Margaux Miller is a freshman at Wake Forest from Bel Air, Maryland. She is considering majoring in International Relations and Russian with minors in Dance and French. Margaux earned a Presidential scholarship here at Wake Forest for dance with a focus in classical ballet. She is going to talk about her experience as a dancer so far at Wake Forest.
Her Campus: How did you get started with dance, and what made you decide to dance here at Wake?
Margaux Miller: I have been dancing since I was 2 years old, so I’ve always done ballet. I was one of those people that never gave up on something once I set my mind to it and that was dance. And so, I have always taken it very seriously. It’s become very therapeutic for me and gives me a sense of routine for my day. I knew wherever I chose to go to college I wanted to find a strong dance program. I was very impressed by Wake’s balance of academic and artistic focus that gave me the opportunity to prioritize school while still training intensely.
HC: Talk about the Presidential scholarship and what that entails. Did you have to audition?
MM: Basically, the first “round” of the selection process was submitting a letter of recommendation (I chose my favorite coach), two essays, my transcript, a dance resume, and most importantly an audition video. People that move to the next round receive a letter inviting them to the in-person audition, which took place over the course of two days. There were around 8-10 of us competing for 4 spots. You are required to minor in Dance as there is no major here.
HC: What types of classes do Dance minors have to take and do you have performances?
MM: In a normal year, there are both fall and spring performances, but because of Covid, those will probably not be happening anytime soon. I am currently taking ballet repertoire and contemporary ballet. In future semesters I intend on taking studio classical ballet, modern, jazz, dance history, and a few other courses as well.
HC: What does your schedule look like with dance?
MM: My busiest day of the week is Wednesday when I have Statistics, Contemporary Ballet, Russian, French, and Repertoire with a quick break to grab a lunch and eat during my Russian Zoom class. In a weird way, I’m grateful I have some Zoom classes because it gives me more time to transition from class to class. That’s a total of 2 and half hours of dance classes in that one day, along with my other classes as I mentioned. But these dance classes often run over the allotted time. It might be a crazy schedule, but I’m so lucky to get to dance in college with such amazing coaches here!