"Season 8 of The Next Step is a special season. Fans of the show will see more dancing, extra drama and additional competitions," Oakville's Briar Nolet reveals.
The 23-year-old was born and raised in Oakville, Ontario. Nolet has been dancing for as long as she can remember.
Her natural ability to captivate onlookers with her exceptional technical skills and style is attributed partly to her excellent genes as the daughter of 3x Olympic gymnast Alan Nolet. The rest, Briar, comes by through hard work and dedication; standards set for training early in her career by her mother, Olympic-level gymnast coach Tamara Nolet.
Best known for her role as Richelle on the CBBC and Family Channel networks' long-running series The Next Step, the road to becoming a lead in a popular television series for the past seven years was not easy.
From 16 to 18, the young star experienced terrible episodes of seizures – 20 over two years. While being misdiagnosed for the better part of that, Briar took some time off to take care of her health.
During the height of her seizure events, she still desired the need to exercise her creativity. Briar couldn't dance or perform, and movement was difficult. She then switched her focus to an activity she knew wouldn't trigger them – singing.
In February 2018, Nolet released the electro-pop single Boys, hitting several music and dance charts with a music video on-brand for this young dancer, with close to one million YouTube views.
In the same year, several neurologists determined a connection between the physical and mental learning of new choreography that precipitated the life-threatening reactions. Events that only occurred while in dance studios and when working out. Once figured out, Briar learned to control them through lifestyle changes and medication.
Career highlights
Nolet relays, "After only six months of taking medication, I was offered the amazing chance to compete on Season 3 of the World of Dance television series, with judges Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough and Ne-Yo.
"It was risky, but with the structure of this competition, I could bring my own routine. There was no added stress to learn one."
"I was pretty proud of myself for taking that leap, going onto the show given what would potentially trigger my seizures. I was able to push myself in a good way once I knew my health was under control."
"After the season ended, Jennifer Lopez invited me to go with her as a solo opening act on her It's My Party Tour. I made a lot of great connections and met a lot of industry people. Being on tour with Jlo for three months was a perfect amount of time to get to know her, to learn and gather everything that I wanted from that opportunity.:
"World of Dance was a special time in my life, but obviously opening for Jennifer Lopez as a solo act was a dream come true; something that I have never taken for granted."
Immediately off Jlo's tour, Nolet went straight into filming The Next Step – Season 7, then on to the Absolute Dance Tour in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. at the end of 2019.
With schedules resuming, Briar and the cast have just finished filming Season 8, which will be aired this year on HBO Max in Canada and the U.S., ABC Australia, and BBC in the U.K.
Proudest Moments
"I am so very proud and happy to share that my seizures are under control. I haven't had an episode for five years.
"Obviously, you have to take care of yourself, and I'm grateful that what was a traumatic time in my life is now under control. Media coverage, while I was in the competition, allowed me to share my health struggles with others."
"It was important for me to not only let people know how I was but to also give hope to others diagnosed with Epilepsy; that there is a way to have an active lifestyle.
"I am also really proud of the launch this year of my new line of high-performance activewear Halo Braxton," Briar shares.
What's Next?
"Over the next six months to a year, I have more singles coming out. I produced my music video for Boys, so I'll have an active role in the videos for my new releases.
I'll be helping with The Next Step choreography.
I produced a bunch of short films which people will be able to view in the next year—the when and where I'll share with everyone as soon as I know.
Halo Braxton has been a big part of my focus this year, and I would like to expand on that," Nolet excitedly replies.
What additional experiences would you like to add to your career accomplishments?
"Depending on the direction that my character takes in season 9 of The Next Step, I might have the chance to help out directors with my input behind the scenes. I've had a great relationship with the scriptwriters and the production team, and I've been able to suggest tweaks to scenes."
"I love dancing with a passion. There's a lot of wear and tear on the body over time. I also spend time kickboxing, boxing, running, weight lifting, and doing yoga. I'm hoping to have an opportunity to bring all of my dancing, gymnastics and athletic components into acting for something like a Marvel DC action-based film someday soon."
"In addition to Jlo, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake are at the top of my dream list of people that I would love to dance with," Briar notes.
What can fans expect this year from Richelle's character?
Briar talks about her evolution on set this year, "Richelle was introduced in Season 2 on The Next Step, and her character development really began around the early part of Season 3."
"I was so young when I started. I grew up along with my character. I'm especially excited for fans of the show to see Season 8.
"Richelle has grown as a person. In this season, she'll show that she has many levels of emotions; more complexities exposed that no one knew that she was capable of."
"Now that Season 8 filming has wrapped up, I look forward to touring, with meet and greets again for The Next Step –it's always a great time."