Ever marvel what a typical week appears like for a school dancer? What’s it wish to stability dance, teachers, and a social life? And the way do collegiate dancers take care of themselves with such busy schedules?
Dance Spirit has received you lined with our new sequence, “A Week within the Lifetime of a School Dancer.” We’ll be talking with college students in collegiate dance applications throughout the nation concerning the nitty-gritties of their life, from staying organized to fueling on the go. First up is Katie Tapalaga from Queens, New York, a junior at College of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman Faculty of Dance.
Learn on as Tapalaga walks us by way of her week.
Monday
Normally up by 8 am, Tapalaga eats a breakfast of yogurt and granola earlier than heading to a writing class, then to the studio to heat up. Every weekday consists of two method courses back-to-back from 10:30 am to 1:20 pm. “Method is a throughline in my schedule,” she says. The primary class is at all times ballet, and the second alternates relying on the day of the week. On Mondays, Tapalaga’s morning ballet class with Molly Bugnovic is adopted by modern phrasework with Thomas Ford.
For lunch, she often grabs a sandwich from someplace close to campus (her present go-to is Dealer Joe’s). Within the afternoon, Tapalaga has a repertoire class from 2:30 to 4:50 pm, which alternates from semester to semester. This fall, she’s engaged on items with USC Kaufman’s present artists in residence, Aidan Carberry and Jordan Johnson of JA Collective, and dancing alongside Ballet BC firm members.
Tuesday
Tapalaga explains that at USC Kaufman, annually builds upon the earlier one to supply dancers with a robust, various basis; USC Kaufman prioritizes “hybridity,” she says. In her first yr, she studied Funkamental MediKinetics with d. Sabela Grimes, then home method from Nina Flagg and Moncell Durden as a sophomore. Now a junior, Tapalaga takes locking and waacking from Tiffany Bong on Tuesdays and Thursdays following her each day ballet class with Ebony Haswell Frazier or Jackie Kopcsak.
After method, it’s time for Worldwide Historic Views on Dance with Alison D’Amato, the place Tapalaga is studying about totally different dance kinds all through historical past. She says she finds her tutorial courses participating, so learning for them hardly ever seems like a chore. (She’s taking three tutorial programs this semester.) Tapalaga squeezes in readings the place she will, typically even standing in line at a café!
Wednesday
Wednesdays start together with her writing class, then ballet, modern phrasework, and, lastly, rep. Tapalaga’s writing class is performance-based. “It touches on how my efficiency as a dancer and artist influences my writing,” she says, and the concept is to dig deep into how private artistry influences their scholastic pursuits and vice versa. One in all her favourite issues about USC Kaufman is that college students are inspired to be “scholartists.” “It’s this actually lovely two-way avenue,” she says.
Dwelling in a home with 4 USC Kaufman seniors and one other junior, Tapalaga isn’t lonely. She and her roommates like to sit down across the desk within the night to atone for one another’s busy lives. Then, Tapalaga winds down for the evening by journaling.
Thursday
Tapalaga’s Thursday dance schedule appears the identical as Tuesday. Sooner or later every day, she’ll seize a espresso (her order is an iced vanilla latte). Taking a second to pause and revel in her favourite drink is a small, each day act of self-care for Tapalaga. Generally she’ll pair it with a blueberry scone to fulfill her candy tooth.
Tapalaga additionally minors in regulation and social justice. On Thursday evenings, she takes Privateness within the twenty first Century from 5:30 to eight:20 pm. Then, she heads house for a late dinner. Her go-to is pasta of any sort, particularly with pesto.
Friday
Fridays at USC Kaufman are devoted to partnerwork. For the time being, Tapalaga and her classmates are studying Jiří Kylián choreography with Fiona Lummis. “It’s superb to have the ability to have entry to that rep,” says Tapalaga.
With a full schedule of educational courses and dance coaching, group is essential. Tapalaga makes use of a bodily planner—writing down commitments helps her reminiscence. “I’m positively not an individual who likes to be caught off guard.”
Weekend
Tapalaga has the occasional Saturday rep from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, however, for probably the most half, she will use the weekend to relaxation and recuperate. She recharges by speaking to her dad and mom on the telephone (she asks them to textual content pictures of the household canine) and doing diamond artwork or a paint-by-number package.
Approaching the autumn semester’s midway level, Tapalaga is happy for what the yr forward has to supply. “I’ve actually discovered that yearly has introduced one thing totally different and has introduced new classes for me.”
