Kassidy Jackson is sophomore from Rosemount, Minnesota majoring in Mass Communication: Public Relations and minoring in dance.
Her Campus (HC): How did you get started in dance/choreography?
Kassidy Jackson (KJ): All throughout elementary school I would dance in my living room to music channels on the TV and improv to whatever was on because I knew I just loved to dance. After that I knew it would be a good idea to get some formal training because I wanted to continue dancing for as long as possible. When I was a sophomore in high school, I decided I wanted to choreograph for the school’s annual dance show production. I would always come up with dances for fun as a hobby previous to that, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to try and do it for the performance stage. I fell in love with choreographing after that and continued to do it for different school productions each up to now. Last year I choreographed a trio for the WSU Senior Dance Show and that was a blast. After receiving positive support throughout that I decided I wanted to choreograph for Dancescape 2017.
HC: How did you get involved in Dancescape?
KJ: I knew I wanted to continue dancing in college, so I made sure to check out the club fair to see what opportunities there were. I found the audition information through the Dance Society booth and I knew I had to go for it.
HC: How did you get picked to choreograph a dance for Dancescape?
KJ: Each choreographer went through an application process with the dance program director to be selected.
HC: What inspired your piece?
KJ: Each person has their own set of things they go through and their own stories that they don’t always wear on their sleeve. These challenges and struggles we face in life can bring us down and it can be tough to push through them but it’s always important to remember times get better. I wanted to show this in my piece by reminding people that the hard times you face are just a bump in the road before all the great things ahead.
HC: What was the most challenging part of choreographing a dance?
KJ: Sometimes it’s easy to just say “I want my dance to be about this…” but the most challenging part is putting that idea on the stage using specific artistic choices to best support the theme of the piece.
HC: Who inspires you?
KJ: I don’t think one particular person inspires me but I’m inspired by the qualities and traits of people in my life that make me want to strive to live the best life I can while being the best person I can be.
HC: What is the best piece of advice you have received?
KJ: Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Kassidy really is kind, dedicated and responsible, and maybe next year we will see Kassidy choreographing another dance for Dancescape 2018.