Summer Fiaschetti 15 ~ Amber Strauser Scholarship
Summer Fiaschetti began her dance studies
at age three in Glen Burnie, Maryland. She moved to Texas in August 2008 and auditioned for Booker T.
Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 2009. Summer joined student council as a freshman and has continued to serve in a leadership role as a sophomore.
Summer embraces the saying, “Dance like no one is watching.” Although it has been tough going to school so far from home, she would not have it any other way. She feels going to an Arts Magnet High School opens so many doors to the art world. Her future plans involve going to college and pursuing a career in dance, but also wants to become a teacher. She hopes to join a company and dance for as long as possible, then teach at a school for the arts to help students with dreams like hers.
......................................
My summer experience is ever so difficult to put into words. Very often when words cannot convey feeling, dance curtsies in and allows for expression. We dance to convey what cannot put it into words. I attended the Glenda Brown Choreography Project, but very quickly succumbed to a severe ankle injury that required surgery. What could I do? Where could I turn? How can I not dance and be confined to sitting and watching others? Why was this happening to me? My very being was ripped from me. I felt empty without and outlet to express. I felt like I was not learning anything. But I was wrong. I was in the right place to suffer such an injury – The Glenda Brown CHOREOGRAPHY Project. Glenda Brown allowed me to work on my choreography interests. When it came time for me to put my thoughts into dance, I learned that sitting there watching the others dance made me a stronger choreographer. I was able to work through the pain and hurt I felt from not being able to dance while creating my choreography pieces. Dance is how I communicate and how I let go of all my anger and emotions that have bottled up inside. Without it I was lost and wandering, looking for something else from which to learn. My injury allowed for me to immerse in choreography. I never knew that I could create pieces for dancers when I could not do the pieces myself. I still was upset when I watched class in the morning but I knew that my time to let loose and dance with my mind was coming in just a few hours. Words cannot describe how much it meant to be able to convey my feelings into a piece. It was almost better watching the other dancers execute what I created than performing the piece myself. Thank you for giving me that opportunity.
~Summer Fiaschetti