Dance Experience
I started dancing in Chicago during high school, and I had been a gymnast up until high school, so acquiring dance skills (turns, leaps, etc.) was not a difficult feat for me. During my first few years, I became obsessed with dance and gaining as much experience as I could in that area. I managed to gain the opportunity to do some choreography for our high school majorettes, the Dancing Dolls. Choreographing with the Dancing Dolls was huge for me. It gave me the opportunity to express myself creatively, and it allowed me the opportunity to not only improve my dancing, but improve the team’s technique as well. During my junior and senior year of high school, I served as head choreographer and technique coach for the Dancing Dolls. While still in high school, I would take technique classes at some various dance studios including Joel Hall and Hubbard Street.
I attended the University of Illinois as a dance major. As a dance major, we had classes in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, African and Improvisation. During my years of college, I also started a competitive dance team. The High Steppin’ Illini Dance Team was a very athletic team that specialized in Jazz, Pom-Motion technique and some hip hop. We competed nationally for 4 years. My time as a dance major strengthened my dance technique foundation and my years with High Steppin’ Illini allowed me to grow as a choreographer and dance leader.
Since college, I have choreographed for several high school dance teams, with my routines usually always placing in the top 5 at state competitions. I have also run dance team technique camps during the summer, choreographed award winning gymnastics floor and beam routines and I also choreograph for a few cheer teams, bringing my dramatic flair to their routines for the dance section.
