Cost n’ Mayor Make Work That Feels Like Them—From Viral TikTok Clips to Full

Cost n’ Mayor Make Work That Feels Like Them—From Viral TikTok Clips to Full-Scale Musical Theater Productions Whether they’re making work for the screen or the stage, Cost n’ Mayor—Austin and Marideth Telenko—are natural storytellers. Their idiosyncratic mix of street styles and musical theater dance is as eloquent as it is magnetic. The pair have leveraged their star power, initially built via witty dance videos on social media, to choreograph for college dance teams, TV shows, and music videos. Notably, they just concluded the successful run of their own off-Broadway show, 11 to Midnight. The production drew talent from across the dance world, with performers including Heather Morris, Nia Sioux, and Melissa Becraft. We’re used to seeing dance in the background,” says Marideth. “Our show makes dancers the stars.” Giving dancers their due has been the Telenkos’ priority since the 2020 launch of their wildly popular social channels, which now boast a combined follower count of over 10 million. (Their handle, Cost n’ Mayor, came from Siri’s comedic misinterpretation of their nicknames for each other: “Cost” instead of “Aust,” “Mayor” for “Mar.”) By sharing bite-sized bits of their singular, synchronized choreography, they’ve cultivated a fiercely loyal audience in the dance world and beyond. And they often use their platform to highlight the gifts of their talented dance friends. Finding Their Path Growing up in North Carolina, Marideth trained in foundational street styles like popping, waacking, and house. She began doing musical theater in high school and studied dance and choreography in college at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Austin’s introduction to dance was a triple-threat class at his local studio in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He fell in love instantly: “I remember walking out and asking my mom to sign up for all the other styles,” he says. He participated in community theater productions throughout his childhood, expanding into street styles in his teens. In 2019, both Marideth and Austin were navigating the New York City audition circuit. “It was hard to find work that felt like me,” says Marideth, adding that she often felt “too commercial” for musical theater auditions and “too theater” for commercial auditions. She met Austin through a gig at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. After the season ended, they stayed connected through the dance scene, deepening their friendship and eventually becoming a couple. When the world shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly dating pair went to North Carolina to stay with Marideth’s parents. With extra time on their hands, they began posting their dances on TikTok in the hopes of increasing their visibility in a competitive industry. “It used to be that you had to go through agents, casting directors, and producers to even get into the room for a chance to share your artistry,” says Marideth. “Now, you can do it in 10 minutes.” In the audition room, their distinctive blend of commercial and musical theater dance had yet to find a home—but on TikTok, they had full creative control, allowing them to carve out their own niche. Although Marideth couldn’t have predicted their rapid success online, “I knew we were using it as a means to pave a new way through the industry,” she says. From the Screen to the Stage In less than a decade, that path has led to talk show appearances, social media partnerships, collaborations with musical artists, a card game, and choreographer credits for the musical Waitress at Ogunquit Playhouse in 2024. Waitress was an inflection point for the Telenkos: their first time choreographing a musical. It proved to be a natural fit. According to the show’s director, Abbey O’Brien (whom the Telenkos refer to as “Nana”), their approach was fearless. “They’re very eager to take on new challenges, but they’re also eager to bring their dynamic into the equation,” she says. “They spice up the tradition.” In some ways, 11 to Midnight is an extension of the space the Telenkos created for themselves on social media. Blending intricate choreography and physical comedy, the show follows a couple (played by the Telenkos) and their friends through the electric final hour of New Year’s Eve. Taking everything they learned from Waitress—stage direction, lighting, storytelling—the Telenkos dove headlong into the challenge of choreographing their own first show. “This show is the most ‘us’ thing that we’ve ever made,” says Marideth. “It’s a perfect mix of heartfelt storytelling and street-style movement.” One of the most fulfilling parts of 11 to Midnight, the Telenkos say, was how the production helped their cast grow artistically. “Seeing them soar onstage and what that does for them is really incredible,” says Marideth. During the creative process, the pair allowed room for each performer’s talent to shine: the choreography was designed as a fluid framework for rotating cast members to play with, rather than set in stone. “We give them the blueprint, but we won’t decorate the house for them,” Austin says. “That’s what they bring to the routine.” A Look Behind the Curtain The Telenkos’ magnetism is rooted in their authenticity, which has remained constant through their mounting success. “Their character and the things that matter to them never changed,” says Theresa Stone, choreographer of the Telenkos’ first gig at Six Flags. They exist comfortably at the junction of street style and musical theater dance, and online and offline content. “They lead with their genuine desire to create and explore,” Stone says, not with what they think audiences want to see. This X factor has helped the Telenkos build a dedicated fan base that follows the pair from project to project. They often ask this community to weigh in on their work, through comments, polls, and even a committee for the creation of 11 to Midnight. “People feel so deeply connected to 11 to Midnight because they’ve been involved and bought into it for so long,” says Marideth, adding that showing fans the messy, chaotic side of their dancemaking gives the final product more meaning. For example, the Telenkos polled their audience for opinions on props, choreography, and more. “We’re almost beta-testing things,” says Marideth. “It’s like a focus group for sharing your ideas.” After performances of 11 to Midnight, fans gathered at the stage door to talk to the Telenkos about bits of choreography they recognized from social media. “It’s great to get onstage and do the sparkly thing every night, but how much more can you appreciate it if you’ve seen us in the trenches?” Marideth says. The behind-the-scenes access the Telenkos offer is rare in the dance industry, where processes like choreography, casting, and rehearsal often happen behind closed doors. Transparency is part of their mission to demystify the creative process. “If we can inspire someone out there with an inside look, that’s a huge part of it,” says Austin. For Marideth, it’s about showing aspiring choreographers that making “bad” work is an unavoidable part of the process, not a failure. Looking to the future, the Telenkos say they’ll continue to create work in their one-of-a-kind style. “We love the intersection of movement, storytelling, and letting dance live in the spotlight,” says Marideth. “We’ll just keep creating things that align with that vision.” TikTok Evolution As social media has evolved, so has the Telenkos’ relationship to it. In the early 2020s, at the start of their career, posting was their creative lifeline. Now, their energy is funneled into other projects, allowing them to pivot to lifestyle and behind-the-scenes content online. “I no longer rely on social media as my sole creative outlet,” says Marideth. In fact, the duo has to balance their choreographic output online and in person to avoid burnout. Austin says that, now, social media complements their real-world projects: “We’re always talking about how we can get [the two] to work together.” The label “TikTok choreographers” used to bother the Telenkos, carrying with it connotations of amateurism. But, eventually, they embraced it. “TikTok is awesome, and we share choreography on there that we work hard on and are proud of,” says Marideth. “We can drop the stigma around being a dancer on the internet.”