TAYLOR RODMAN 16 Charles Andrew Kulp Scholarship
Taylor Rodman is a sophomore at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. Her journey into the dance world began at the age of three and continued to further her knowledge and passion of dance through performing. Taylor is thrilled to be a dance cluster student at Booker T. Washington HSPVA. What a privilege it is to learn and study under such a fantastic faculty. She feels that this school has opened her eyes to new movement styles as well as strong modern and ballet classes. While not rehearsing with Repertory Dance Company 1, Taylor enjoys taking classes at Ballet Academy of Texas as well as Dallas Black Dance Theater.
Over the past year, Taylor has been focused on developing herself as an artist. She is excited to expand her technique and artistry at LINES this summer. At LINES, Taylor looks forward to being challenged physically as well as intellectually. In the future she hopes to attend a dance conservatory to expand her knowledge of dance as an art form as well as share her passion with others. Taylor dreams of becoming a member of Parsons Dance Company or starting a company of her own. Thank you to the Dance Council for providing wonderful opportunities like this to inspiring dancers.
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Dear Dance Council of North Texas,
After returning from Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet Summer Intensive, I feel like a new dancer! My brain has been re-wired to explore all the possibilities of dance and beyond. This physically and mentally challenging program has changed the way I think, the way I watch, and the way I view the art of dance that I have fallen so deeply in love with.
Walking away from the program I not only feel stronger, but I also feel like an artist. This is a very important quality to have and will set me apart from other dancers. In each and every class, the faculty urged us to constantly “change things up” as they would say. They worshiped originality and urged us to make our own individual voice known. I learned that every movement I made, no matter how big or small, can be unique in its own way. From this mind set, I felt that my improvement level during classes sky-rocketed. I realized that I can be the best dancer I can be rather than comparing myself to other dancers. I now want to move like Taylor Rodman and no one else! This has opened up a whole new world of ideas and inspiration that I have yet to discover. All this freedom in class worried me at first. I wondered how in the world I would be able to transfer this to my classes at Booker T and other various places. Unfortunately, not all teachers are as open to exploration and experimentation in class as the LINES instructors are, however, I am confident that I can make the magic that happened in San Francisco happen in Dallas. I never want to go back to my “old ways and ideas.” Instead, I look forward to the abundance of discovering and learning ahead of me.
This learning wouldn’t have taken place if it weren’t for the brilliant faculty. I’ve taken my fair share of master classes but I can truly say I’ve never experienced anything quite like what LINES had to offer. These teachers had energy that radiated in every little thing they did. They continuously encouraged us to try new things that our bodies were maybe not so used to. In class we would sometimes repeat combinations over and over again but would make new choices such as changing up the timing or even the order of steps. I was not familiar with this but after getting the hang of it, it started to come naturally. My brain was working on full speed every minute of every class! Another characteristic that really set these teachers apart was their desire and willingness to be there for the students at all times. They were all about helping us in every way possible. Corrections would constantly be spitting out of their mouths for us to try out and expand on. I felt that everything they had to say was golden. One thing I really enjoyed was the mentor meetings we had weekly. These were both one on one and group discussions where we could talk about our goals, future, or any questions we had concerning the dance world or really anything at all. By the end of the four weeks I felt that I had a personal relationship with my teachers. Because their classes are hard to compare to the ones in Dallas, I will miss the LINES faculty greatly but I look forward to hopefully seeing them often in the future!
Thank you so much Dance Council of North Texas for the Charles Andrew Kulp Scholarship and for helping me make this dream of attending Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet Summer Intensive reality for me. I would love to continue to go back again and again! Words can’t begin to describe how absolutely incredible that program was for me. It changed me in ways that I never would have imagined. My love for dance is never-ending and thanks to LINES I am now confident in the way I dance because it’s unique in its own way and nothing like anyone has ever done. This experience was everything I hoped for and much much more! Thank you so much Mr. Kulp I am forever grateful for your generosity!
Sincerely,
Taylor Rodman