Interest and Identity Statement

I am a queer, white, woman who has lived in Indiana for her whole life. I have been a part of the upper-middle class my entire life and am a daughter, sister, grand-daughter, niece, and cousin. My family is one of the most important things to me and I would do anything for them. I have been known to always put others before myself, which is something that comes back to bite me sometimes. I have always been a very caring and kind person, who will extend a hand to anyone who needs one. I am 19 years old, and dance has been a huge part of my life for the past 16 years. I wish to someday start my own dance studio to teach others the love of dance that I have had for the majority of my life. I am currently teaching 3–6-year-olds at my old dance studio, which I have been doing for the past six years, and this has reinforced my love for teaching others dance. My favorite dance styles include acrobatics, tap, jazz, and contemporary, which I have grown to love since I started them at the ages 3, 7, 8, and 11, respectively.  

I have taught children from all ages throughout my dancing career and quite a few of the older students that I have worked with (ages 13-18) have been queer. I want to work to show them that that should not be something that holds them back, but otherwise pushes them forward to be someone who can be looked up to and create amazing piece of art. My entire family has been extremely proud of me through my entire life because of my leadership and artistic capabilities and one of my main goals is to always keep accomplishing things that make them continue to be proud of me. I want my work to give others the hope that they can do the same things that I can, and I wish to inspire all of those who I connect with and have connected with in the past to pursue their dreams, no matter how far away they may seem in the moment. 

Artist Statement

Diversity Statement

I am a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor from Terre Haute, Indiana who is very passionate about creativity and inclusion in my work. I have developed a wide dance range, and I enjoy combining many types into my choreography to let my creativity and passion for inclusion shine. I have always been motivated to be the best that I can be, both in dance and as a person. Dance-wise specifically, I am motivated by those who have believed in me throughout my dance career, specifically my students and my friends who have supported me along the way. Many people who I danced with dreamed of pursuing dance; however, life brought them down a different path. There are also many young dancers that I know who dream of this, and I continue dancing for them. I dance to show others that it doesn't matter where you began; dance can still be your passion. You can always go farther, get better, and fall more in love with your dreams if you put your mind to it and put the work in.

With dance, I work to convey a wide range of emotions through my art, commonly using stories that others and I have experienced to express emotion through movement. As a dancer, I work to educate audiences about the story that the performance may be based on; however, as a dance instructor and choreographer, I am able to craft the dances using these narratives, teaching both my students and the audience about the story or experience that inspired the work.

Besides my passion for inclusion and creativity, I also work to convey many messages through my art, mainly revolving around the fact that anyone can do anything, no matter how difficult it may seem. If you love what you do, then you should continue to do what you love. Of course, this can vary from person to person; however, what fun would the world be without a variety of people? What fun would dance be without unique dancers who embrace who they are, faults and all? Every single person has feelings and stories, and I believe that if anyone wishes to express these through dance, then they should feel comfortable in doing so however they please.






Though I am a white dancer and student, I have been surrounded by diversity throughout my entire life. My hometown’s population has diverse backgrounds, and I have been very fortunate to learn their stories and experiences. I grew up being taught to treat others the same no matter what they may look or sound like and that everyone is equally human. I also find it very important that everyone around me feels safe and comfortable to be their true self in every way. 

Along with being a white dancer and student, I also identify as pansexual. This brought many struggles throughout my life because it brought many questions to people, many being difficult to give answers to. However, I have come to terms with the fact that not everyone will see eye-to-eye with the way that I live my life, and instead of forcing myself to attempt to change to appease others, I have chosen to instead follow wherever my life will take me.  

I have always been very passionate about making environments inclusive and fair for every person within them. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been very important to me for as long as I can remember. I believe that every person deserves an equal opportunity to any job, experience, class, home, or anything else of that nature, no matter what culture or identity they have. Nobody’s opportunities should be limited by something that makes them who they are.

In my future, I strive to be an educator of both general education for young children and dance for all ages. In my classes, I will teach history as it happened, including all cultures and minorities and I will inform the students of the hardships and overcomings of all groups throughout history. As a dance educator, I will teach many styles and inform my students on the histories of each, tracing them back to their true roots. I believe that each and every student needs to know that no matter their culture, background, past experiences, or personal identities, they can still achieve everything that they want to. Being yourself is not something that should be changed, but rather something that brings power to you while you overcome hardships.

Career Goals

As a Dance and Elementary Education major, one of my main goals is to find a good balance between the two. I am very passionate about teaching, in both the classroom and the studio, so I will be working hard to do both of them. I plan to stay in Indiana for a few years to organize my funds and build experience before I move away, likely to somewhere on the East coast, though I have not decided specifics yet. While I am still in Indiana, after I graduate, I plan to continue working at my current place of employment, teaching more classes of differing styles and age ranges to build up my skills at teaching these dance styles. Currently, I am teaching tap, jazz, and ballet, but I would love to add classes such as hip-hop, contemporary, and acrobatics to my roster in the future. Besides teaching these dance classes, I also plan to do a few other things with my time. I would like to offer private lessons, specifically in tap and jazz, to people of any age. I am most practiced in teaching children aged 6-13, but I would like to become a teacher who is well-versed in teaching all ages, including adults. Either before or after I move from Indiana, I would also like to either become a Color Guard coach for middle or high school or a tech/assistant for a professional group. Color Guard is one of my biggest passions and I know that it would make me happy to include this part of my life into my career. After I move from Indiana, my main goal is to eventually open up a dance studio of my own. I will be working at studios around the area that I choose to move to until I become prominent enough in the community to begin considering opening a new studio. I also plan to continue offering private lessons and to build myself up as a choreographer. I would love to become a freelance choreographer after I graduate, choreographing for many different groups and many different events. I like to choreograph many different types of dance in many different ways, so to be able to do this as a job would be perfect for me. Overall, my career goals after I graduate revolve around teaching many types of dance to all ages, working one-on-one and with groups, and choreographing many pieces which vastly differ from each other. I do not want to be tied down to one spot or one group until I am able to open my own studio, which will likely be around a decade or so in the future. I want to be able to use all of my creative talents through my work through my choreography and the education of students, teaching others to follow their dreams as I did, which will lead them to success and happiness. To reach these goals, I am currently working in a studio, which I mentioned above, teaching tap, ballet, and jazz to children aged 6-13. In these classes, I teach technique and performance, as well as create and teach choreography. I also find it important to foster my students’ love for dance by teaching in ways that are easy to understand and by using their interests throughout my classes. I also am in the process of creating a page where those with interest for one-on-one lessons can discuss their goals and preferences with me before we set up a time to hold our class.

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