By Willoe Phillips
Her many dance classes have just ended for the day, she walks onto the busy New York City street. Amidst the loud horns blaring, she realizes no longer feels the dry heat of Texas and she’s far, far away from home.
Junior Gold Rush captain Bethany Findley gained admission to the Joffrey Ballet summer intensive in New York last summer. Where she spent two weeks focusing on dance techniques and skills.
The days were packed, but the evenings were more laid back.
“Our day was full of dance but in the evenings and weekends we got to explore the city,” Findley said.
The friendships formed on this trip were stronger than any others.
“I was very excited because me and my friends all wanted to go together,” Findley said. “We were all very excited.”
Gold Rush instructor Allison Hester was also joyous for Bethany because she’s a hard worker.
“I was ecstatic,” Hester said. “She works hard in and outside of school, I knew without a doubt she’d be accepted.”
Through the excitement there was some nervousness.
“It was definitely nerve wracking because New York is a lot different from Texas,” Findley said. “Even though it was nerve wracking, it was still a lot of fun.
People from all over the world went to New York for the summer intensive.
“People were there from Korea and Hungary,” Findley said. “It was really cool to see what they knew and what their studios looked like back home.”
The seasoned teachers at the intensive helped Bethany discover new techniques.
“I got to learn from teachers that were from professional companies that had been dancing for forever,” Findley said.
Bethany felt like these new styles could be beneficial for drill team.
“She brought back different technique styles from the ballet world, even though we don’t focus on ballet, ballet is where we get all the dance fundamentals,” Hester said.
Her drill team instructor is aware of Bethany’s love of dance.
“I see pure joy when Bethany dances,” Hester said. “Her smile radiates sunshine.”
Dancing is more than just a hobby for Bethany, to her, it’s a lifestyle.
“I dance because it’s like a stress reliever and it genuinely makes me very happy,” Findley said. “Dancing is all I’ve ever done since I was three, dancing is my whole life.”
