Dancing in PMA Theatre Guild's 2014 production of Hairspray (I'm the girl in the red). This story gets a little personal. If you have been in the dance world for years, you understand the impact it can have on your life. While I fully believe that it has a positive impact on its artists' lives, dance (especially ballet) can take a toll on a dancer, too. First of all, ballet consumes your entire life. This can be difficult during your teenage years. Four or five times a week, I would come home from school and immediately change out of my navy blue uniform tights into my ballet tights, throw my hair up, and rush to the studio. I'd be there until past dinner time then come home and try to get all of my homework done (including honors and AP course work) by a reasonable hour to get to bed. Dancing full time is stressful during high school. It became difficult for me to manage my time between dance classes, rehearsals, teaching, homework, studying, projects, college planning, other extracurriculars, and my social life. For the first two years of high school, I managed it well. I was comfortable with telling my friends that I couldn't hang out because I had dance and I was used to wearing ankle weights around the house and doing barre every afternoon and stretching before going to bed. Dancing this much is also physically exhausting, so it was no surprise when I would fall asleep during study hall. I was constantly sore, constantly tired, and constantly spread too thin, but I believed that all of my sacrifice would be worth it when I made my dreams come true. I hate to break it to all of the dreamers out there, but sometimes, dreams don't come true. This is a lesson I had to learn when I was sixteen years old. I learned that at the ballet barre, the girl on your right is more flexible than you are and the girl on your left has higher arches. I learned that the girl across the room picks up choreography faster than you and the girl in the front of the room can do sixteen fouetté turns en pointe. I learned that no matter how much you stretch, you will never have a 180 degree arabesque or turnout. I learned that no matter how much you practiced, your director won't always give you the role you desire. I learned that no matter how badly you want something, you're not guaranteed to get everything. That's something very hard to teach, especially to little girls in tutus who want nothing more than to be the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. You tell your kids that they have to work for their dreams, but how are they supposed to keep their faith in you when their dreams don't come true? Dreams are complex things that dancers constantly have to keep in check. This is a lot for a sixteen year old girl who is dreaming about everything from being Clara to getting a date to the prom to take in. It's important to teach kids to follow their dreams, especially in dance, because this is what motivates them to work and become the best dancers they can be. However, a lesson I imagined learning is how to love dance even when my dreams don't come true. When I have a junior in high school, I got in the car after class one day and told my mother I wanted to quit dance. I didn't end up stopping my training, but I mentally "checked out" of dance. When I had too much homework or band practice, I didn't go to dance. When I was in class, I didn't care if I messed up the combinations or not. I lost my motivation to improve, and for a long time I forgot why I was dancing in the first place. Then Hairspray happened. Anyone who went to my high school has probably stopped reading by now because this show was two and a half years ago and everyone's sick of hearing about it by now, but it was a very significant part of my dance journey I wouldn't be the dancer I am today had I not gone through this experience. I had always taken an interest in theatre; my parents took my sister and I to see various musicals in Boston and NYC such as In the Heights, Rent, and Anything Goes. Musical theatre was something I'd always wanted to do, but I never had the time or self-confidence to pursue it. When my school announced that the spring musical was Hairspray, I nearly lost it. This was the musical I'd obsessed over ever since I saw Zac Efron as Link Larkin in the 2007 film version when I was in the fifth grade. Hairspray is such a fun musical especially for dancers, so on a whim I decided to audition. I was one cast as one of the council members and a featured dancer, and I was blessed with the opportunity to choreograph a few numbers for the show. I had been cast in many ballet productions (The Nutcracker, Coppelia, etc.), so I knew what it was like to be in a show, but Hairspray was new territory for me. I thought the dancing would be easy for me, as I was used to intense ballet training, but it was more of a challenge for me to loosen up and just have fun. I was playing a carefree (somewhat ditzy) character; I couldn't be an