Years at BADA (Teaching): 2

Years at BADA (Student): 16

Disciplines: Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern, KinderDance, KinderMotions

Credentials: Karizma, WAHS Dance team, Elon Dance team. Most memorable performance was Project dance in NYC after the attack on 911.

Favorite Dance Quote: “There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.” - Vicki Baum

Dance has influenced my life in such a way, that I want to use it in order to encourage others. At Elon I have decided to major in special/elementary education, minor in dance, and get a concentration in women/ gender studies. When I first approached my advisor with this idea, her response was “there is no way you will finish all of this in four years, you might as well drop your minor.” Well here I am entering my fourth year at Elon with a 3.6 GPA and 136 credits under my belt, and I am going to finish everything on time. Determined? Yes, because I love everything that I do. My main point of study at Elon, Dance and Disabilities. There are so many special education students who are physically disabled, mentally handicapped, mute, and emotionally discouraged. I felt that dance/movement would be a great intervention for these students and an outstanding way to learn. How many of us as students had to sit behind a desk all day and listen to the teacher talk? We figured that the best way to learn was to memorize everything! It is not true, research has proven that students learn the information better and remember it for a longer amount of time when they learn it in groups and through movement. It is not modeling it is trying the product out. I also figured what better way for a student to express themselves through movement if there are no use of words. Ever heard a teacher say raise your hand? Yep, that is a movement that requests attention. So when you are testing a student on the stages of a butterfly, he/she could show you instead of writing it down or getting the words confused. The women/ gender studies part of my education, well that was to find out why women and men behave as they do in society. My mom says that I am going to school to learn, “how to teach girls and boys with disabilities how to dance and love life.” If you ever question my madness read the children’s book “Ballerina Dreams” it is a true story about 5 little girls with cerebral palsy who had the dream of being a ballerina and dancing on stage. I am here to change lives and make many dreams come true.