Author | Kelsey Howlett |
(From left to right: Ashley Strange, Nancy Glasscock, and Caroline Walshe)
“The truest expression of people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie.” Agnes de Mille
Dead, dead, dead. Dead is Lydia Rice for roping me into writing an article! When she first convinced me to sign up for journalism club, I wanted to do one thing, social media. Frankly, I am not a huge fan of writing.
Nonetheless, in the first meeting, I felt bombarded by the news of my new position, along with social media, interviews. Sammi told me I had to write an article on summer plans. Now, you might see this as complaining, but on the contrary, this is good for me. It’s pushing me to try something new; not the interviews, but the whole idea of portraying one’s thoughts on paper to make their audience feel or see something. So without further ado, I would like to attempt my first, and probably not my last, article.
Let me start off by saying I feel inspired; Caroline, Nancy, and Ashley all are unique and genuine people. I enjoy their stories, and I am sure you will too. When I was “given” the assignment to interview people on their summer adventures, I was curious as to what I would uncover. I talked to a couple of “victims” and realized that our school has a vast majority of people who did absolutely nothing. (hint: Sammi has a great article about you guys.)
However, I also found a bunch of delightful dancers.
During my first interview of the year, I intently study the body language of Nancy Glassclock. Now, I realize that this tends to freak people out, but I am pretty good at analyzing people, and I have methods of achieving my results. My first impression of Nancy is that of a sweet, genuine, and humble presence. Nancy is bubbly and engaging. She seems interested in what you have to say, and even though I was interviewing her, she seemed to want to loop the question back to me, like an actual conversation. She has a graceful presence, that of a dancer. She is the perfect example of what everyone thinks a dancer is. Nancy's grace and her Instagram portrays that of a ballerina.
She is different than most ballerinas because she started at ten years old; most dancers train practically right out of the womb. She clearly has the passion. She knows for sure this is the career she wants to take. Although she views it as a "starving dream," her determination and her dedication lead to a promising future.
She wants to do work in sports medicine and mission work. Both intertwined with dance. Is that not so cool? She literally wants to dance and be on the mission field, at the same time. She has a concrete goal which she is continually striving towards.
Now, on to what she actually did this summer. She auditioned for an international ballet intensive for four weeks at Brenau University in Gainesville. It is tough to get in, and she was one of 35 people accepted. Now, you might be thinking, "Wow, she must be really good at dance.” Yes, that is true, and I will tell you this is her second year attending. Oh, and one more important thing to note, she has been to Joffrey Ballet School, one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the country. Talk about an impressive resume.
You don’t have to look far to find Nancy’s best friend Ashley. Ashley Strange is so welcoming and engaging as well. Her interview was in no way awkward, which was a fear I had for everyone. She makes you feel like she cares. That is a tough thing to do, ladies and gentlemen, and I applaud her natural ability. She, along with Nancy, dances at On Point and Praise and Motion. She has danced since she was two. Unlike Nancy who wants to dance professionally, Ashley values dance as a hobby. She wants to be an interior designer, but she absolutely hates math, which is a huge part of any interior designer’s work.
As I watched the dynamic between the two friends, it is obvious to see they are really close. They practically dance off each other’s energy. It is also apparent that Nancy inspires Ashley. When I asked about her inspirations for dance, she said Nancy. “I look up to Nancy, well actually I have to look down.” (Nancy is short like me.)
Ashley’s summer did not consist of long dance classes and extensive rehearsals. She went to the beach with her family. She also goes to summer camps and does church missions. Their dance school does pressure them to compete or audition; Ashley does the auditions for fun.
I also talked to the bubbly and shy Caroline Walshe. Like Ashley, Caroline has danced since she was two. She is so refreshing to talk to. She loves to use vivid hand motions, and she squirms. (All dancers seem to have this personality, I’ve noticed.) I really enjoy our conversations because she is always really open.
Caroline participated in a 6-week contemporary summer intensive in North Carolina. She danced at the University of North Carolina School of Arts. Her typical day consisted of dancing 9:30-5:00 with all different types of classes: tap, contemporary, improv, ballet, etc. She said the campus was huge with tons of other camps going on. After her classes for contemporary dancing, she met new people from the other camps and hung out with them around the campus. She has done this intensive before; however, this was her first year attending with just contemporary and not ballet.
Caroline definitely wants to attend college for dance. She is interested in choreography
which I think is insanely impressive. She has a passion for dance and choreography, and you can see she is passionate about it by just hearing her talk.
A typical day for Caroline would be cross training (doing other workouts besides dance) in the early morning, school after that, and dance all afternoon. She values a schedule, like me, and everything is organized and pretty. She also teaches seven different dance classes at her dance company.
I asked all the dancers who inspires them daily. I was honestly expecting some famous dancer I would have to look up and pull a quote from. However, all three said they found inspiration by the people they were around all day. Their teachers and each other inspire Ashley and Nancy. Caroline said her friend’s passion and hard work inspires her to be better. I thought this was really interesting because it shows how much of an influence we have on the people we see every day. I felt very inspired after talking to these three amazing dancers, and I hope you enjoyed reading a little about their unique summers.
If any of you guys want to see Ashley and Nancy dance, they are having a performance November 17 at 2:30 and again at 7:30. It is called The Gift, and located at The Venue at Friendship Springs. And, it's totally free!
Extra stuff:
You totally need to follow our instagram: @theguildgazette
And the instagrams of these awesome people:
@thefancynancymarie
@ashleyhstrange
@carolinewal_