A Celebration of Friendship and Artistry
Kam Saunders, a talented dancer who has been an integral part of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, recently took to social media to celebrate the pop star’s 36th birthday. In a heartfelt post shared on Instagram, he referred to Swift as his “boss lady” and expressed his deep appreciation for their time together.
“To my girl… my boss lady! It’s been three years now that we’ve gotten to have this moment,” Saunders wrote, sharing rehearsal footage from the tour. “And each year my love for you grows deeper and deeper. You are such an astounding human being!!”
He continued, “I’m honored to be in your orbit. The laughs. The love. The affirming. The care. The generosity. I just – thank you! Here’s to a lifetime of more of these moments together. Happy Birthday, gorgeous! 🤍.”
The Vision Behind the Eras Tour
Taylor Swift conceptualized the Eras Tour two years before its opening night in March 2023, aiming to celebrate her past and present body of work. To support her performance, she was adamant about casting a diverse crew of dancers. This decision not only enhanced the show but also created a space where individuals like Kam Saunders could shine.
In the docuseries End of an Era, which premiered on Disney+ on December 12, Saunders reflected on the importance of such spaces. “Spaces like space that Taylor is curating on a night-to-night basis, I wish we had more of that, even outside of entertaining,” he said. “It’s so important to be heard, to be understood. My background as a dancer, I had a lot of dancers and professors who were not-so-kind, mostly around my size and if I wanted to be a professional dancer.”
A Journey of Passion and Opportunity
Saunders graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a degree in dance. However, he believed he would end up teaching dance without steady performance gigs. One day, he received an email about a “confidential” closed dance audition opportunity with a then-undisclosed artist and choreographer, Mandy Moore.
“I didn’t have a dollar to my name, and I called my brother, like, ‘Listen, I don’t know what this is, but something is telling me I have to be in this room,'” Kam said, referring to his NFL star brother, Khalen Saunders, who paid for a plane ticket to get him to the audition.
A Magnetic Presence
Kam subsequently impressed Moore with his “magnetic” personality and technical dance skills. “He’s a great dancer, his smile is like the thousand-watt smile,” Moore said in the Disney+ doc. “He just embodies what I felt the spirit of what these people need to be.”
Swift felt the same, revealing in a separate End of an Era interview that Kam “lights up” the stage and the “entire vibe as a tour.” At the end of each leg of the tour, Swift gave Kam and the rest of the Eras cast and crew impressive bonuses.
“Bonus day is so important, because setting a precedent with The Eras Tour is really important to me, because people who work on the road, if the tour grosses more, they get more of a bonus, and these people just work so hard and they are the best at what they do,” Swift explained in the documentary. “It’s fun to write the notes. It’s fun to think about everybody’s lives that they’re gonna go back to and the time off they’re gonna have and the kids they haven’t seen because they’ve been away for months, and just making that worthwhile for them is really – it feels like Christmas morning when you finally get to say thank you.”
Personal Touches and Gratitude
In addition to presenting a check, Swift provided each performer and crew member a handwritten poem sealed with a wax emblem. “Dearest Kam, we’ve traveled the world like we set out to do,” Kam read aloud Swift’s note in End of an Era. “We’ve dazzled the crowds but we’ve missed family too. My full gratitude doesn’t come from a bank, but here’s [redacted] dollars just to say thanks. Love, Taylor.”
The Legacy of the Eras Tour
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour wrapped in December 2024, leaving a lasting impact on everyone involved. The first two episodes of End of an Era are currently streaming on Disney+.