uptight little bunhead. I also realized how uncomfortable and uptight I was on stage, something that being on stage with my best friends and learning to improv with them helped me overcome. By being a student choreographer, I was given the chance to teach different levels of dancers, an experience that made me realize I have what it takes to become a dance teacher. And most importantly, I learned how to have fun dancing again. It was hard work, but a fun experience to learn different styles of dances and perform them with my cast mates. It was fun working together with my classmates late at night and during study hall and lunch periods to try and pull our dances together. We would be so excited to start rehearsals because we loved doing the dances. As much work as it was, I had more fun doing that show than I had had doing traditional dance stuff in the longest time. Hairspray reminded me of how amazing it feels to dance, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity. The joy I felt dancing out the closing number, "You Can't Stop the Beat", is one of my favorite memories of high school. I didn't have to force a smile for the stage; I was genuinely happy. Theatre wasn't something I ever expected myself to do, but sometimes we get what we need from the most unlikely places. Musical theatre is something I encourage all dancers (especially ballet dancers) to get involved with. Ballet is a form of dance theatre, and ballet dancers can benefit from the acting, improvisation, and stage presence experiences, as well as get comfortable with other styles and make yourself more employable as a dancer and choreographer. Musical theatre is not as rigid, but it is just as much work as ballet, so I suggest all ballet dancers broaden their horizons and give it a try. A lot of teachers and dancers would see doing a musical as a distraction from training, but I strongly believe musical theatre will only supplement one's dance education. From my last performance with PMA Theatre Guild, Damn Yankees
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September 2020
Offline Updates7/16 Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the showcase I was selected to choreograph for at NYU was unfortunately cancelled. However, I was able to turn my work into a mini-documentary about the choreographic process and art prevailing during these trying times. You can watch my video my clicking the button below!
9/18 Follow my new Instagram just for my dance things!
12/23 I was one of NDEO's Guest Bloggers this year! Read "Teaching is a Vocation. Not a Fallback" on their Behind the Curtain Blog!
9/27 I will be presenting my research at the National Dance Education Organization National Conference next week! See my research project by clicking the button below!
4/15 While working on PMA's production of The Addams Family, I got to combine my two favorite styles of dance (ballet and musical theatre) for "The Moon and Me"! Watch my talented students dance by clicking the button below!
2/20 I am choreographing PMA Theatre Guild's Production of The Addams Family! Come see these amazing high school students perform at Presentation of Mary Academy in Methuen, MA April 13 & 14! Tickets available at the door.
2/20 I am stage managing BSU's Dance Kaleidoscope this year! Show dates are March 29-31 at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA. Come see this student choreography showcase!
11/5 I will once again be dancing in a BSUDC concert! Tickets to WinterDance are now available!
8/24 NDEO's National Honor Society for Dance Arts has published one of my articles in their newsletter! Read an updated version of "Audition Advice" here:
5/16 Interested in learning about movement concepts? Visit Becca's new Educational Dance website!
5/8 BSU Dance Company's Dance Kaleidoscope 2017 is now on Youtube! You can watch my performances by visiting the VIDEOS page!
4/23 I recently performed for the residents of Allerton House in Hingham, MA! You can watch part of my performance here!
Amesbury Children's Theatre presents...James and the Giant Peach Jr, featuring choreography by me! Click for tickets!
2/8 My piece "Barefoot" is now available to watch online! Click to watch!
2/5 Happy to say I have been cast in BSU Dance Company's Spring concert Dance Kaleidoscope! I will be dancing in 3 faculty choreographed pieces, including excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty in which I will be dancing the role of Lilac Fairy! Show dates are March 31-April 1 at Bridgewater State University.
Click the button for more info! 1/15 Ballet with Becca is now on Facebook! Click to visit the page, and be sure to like it while you're there!
1/14 I am happy to say I will be attending artEmotion's summer intensive in June! I will be dancing in the one week artEmotion Adult Program. If anyone would like to join or audition for any other artEmotion program, visit their website!
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