has always been a dream of mine,’’ the 25-year-old says.

“I have pretty much been doing all three – singing and dancing and acting – since I was really, really young. Lots of musicals, lots of gigs – I was always performing. But singing is my favourite – and probably my best – skill. So the last few years I’ve tried to really hone that, and make things happen for myself.’’

Currently based in Melbourne, Evans has been working with producer Ayrton Rose – also a Tasmanian – to make music, when she’s not working in her other job as a pilates instructor.

Years ago, aspiring artists typically needed to impress a producer and land a record deal to have their vinyl records, cassette singles or CDs produced. But with digital technology and streaming services changing the way most of us consume music, it has become more widely accepted that unknown artists put their music online first, and then pick up deals with music labels once they have proven their talent and have successfully established a fanbase.

Evans admits it can be a daunting world to navigate at times, but it’s a learning curve she’s enjoying.

“I am navigating by myself, every day,’’ she says.

“I’m still an independent artist, I don’t have a manager telling me what to do. So I’m going off the response I get when I do things. I upload singles, put them out to all the different streaming services, put them on Spotify and Apple Music, and it will be the same with the album.’’

She says then there’s all the promotion that needs to be done on social media to get her name – and her songs – heard, and then there’s data to look at, to understand who is listening to her songs and the sorts of feedback her followers are giving her.

“It has been going really well, it’s really interesting, and definitely Spotify is the most popular platform (for people listening to my songs),’’ she says.

“Once the album is out I’ll look for a manager, possibly a label. For now I just want to put it out there and build a bit more of a profile.’’

Evans says listeners have already likened her sound to that of hit pop artists like Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey, which Evans considers a huge compliment.

“In terms of sound, every song is a bit different,’’ Evans says.

“Honeymoon Phase has a bit of an Ariana Grande vibe, the song before that (About You) had a bit of a Billie Eilish vibe. They all come under the pop umbrella, but some are a bit more R&B, a bit more alternate, a bit more electronic pop.’’

Although she’s still in the early stages of establishing a recording career, Evans is feeling confident that she’ll have success and believes her songs have commercial appeal.

“I would love to make this more of a career than a hobby,’’ she says.

“I’m working really hard, and once this album is out, hopefully I can promote it and get lots of people to like it and find someone to manage it. It’s a goal of mine, I’ve got my sights on the notable labels... so my next step will be getting representation that helps me put myself out there bit more.

“I feel like Honeymoon Phase has the potential to be commercially successful so I’m doing all I can to get it out there. I also have high hopes for Fall Easy to be commercially successful as it has an edgy pop sound that a lot of people love.’’

Her ultimate goal is to be performing her original music, live on stage, in front of mass audiences.

“World tours, fame, that’s the absolute dream – I want to take it all the way,’’ Evans enthuses.

Evans likes that writing and recording original music lets her be herself in a world where she has mostly, until now, played the role of someone else.

“I think it’s just about getting to be myself and getting to be creative, in a way that I didn’t do much growing up in musical theatre,’’ she explains.

“I was always playing a character or singing a song in a way my teacher wanted me to do it, or how someone else sang it on Broadway.

“It has been freeing – and challenging at times – but also empowering to write my own songs and come out as an artist. Hopefully I’ll be on stage and be myself – wear the style of clothes I like to wear, and make an artist of myself and a brand of myself, and that’s really exciting to me.’’

Evans says as well as writing and recording music, she has had to call on stylists and photographers to help bring her artistic vision to life.

“I’ve used the best stylists and make-up artist and hair artists and the best photographers because I do want everything to look professional, even if it is expensive,’’ she says.

“I don’t want to cut corners, I want everything to look top notch.’’

Evans grew up in Glenorchy and spent her final years of primary school and most of secondary school at The Friends’ School, however, she switched to Rosny College for Years 11 and 12 as she was attracted to the school’s reputation for nurturing students through performing arts.

She then moved to Melbourne to study at leading performing arts institution, Patrick School of the Arts, before landing a six-month contract as a cruise ship performer with Norwegian Cruise Line.

“It was amazing,’’ Evans recalls of that experience. “It was perfect to do when you’re 21. I was part of a musical called Rock of Ages, it was really awesome to be part of that show.’’

She returned to Tasmania when Covid hit, and as restrictions eased in Tassie, she was conscious that her Melbourne friends were still in lockdown while Tasmanians were free to perform.

So to celebrate this freedom – and also celebrate the fact that so many talented performers who hailed from Tasmania seemed to be back in the state following the pandemic after long stints interstate and overseas – Evans decided to produce a show, A Christmas Cabaret, to bring people together and showcase Tassie talent.

“I thought ‘how great’ to put on a show with all these great performers who just happened to be back in Hobart,’’ Evans says.

The event was a success and has since been held annually, with Evans currently planning this year’s event for December 21.

Evans says the show – held at the Don Bosco Theatre, at Guilford Young College in Glenorchy – has a “soiree kind of vibe” and includes a three-course meal.

She’s also in the process of organising a one-day music festival in Hobart over summer, celebrating Tassie acts, which she intends to play a set at to showcase her new music.

“I wanted to play a live show with my music, and I thought why don’t I get more Tassie performers involved and create a really cool event … an afternoon into night sort of thing,’’ Evans says.

“Even though I live in Melbourne, I do still feel very connected to Hobart, especially the music/theatre industry as I fly down regularly for various productions and gigs.

“I’m lucky enough to have a lot of support in Hobart – it does always excite me to keep thinking of new projects to do down there.’’

Evans says when she’s back in Hobart she often ends up helping out at her mum’s Glenorchy dance studio. An only child, Evans loves spending time with her mum, and her dad Martin, who works in real estate.

Evans says after all the singing, dancing and acting classes she took as a child, her mum was thrilled to see her following her dreams and pursuing a music career.

“She loves it, she loves everything I do, she’s always proud of me,’’ Evans says.

“She knows this is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, she knows I like to be my own person and she’s proud I did things on my own, and worked hard to make it happen.’’

When she’s not in Hobart, Evans is working as a pilates instructor, and sometimes as a dance teacher, in Melbourne.

The hours are flexible – most classes are held early in the morning, or in the early evening – which leaves the days free to work on music.

She still auditions for musicals when opportunities arise and takes singing lessons.

“If I can pursue both – music and musicals – I will,’’ Evans says.

She’s also started doing short, two-week cruise ship contracts, performing in a show called The Diamonds, and travelled around Japan and South Korea in June as part of this gig.

“It’s great to get up on stage and perform songs and see the world as well,’’ she says.

She says being a performer isn’t the easiest career option, but the hard work was definitely worth it. Evans says she doesn’t want to look back and regret not giving music a shot.

“It has never crossed my mind to not pursue it,’’ Evans says of a music career. “It is something that has always been a dream of mine and I’m going to give it a good crack.

“Working with (producer) Ayrton, we have all these deadlines and organising to do – getting the singles out, uploading the album, filming the video … and we don’t have a manager telling us when to get these things done. So it’s just our motivation to get it all done. You’re just working for you. And that can be hard sometimes. But hopefully it will all be worth it once the album is out and everyone loves it.”

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Listen to original music by Taylah Evans on streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music. Her new single, Fall Easy, will be released on September 15. Follow @taylahevans and @a_christmas_cabaret on Instagram for updates.