Major/Minor: WLP, Entrepreneurship and Philosophy minors
Year: 2014
Hobbies: Writing, reading, going to concerts, dancing, knitting
What are you involved with on campus: I am the President of Sigma Pi Theta, the only local social sorority on campus. I am the Tap Director of Emerson Urban Dance Theatre. I choreograph 1-2 pieces a semester with a company of 10 elite tap dancers. While there are other tap choreographers, I make sure that we all work together to make our side of the company strong for our semester performance. I am also a copyeditor for Chaos Magazine, a new music magazine on campus.
What can we expect from EUDT this semester? I’m not sure if I’m allowed to reveal the theme yet. But, I can assure you that the tap company is fiercer than ever. We have two tappers returning from the castle this semester and we are introducing a new tapper to our group. Last semester, I choreographed a tap piece to a Dr. Dre song and it was very hard hitting. This semester, I’m taking it in a whole new direction with something a little more upbeat that just makes you want to clap your hands. EUDT was my first family here at Emerson and I couldn’t be happier with how things are turning out this semester.
What can we expect from Sigma Pi Theta: Sigma is on the up and up. We are going into this semester 23 sisters strong. We have so many big plans! It’s time we make our mark on campus. We will be having Herstory month or week (to be determined) where we have events that focus on female empowerment. We hope to have some crafting event, an alumni lunch, a social event and more! Also, we are planning to have a Greek wide Masquerade Party event this semester. For Philanthropy, we are going to do Relay for Life in addition to our Herstory programming. Sigma is ready to have more of a presence at Emerson, and it is about time!
Describe my background in dance: I started dancing tap at 4 years old. The next year I did tap and jazz. Every few years, I took on a new style. After 7 years at one studio that closed, I went to Dance Nation in Vernon, CT. There, I started competition dance for both pom and jazz in addition to doing recreational lyrical, hip hop, tap, and ballet. After my first year at Dance Nation, the owner realized I had a real knack for tap. She hired a UCONN student named Kristin Villardi who was head of the UCONN tap team to teach me a competition tap solo. She choreographed a competition tap solo for me for 6 years in a row! When I first started competing my tap solos, I would get silver, then gold, then high gold, getting better each year. My senior year of high school, I got a Platinum and 3rd overall in my division. I was more than pleased. Kristin’s style was a nice hybrid between rhythm tap and traditional tap. When I came to Emerson, I auditioned for EUDT and was thankful that Kacey Prishwalko
saw such potential in me. She taught me so much about tap that I didn’t know before. Second semester of my freshman year, I became the first ever Tap Assistant, and in my second semester of sophomore year, I became Tap Director after Kacey graduated. Between Kristin’s style and Kacey’s style, I have found a happy medium between the two that I can call my own. At Emerson, I continue to dance tap, but hip-hop, pom, and contemporary. This is my seventeenth year of dance in total.
What inspires me when I’m choreographing: Each semester, EUDT picks a narrative theme. This means each piece contributes to the overall story of the show. The theme allows me to find how my piece(s) will fit into the show. Last semester, the two pieces I choreographed were Zombies and Robots since our theme was Dancing ‘Til the World Ends. Once I have an idea of what I want, I think about songs that I already have in iTunes and I consider songs that I just hear in stores or on the radio. Choreography goes absolutely nowhere if you don’t like the song you pick. Choreographing rhythm tap is not like choreographing any other style of dance. It requires you to listen (and I mean listen) to every snare hit and every bass thump and more. Rhythm tap is all about adding in your own part to the music as well as accenting what already exists. It used to take me a long time to choreograph 10 seconds of a piece, but now my ear has become heightened and ideas just pop into my head. Sometimes, I can sit in a chair and choreograph just in my head, without even moving my feet because I can hear it. In terms of inspiration, the previous Tap Director, Kacey was my mentor. She saw that I had potential, and I do what I do now as a result of the growth of the tap company. It was her baby and she trusted me with it. Not to mention, I am inspired by my dancers to choreograph a routine that they feel challenged yet comfortable with. Choreography is something that comes with practice, and once you find your own style, it is easy to go from there.
My biggest accomplishment so far at Emerson: My biggest accomplishment so far was becoming Tap Director of EUDT. If you asked my freshman self if I was going to be choreographing and leading the tap half of EUDT, I would have probably looked at you as if you had twelve heads. I never knew that Emerson would build me into such a strong leader and not to mention, a pretty damn good choreographer. I am so proud to be Tap Director and challenge my tap company every day. I know I’m doing my job right when I can see the frustration in their faces!
Where do I see myself in ten years? This question has always been and still is a hard one for me to answer. I want to be happy with whatever I’m doing. Right now, I can see myself as the owner and primary choreographer of a dance studio. I just can’t picture my life without dance, which will easily disappear after Emerson since dance opportunities start to diminish after college. My boyfriend of nearly 4 years is going to become a doctor one day, and my future includes him in it since he is not only my best friend, but also my biggest supporter.