https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e Made with the best of intentions en-us 2018-09-20 00:09:48 UTC 2025-06-02 16:51:23 UTC hello@padlet.com rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283683935 Ever since I was born, dancing has been a part of my life. My mom has told me that when I was very little, and she would put on music, I would dance around the living room. She says that instead of the typical little kid dancing that disregards the emotions, texture and rhythm of the music, I would dance definitively with the music.]]> 2018-09-20 00:15:11 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283683935 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283685495 My Grandma brought home a video of the Nutcracker and that year all I wanted for Christmas was a pair of ballet shoes. I really only remember the parts of the video where they were showing the rehearsal process.]]> 2018-09-20 00:25:17 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283685495 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283687406 I joined the Walnut Hill Community Dance Academy when I was 5 years old and I continued to train there until the end of middle school. I remember a year or so when I was in fourth grade, when I first started to struggle with some of the movements I was given. I struggled with remembering the combinations and lifting my legs above 45 degrees.]]> 2018-09-20 00:37:15 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283687406 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283687805 As I entered high school, I already knew that I was really serious about dance, so I auditioned for Walnut Hill. I joined Walnut Hill school in 2012 and danced there until I graduated.]]> 2018-09-20 00:39:37 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283687805 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283687954 When I was a junior in highschool, I tore my ACL in a ballet class in early November. I got it surgically repaired that December and I was allowed to do my first plies in April. I spent the summer and most of the next year recovering.]]> 2018-09-20 00:40:37 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283687954 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283688241 During the summer following my senior year of high school, I was offered a position as a trainee at Ballet Austin, which I accepted. I stayed the year, taking a gap year before college. This was a moment in my life when I was reaffirming both my love for dance and my desire to be a professional dancer.]]> 2018-09-20 00:42:47 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283688241 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283689335 College has taught me a lot about dancing in general, but one of the most important things that I've learned is how interconnected any one form of dance is to all of  the others. I've found that skills learned in Graham and Limon are also applicable and helpful in ballet, and vise versa.]]> 2018-09-20 00:50:40 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283689335 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283689488 My first dance class was actually an audition, although I wasn't really aware of it at the time. All I remember is standing on one side of the room and being so excited. ]]> 2018-09-20 00:52:00 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283689488 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283689892 The summer before my junior year in high school, I went to a summer intensive called Magnus Northwest. It was a relatively small program in Portland Oregon, but it has proved to be one of the most inspiring and motivational times in my dance career so far. Mr Magnus was one of the most passionate and talented teachers I've ever had the opportunity to learn from. He believed unconditionally in his students, pushing us to work hard and really guiding each of us in our journey. It is because of Mr. Magnus that I approach dance in the way that I do. ]]> 2018-09-20 00:54:48 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/283689892 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/284793871 Burklyn is what I would consider my long time ballet home. I first spent the summer at Burklyn when I was 12 years old, and I returned the summer after I tore my ACL. I had missed audition season due to my injury, but I called up the director and I asked her if I could return to Burklyn anyway. She said yes. This is just one example of how  the faculty and my friends there have supported me through good times and bad. I love giving back to Burklyn, particularly because of everything they've done for me.]]> 2018-09-23 19:57:15 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/284793871 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/284794185 Aside from being a place that I hold dear, Burklyn has also helped my dancing to grow. They put on a different show every week for six weeks. This has helped me to learn choreography faster, and also to be able to get my body to do the steps well on short notice.]]> 2018-09-23 19:59:30 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/284794185 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285798228 The first dance form that I was introduced to as a small child was belly dance because my mom is a belly dance teacher and she has been since before I was born. I remember that I used to go with her every week, and being sad when I started kindergarten and wasn't allowed to stay up that late anymore.]]> 2018-09-25 22:00:18 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285798228 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285799989 I was trained in classical ballet for several years before I was introduced to anything resembling modern dance. It was a really foreign feeling to dance in parallel and to bend my back. This was one of the first experiences that I'd had with foreign feeling movement in my body, and I remember really not liking it at first.]]> 2018-09-25 22:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285799989 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285801437 What I particularly like about my dance experiences up until this point is that they are widely varied. I have attended many more summer intensives than I put in here (at least one new intensive per year since I was 12, sometimes two). I've had many different teachers, studied dance as part of my school (both high school and college) and I've spent a year watching and learning how company life works. I think that there is a correct balance between diversity of training and consistent training, and I feel that I've struck the correct balance for me.]]> 2018-09-25 22:24:49 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285801437 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285802519 My future goals are pretty varied when it comes to dance related possibilities. The first, and biggest of these goals is to receive and hold a company contract at a medium sized company. Other dance related goals that I have are to teach and share the love of dancing with children and to become a dance/sports specific physical therapist.]]> 2018-09-25 22:34:41 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285802519 rookey https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285803237 The incorporation of my past experiences into my day to day life and thus my future has already begun. I am already and will continue to be a different dancer in the way that I work due to my ACL tear. I have already begun to more deeply involve myself with Burklyn and I would love to someday be even more involved in making Burklyn run, weather that be as a teacher, choreographer or something else. I plan to continue to explore different movement styles and see what I can learn and incorporate into my other dancing. I plan to incorporate what I know about dance and a dancer's life into my goal to be a physical therapist. ]]> 2018-09-25 22:39:57 UTC https://padlet.com/rookey/ywiwsqifc18e/wish/285803237