"My Summer Dance Experience"

As mentioned in our previous post, attending a Summer Dance Intensive is a great way to propel your dance training to the next level. Summer dance study challenges students mentally and physically, while also exposing them to new instructors, peers, dance techniques, and cultures. Check out what five of our dancers have to say about their experiences below!

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Chelsea Chandler
Rising AHHS Dance Senior and Repertory Company Member

Program Attended:
Brenau University Summer Dance Intensive

Why did you choose to attend this program? 
They offered a wide variety of different styles of dance we’d be practicing. Also, it was two weeks long which meant it offered more time to advance my technique.

What have you learned about yourself as a dancer and as person during this program?
I’ve found more confidence in myself when I dance. I feel that I’ve grown individually from what I used to think about myself and my dancing.

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Jackson Rynd
Rising AHHS Dance Senior and Repertory Company Member

Program Attended:  
Margo Dean School of Ballet Summer Intensive

​Why do you feel continuing your dance education through the Summer is important?
It’s always important as a dancer to stay moving and stretching because you’re not being the most beneficial to your future when you’re wasting the present. You loose flexibility and technique and when you’re not dancing, you’re not improving.

What will you bring back to school to apply to your training that you learned this Summer?
Keeping alignment at the bottom of my plies and maintaining it while coming up, lifting in my knees and thighs, using my head more, flowing through the steps and keeping it more fluid, and using my head to enhance my performance and really make my dancing a spectacle.

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Anna Scheffrahn
Rising AHHS Dance Junior and Repertory Company Member 

Program Attended:
Texas Ballet Theater Adult Summer Classes

What have you learned about yourself as a person and as a dancer during this summer program?
I believe that a main thing that I have learned about myself as a dancer is that I have definitely built up bad habits that seemed to help with certain things in the short term but now I want to achieve more and I can’t because I am trying to use the wrong muscles. As a person I think I have seen that I am definitely getting better at learning combinations better this is encouraging to me because that has been a struggle for me for a long time. I am also noticed how in the the hard work and athleticism of dance I forget to enjoy it. I love to dance but in the chaos and focus of it all I sometimes lose sight of that and I believe it has been good for me to re-ground myself in that as is I have looked forward to each class.

Why do you feel continuing your dance education through the summer is important?
Just like in school when everyone stops thinking about math and English and they come back in the fall and have to spend the first three months reviewing. In dance if you aren’t exercising the muscles or using your brain to learn combinations I think you lose ground that you have worked hard to build. Because of my hectic schedule I didn’t make it to a dance class for almost a month at the beginning of the summer and just in those 3 weeks I lost a ton of muscle and stamina that I am having to work to get back.

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Katherine Wagman
Rising AHHS Dance Senior and Repertory Company Member

Program Attended: 
Brenau Summer Dance Intensive

What was the biggest challenge you faced at your summer program?
The biggest challenge I faced at the intensive was keeping my energy and positivity levels up. It’s easy to get frustrated when you are tired, but it was important that I remember why it is worth it.

What will you bring back to school to apply to your training that you learned this summer?
I will be able to apply many new learning techniques, personal corrections, and a positive attitude for the upcoming year.

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Abby Spencer
AHHS Rising Senior and Repertory Company Member

Program Attended: 
Brenau Summer Dance Intensive

Why did you choose to attend this program?
I chose this program because I knew I wanted to dance this summer, and I wanted to do many different styles of dance instead of just one. I received a scholarship to this intensive when I was in Wisconsin for Regional High School Dance Festival. After talking with John Streit, the Director, he told me that there was also a performance at the end of the 2 week intensive. This really excited me, and I knew Brenau was the intensive that would be most suitable for me.

What have you learned about yourself as a person and as a dancer during this summer program?
Throughout the 2 weeks, I learned that I am much stronger that I thought I was. Before attending Brenau, the thought of dancing for 8 hours a day, then going to rehearsals at night was insane to me. I did not think I was strong enough to do this. During the intensive when I actually had to commit to dancing over 8 hours a day showed me that I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for. When I felt like my body couldn’t do any more that day, something made me keep going and I realized that I can always do more and work harder, even when I feel like my body can’t.

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We are so proud of all of our dancers and are thrilled to have students who continue to passionately pursue their training in the Summer! Thank you to the programs and dance educators who have poured into our dancers during this break, we are grateful for your time and talent!