Meet this weeks Campus Profiles (double edition!!): Kelley Fairman and Grace Bradley! These fun camels can be seen dancing their way through Cro or studiously hitting the books in the library. Read on to learn more about their upcoming Dance Club show, their unique hobbies, and some advice they have for underclassmen!
Class Year?
Kelley and Grace: 2018
Hometown?
Kelley: Houston, Texas
Grace: Harrington Park, New Jersey
Majors/Minors/Certificates/Centers?
Kelley: Economics and Dance double major and Environmental Science minor
Grace: Dance and Sociology double major
What are some of your extracurricular activities?
Kelley: Senior Admission Fellow, Economics Tutor, Choreographer for Dance Club and Eclipse, Dance Department Student Advisory Board
Grace: Senior Admission Fellow, Social Media Coordinator for Active Minds, Co-Social Media Coordinator for the Dance Department, Choreographer for Dance Club
Did you study abroad? Where? Did you enjoy it?
Kelley: I studied abroad in Perugia, Italy during the summer and Copenhagen, Denmark during the fall. They were both incredible experiences!
Grace: I studied with the Swedish Program in Stockholm, Sweden during the fall of 2016. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in the world. It was cold, but the Christmas markets were just spectacular!
Tell us about Dance Club…
Kelley: Dance Club puts on a series of shows every semester. Our next shows are November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th at 7:30 in Myers Studio!! Dance Club allows student artists to explore their creativity and receive feedback for their work. The process involves conceptual development, casting fellow students, generating movement material, and working collaboratively to put together a piece. The pieces are then anonymously adjudicated by a panel of Conn students and faculty. This semester’s show consists of 10 quirky, physical, meaningful pieces.
Grace: Ditto!
How does it feel to be performing in your last dance club show? Do you feel like each show has been different? Is there a specific piece you choreographed or performed in that you remember particularly fondly over the last 3 years?
Kelley: I’ll miss both the opportunity to share my love of dance with others and the many hours spent late in the studio giggling, crying, and creating. It is so fun to see what everyone produces each semester. My sophomore year, I choreographed a piece to “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy. My friends and I love this song, and it was great to see it translate onto the stage.
Grace: It is certainly bittersweet to be performing and choreographing for this final show. What I have cherished about each show is that the cast, pieces, and energy has always been different. I will certainly miss helping a choreographer bring their piece to life, and having the opportunity to work with an eclectic group of artists. Freshman year, I was in a piece choreographed by Maia Draper-Reich ‘16 entitled “Christmas Is a Choice” and it was set to “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. The dancers were decked out in Christmas attire and colors, and it was filled with incredible memories of eating Pez on stage.
What do you do in your free time? Any hobbies?
Kelley: I eat and watch squirrels.
Grace: I enjoy going on “mom walks” down by the water and drinking coffee.
Favorite song, movie, book, TV show, food?
Kelley: “Ignition (Remix)”; Pride and Prejudice; Pride and Prejudice; Game of Thrones today but Friends forever; Popcorn
Grace: “Dancing Queen” by ABBA; Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Love Actually; The Silver Lining’s Playbook; Gilmore Girls, Friends, Stranger Things
Favorite place on Campus?
Kelley: 2nd Floor Dance Studio
Grace: The Dance Lounge
If you could choose a world leader to have dinner with, who would you choose and where would you wine and dine?
Kelley: Justin Trudeau, Los Cucos Mexican Cafe (Clay Road, Houston, Texas location)
Grace: Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden at the Grand Hôtel followed by drinks in Östermalm in Stockholm, Sweden.
Favorite class at Conn?
Kelley: CC: American Earth with Professor Neely
Grace: The Sociology of Walmart with Professor Gay
As seniors, do you have any advice for underclassmen?
Kelley: Nap more. And take a dance class!
Grace: Take risks and put yourself out there. Try a class you never thought you’d take, apply to a job, internship, or volunteer opportunity on a whim. Most importantly, don’t be afraid of failure. Embrace it and learn from it. This is a safe place to fail.