Timothy Amirault 17 ~ Tom Adams Scholarship

Timothy Amirault is a junior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas where he studies Ballet and Modern. Timothy is a member of Booker T. Washington’s Repertory Dance Company II, and has performed in the fall production of Evening of Dance. He has performed works by Larry Keigwin, Andy Noble, Orion Duckstein, and Bridget Moore.

Timothy’s goal is to grow in his dancing and creativity as much as possible so that he can become a choreographer in the future. He wants to attend a University or Conservatory so that he can develop the tools necessary to become a good, well-rounded choreographer.

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This summer I attended the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina at Duke University, and it was probably the best experience I have ever had. It lasted a whole six weeks which allowed me plenty of time to soak in all of the amazing information from all of the teachers and students who attended. I would most certainly recommend this scholarship to another student, because it offered a big eye opener to everything else that is out there in the dance world. I’ve lived in the same place and have been dancing with the same people and teachers for the past four years, so to get to go somewhere and dance with people from all over the country and even all over the world was just an amazing opportunity. There were almost four hundred other students at the intensive so I was exposed to numerous amounts of talent, brilliant minds, and just astounding people. Most of the other students were older than me, so I got to learn from their experiences, what life is like in college, and what they do with their craft in the world. I made so many friends, strong bonds, and connections at the intensive that no matter what happens with me as I pursue my goals; I know I can have someone to turn to all over the country.  I even discovered a really good friend who lives in the Dallas area. Since there are about four hundred students it’s kind of hard to get to know everybody, but you could always get a piece of them from watching their dancing in class. I greatly enjoyed not knowing anyone going into this intensive. Dancing with people that I didn’t know was also wonderful, because it gave me chance to open up to complete strangers. Dancing doesn’t involve words, but it’s still a great way to get to know someone. I think that is why it was so easy to make friends because you see everyone in your classes expose themselves.

I thought I would come out of this intensive learning so much about composition and how I can improve my choreography, because I planned on taking as many composition classes as possible, but when it was time to sign up for classes, I decided against it. We could sign up for only three classes and I got into a piece choreographed by Reggie Wilson, which counted as one class, which got to perform as part of the performance series of ADF. I couldn’t pass up that amazing opportunity and I also promised myself I would take a ballet class to improve my technique, and since it’s a modern intensive I had to take a modern class, so all three classes were taken up. I don’t regret not getting to take a composition class though, because my classes and the piece I was in were absolutely marvelous. My favorite class was probably my ballet class with Jeffery Bullock, because it was the first ballet class that I actually looked forward to everyday and greatly enjoyed to take. The way that Jeffery taught just made perfect sense to me, and he really helped me break bad habits and improve my technique. The classes were such a breath of fresh air for me, because it gave me an opportunity to experience different styles of dance. The modern class I took was probably the exact opposite of the classes I get at school. It was very loose and free but still connected like one thing leading to another which is exactly the kind of style that I love. It helped me develop my technique and be more flexible to all styles of modern dance.

The American Dance Festival really prepared me for my senior year and whatever happens beyond that. It also made me even more excited to graduate and go off to college so that I can experience even more amazing things beyond my school. I am so grateful to have gotten to experience all of the students and teachers I met, and to have gotten to experience such an extraordinary program.