Through dance, I traveled the world
I took my first dance class at three years old. By the time I was seven, I knew I was going to be a professional dancer. I spent my childhood performing in dance recitals, musicals, choirs, and even on the occasional children’s sing-along VHS tape. Dance has taken me to the ends of the Earth; from Alaska to New Zealand, Ireland to the Dominican Republic. But it was the time spent in a small country on the Arabian Peninsula that truly opened my eyes to the power of the arts.
In 2017 I moved to Doha, Qatar, after being hired as a dancer in the region’s first resident performing arts company. Suddenly, I was performing for crowds of thousands and the occasional royal (I never imagined my performance career leading me to dance at an actual princess’s birthday party). But the truly transformative moments came in seeing children experience the performing arts for the first time.
The majority of the population, both citizens and international workers, had minimal, if any, exposure to live art, whether because of traditional customs, culture, or being from a region of limited access. I was overwhelmed by the visceral reactions. I could see the captivation with what they were witnessing as joy emanated from their faces. While seeing their reactions, I remembered being a little girl in dance class feeling that same elation.
After my experience in the Middle East, I knew that I wanted to dedicate my post-performance career to enabling others’ access to the arts. Fast forward to 2020. I just finished grad school and stumbled onto a small nonprofit in DC looking for interns (spoiler alert - it was DC Collaborative).
Within weeks of beginning my work here, my eyes were opened once again. Except this time, these children weren’t half a world away, they were less than a few states from where I grew up. While I knew I was very fortunate to attend great public schools and be immersed in the arts from a young age, I struggled to fathom that there were students in the US without access to regular music classes or field trips to the theater. That is why I do this work - to play a small part in helping every child experience the transformative power of the arts.
领英推荐
Thank you.
Hannah Slattery Education Programs Manager