In life, body language is often more revealing than words. In the same way, dance can express depths of human experience that words can’t. I love dance because it is a vessel for storytelling, it creates a clear and distinct impression. I train in a variety of dance styles—ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, tap, heels, and African—because I love to explore endless ways to move the human body, with each technique and style providing new perspectives on human experiences. As a choreographer, I pull from the various dance styles I’ve trained in to share stories and human experiences. For example, my first piece of group choreography, The Decreased Quality of Life, explored the effects of screen addiction on myself and my generation using elements of contemporary and jazz dance. Choreography also helps me understand myself: last year, I self-choreographed a contemporary solo to try to decipher my feelings after my best friend and older sister both left for college. I thought I was handling it well, but through creating the piece, I realized how much tension I was holding internally and how greatly I missed the presence of my two favorite people. Because of this realization, I started calling them more frequently and figuring out how to stay connected when physically apart. I also find confidence and agency through dance. I’m taking a heels dance class this semester at Boston Conservatory, and I’ve never felt so confident in my own body. Heels dance involves dancing in 3-inch stiletto heels in a cool, calm style with sharp, sassy moments. I transform when I put my heels on: I don’t doubt myself and don’t care what anybody else thinks, because I know for myself that I am amazing. I’ve also recently been experimenting with tutting, a style that involves geometric shapes and movements mainly with the arms and hands that originated from queer ballroom culture and street dance. I’ve learned that this style feels very natural in my body. I massively enjoy trying to find new possible arm pathways and sequences, and I have choreographed a couple of combinations I’m proud of. For me, dance has always felt like it requires a rigid technical foundation, but tutting has allowed me to experiment on my own to discover what is possible without limitations or rules. I can’t wait to see how my arm performance evolves and what I will be capable of creating in the future. That being said, I still love technique classes: they focus on the body and consistent practices that allow it to move in specific ways. They are grounding because the exercises are simple and repetitive, so technical elements can be improved upon bit by bit in each class. For me, this balances out the emotionally creative aspect of dancing, which can be taxing. My dream is to explore many ways to tell stories through movement. I want to perform and choreograph commercial movement in music concerts to empower and bring people together. I’m also interested in choreographing for concert dance: I loved learning classical choreography techniques at my performing arts high school, and would love to continue experimenting with creating original dance works for the stage that convey a specific message or idea to an audience. Once my dance performance career comes to an end, I want to teach and choreograph dance throughout the country and across the world. Through performing, choreographing, and teaching dance, I will live my dream of using the unique impact of dance to spread joy and help people understand each other.

Dancing has always been a way for me to cope with hardships, allowing me to express myself in a way that transcends words and helps me feel present in my own body and reality. Throughout elementary and middle school, when I felt like I had no control over my life, a simple tendu combination at the ballet barre would put me in complete control of my body. When there was no one I could talk to, I would channel and process my emotions by improvising alone in my room. When my life at school and at home were unpredictable and unsupportive, I would go to my dance studio and put my all into Ms. Christine's fun, sassy hip-hop class to make me feel a little better. I remember when Ms. Christine first showed up at my dance studio when I was 8 years old. I had taken ballet and modern classes for years, but she was the person who first introduced me to jazz, hip-hop, tap, and musical theatre. As she taught us how to do kicks and leaps across the floor, I felt my worries melt away, like this was what I was meant to do. I wasn’t great when I started out, but I listened to every correction she gave in class and applied it with the utmost focus, wanting to do the very best version of a saut de chat or a paradiddle. She taught us combinations ranging from the energetic and precise “Carrying the Banner” from Newsies to the sassy jazz of Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”, opening my world to the possibilities of what dance could be. Ms. Christine also started our studio’s competition team, where we were told to call her by her full name "Christine Dent" when asked who choreographed our dances. Attending competitions allowed me to watch dancers outside of my studio for the first time, and I was amazed and inspired by the technique and artistry of the dancers whom I competed against, and became hungrier than ever to improve my skills. Ms. Christine encouraged me along every step of the way, even when I felt I wasn’t good enough and thought I would never be able to pursue dance. She choreographed the audition solo that got me into my performing arts high school, where during my 4 years I grew a love for concert dance. Then, in my senior year, she choreographed a musical theatre solo that I used to audition for colleges, and I also self-choreographed a contemporary solo. When I was accepted into both concert and commercial-focused college dance programs and not sure which I wanted to pursue, talking with Ms. Christine helped me realize that my true dreams lay in the commercial dance world. She reminded me of the 8-year-old me who dreamt of performing on Broadway, touring with pop stars, and dancing on TV. So, through Ms. Christine’s suggestion, I committed to a BFA in Commercial Dance from the Boston Conservatory. Now, I’ve finished my first semester at BoCo, and it has been amazing: I've trained in a wide variety of styles, performed onstage with future superstars from Berklee College of Music, learned how to navigate professional auditions, and choreographed my own commercial works. I even did my first paid dance job, choreographing a full musical production of Mean Girls, and I called Ms. Christine to help negotiate my hourly rate. Thanks to Ms. Christine, I feel more so now than ever that my dreams are within reach and that I’m on the path to making them a reality.