The Dancer Biography Blog: Amanda

Dance or hockey…why choose?  Amanda loves both!  In fact, this next Festival Dance student featured in our Dancer Biography Blog spends every day of the week doing some sort of activity.  Amanda says her favorite activities are dancing, drawing, swimming at the pool, and playing sports. 

Amanda spends most of her time dancing and playing hockey.  Amanda has taken ballet from Festival Dance for many years and just recently started taking Beginning Jazz/Hip Hop.  She really enjoys her Ballet 2/3 class because she has learned battements and the instructor, Karissa Jacobs, is “a nice teacher”.  Amanda’s other favorite instructor is her dad, Derek, her hockey coach.  Her mom, Brenda, and younger brother, Chase, can be found skating around the ice rink, too!  Playing hockey as a family is fun because they can all spend time together.  

Amanda is currently a 2^nd grader at West Park Elementary School.  Her favorite subjects are math and science because it is “fun to figure things out” and she’s “good at it”.  She is also a talented reader and writer, and even tries to help Chase spell difficult words.  Amanda often writes thank you notes and thinking of you notes to her friends.  If you see Amanda at dance class or hockey practice, ask her if she will write you a note that rhymes.  After all, her favorite animal is a panda because it rhymes with her name!   

Congratulations

to the Cast and Crew of

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

Missoula Children's Theatre

Snow White- Aidan Barnhart 

Queen- Elli Fender

Mirror- Talia Mullin 

Phineas- Joshua Young

Fernando - Mason Burke 

Foxy- Catherine Allen

King Backwards- Wesley W. Kirkland 

Henchman 1- Jorge Barbosa

Henchman 2- Ashton Martin

Forest Animals- Megan Cornish, Madeline Schab, Ashlyn Walker, Angel Fulfer, Elias Wappett, Geneva Gregory, Drew Underwood, Ava Hicke, Emma Cary, Flora Binninger, Hannah Fender, Dolora Wetzel, Frankie Gage, Malia Jensen, Kylin Chavez, Abby Duke, Alyssa Dyer, Ashelin Vicente 

Dwarfs-Bob- Isabelle Wappett

             Dr. Specs- Lindsay Todd

             Grouch- Kailee Evans

             Humpty- Rebecca Kirkland

             Dumpty- Jed Wallen

             Tambourine- Emmet Brooks

Bats- Joey Williams, Mariah Chadron, Soraya Wetzel, Gracie Fizzill, Jacque Williams, Imogene Troutwein, Charlie Owen, Rohanna White, Benjamin Schab, Emily Samford, Kiera Smith

Assistant Directors- Andrea St. Pierre, Elaina Loveless, Ashley Green, Jillian Hohnholz 

The Dancer Biograhy Blog: Karen Lawrence

“Stop that bouncing!” is what you will hear friends say to our next student featured in the Dancer Biography Blog, Karen Lawrence.  Karen loves to move, especially when dancing in her Celtic Novice Performance class.  She says that Celtic is her favorite type of dance because “it’s fast, it’s fun”.  And don’t forget that the shoes “look cool”.  Karen started taking Celtic from Festival Dance when she was just a second grader.  She found that dance was perfect for her because it was more individualized than other sports and she loved to perform on stage.  Now that Karen is one of those “big girl” dancers she used to admire, she has opportunities to perform with great dancers, such as with An Dóchas and the Haran Irish Dancers.  She will likely join them again at their Great Performances Series show on April 7^th.  Karen’s message to young dancers is to keep dancing because Celtic is “awesome”.     

Karen also loves to move around the globe.  She has been to countries all over the world, including New Zealand, Spain, and Antarctica! Her favorite thing about her travels is the animals she encounters along the way.  It is no surprise then that Karen’s favorite subject in school is science and that her dream is to work in rescue and rehabilitation of animals, maybe even in Antarctica.  She plans to attend college anywhere with a coast that is known for its Marine Biology department.  Karen is currently a ninth grader at Moscow High School, so she still has a few years before college to enjoy her hometown of Moscow, especially the annual Renaissance Fair.  She usually attends the event dressed up with friends and sometimes performs a dance piece.  Watch for Karen’s performances at the Renaissance Fair and on stage!

Missoula Children's Theatre - "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

The Dancer Biography Blog: Emma Browse

Emma Browse was the first to be selected for the Dancer Biography Blog because of her talent. As put by Mia Seshiki, Emma "...has demonstrated not only beauty and grace on stage and in the classroom, but also a simple, genuine modesty".  Emma truly shines at everything she does!  Not only does she excel in her Festival Dance Academy Advanced Ballet classes, but also she is an extremely smart and dedicated student.  When she is not driving between her hometown of Palouse, Pullman High School, and Festival Dance's Moscow studios, she can be found dancing, playing piano, or studying for one of her multiple Advanced Placement courses.  

 

Dance became one of Emma's passions when she started taking ballet at Festival Dance's former Pullman studio when she was nine-years-old. Emma prefers ballet because of its structure, but she's had some experience with Jazz and Hip/Hop at Dance Idaho and other summer dance intensive programs. Her ballet instructor, Mia, praises Emma, saying she "...has put forth much dedication, commitment, and love for the art of ballet, really delving into the analytical and performance aspect of dance." However, Emma's dance career has not been without its share of difficulties.  She has overcome various injuries, especially when starting on Pointe, including tendentious, planter fastidious, and hundreds of blisters. Luckily, during times of challenge, Emma can always rely on her mom, Amy, to keep her motivated and Mia to help her improve her dancing.  Emma's advice for young dancers would be to take criticism from your dance teacher and to "improve each day".     

 

After only five minutes of talking with Emma, you will know that she has her eyes set on achieving very big goals.  Her dream college is UC San Diego, but she is also interested in Pacific Lutheran located in Tacoma, Washington.  Emma plans on studying medicine and eventually working in pediatrics or family medicine.  During college, Emma will continue to take ballet classes and hopes to work as a ballet instructor for very young dancers.  

 

In April, she will be participating in a college scholarship competition, Junior Miss.  Area participants will compete in fitness, talent, interview questions, and self-expression.  Emma will be performing a variation from the ballet "Don Quixote." Festival Dance would like to wish her all the luck in the Junior Miss competition!      

Candace Filler Dance Scholarship Fund

 

A former Festival Dance student, Candace Filler, passed away last weekend. To celebrate her love of dance, the family has set up a scholarship fund in her name. Please click here to read Candace's obituary.

To contribute by PayPal, go to www.festivaldance.org.

To mail a check, please make your check out to Festival Dance with 'Candace Filler Dance Scholarship Fund' referenced in the memo. Send it to:
Festival Dance - University of Idaho
875 Perimeter Drive MS 2403
Moscow, ID 83844-2403
Thank you so much for your contribution in her name.

Festival Dance will acknowledge your gift to you as well as notify the family of your contribution.

A funeral service will be held at the Moscow Church of The Nazarene at 2 pm on January 18th. A reception will follow at St. Mary's Parish Family Center.

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