Meet 8 Students from the Bridge and Extension Programs
South Loop Studio Field Trip
We took a field trip to the Joffrey South Loop Studio. In this field trip, we got a chance to see the Extensions and Bridge Phase III final presentations. To get to know more about the Bridge Phase III and Extensions dancers, we got the opportunity to interview eight students, four students from Bridge and four from Extensions.
Bridge
Victoria
Claire
Litzy
Sofia
Favorite Disney movie: Encanto
Extensions
Camila
Grade: Fourth grade
Favorite Disney movie: Rapunzel
Favorite song to dance to: One Step Forward, Three Steps Back by Oliva Rodrigo
Favorite part of dance class: Learning new choreography and moving
Lizzie
Grade: Fourth grade
Favorite song to dance to: Sugar Plum Fairy from Nutcracker
Favorite part of dance class: Learning new things
Naomi
Maddox
Along with interviewing the students, we got to interview the teaching artists, Ms. Wosilat and Ms. Miller!
Ms. Wosilat
What school do you go to? How long have you been dancing for?
I’m a sophomore at St. Louis University and I've been dancing for 14 years.
Favorite dance style and why?
I like all the genres, but Hip Hop is my favorite dance style. There isn’t a perfect way to dance hip hop. I feel that you can put on a whole hip hop show since it is very versatile.
When was the moment you fell in love with dance?
I fell in love with dance in my sophomore year of high school. I was in an international dance group at my school. It was my first year in that group and I was asked if I wanted to perform a solo, to which I said yes. I finally got to show myself and express who I am. It was also a place where I wasn’t known as a dancer. I got to invite my family and friends, I even invited Ms. Caitlyn to come watch it.
How was it transitioning from being a student in Community Engagement to now being a teaching artist with them?
It's kind of funny honestly. I still call all my teachers Ms. And Mr. when I'm in the office. Honestly, I love it, I love that I get to teach what I was taught, in the place that I was taught in. I also just think about the other alumni like Ms. Evelyn, who also went from being a student to being a teacher, and it makes me happy that I can be a part of that as well.
Ms. Miller
What school do you go to and what are you majoring in?
I am a senior at Loyola University Chicago, majoring in Dance and Exercise Science.
Favorite genre of dance?
My favorite genre of dance is definitely Jazz. I love that it’s high energy and that it is technical. I love the performance aspect of the face and the emotion of confidence. I'm learning to love ballet more and more because of Loyola as well as modern contemporary.
Describe a moment you fell in love with dance.
I think every dancer goes through a period of burnout, being tired and thinking that they aren't good enough. But then you re-fall in love with dance again. I think it was in high school when I really fell in love with dance because of the mechanics of dance. I liked the mental challenge of memorization and thinking about the body in a way that is technical. I felt a little burned out when I started college, but reinvigorated that love with new teachers and new techniques.
What made you pick physical therapist for dancers as a career choice?
As dancers you have an intimate knowledge about your body. You get to notice all these little things that non-dancers don’t know. Because of this, in high school, I started to appreciate the mechanics of the body. Exercise Science is, the study of the movement of the body, which is why Physical Therapy is a great avenue for that. I can study the mechanics of the body while still being able to serve one of my greatest passions which is dance, while also using what I know about dance, in healthcare.
How was it working for The Joffrey Community Engagement?
It's been one of the most enriching experiences of my whole college career. One of Loyola biggest pillars in our dance program is social justice. As a Liberal Arts college it is important that we engage with our community, which is perfect because I love that Joffrey has a Community Engagement department. We try to bring dance, especially ballet to communities that don’t have the money to pay for dance classes, which are just crazy expensive. It's important that I get to be part of that work. The most rewarding part is seeing the passion in the students and getting to share the passion from my heart to their heart. It teaches a sense of self-discipline but also learning about your own body and being confident and teamwork. 
Overall, we really enjoyed seeing the children dance and the joy in their eyes when showing their dances to their families. They are deeply passionate about dancing and showed a level of professionalism that is not usually seen in children. It was inspiring that we got to see them work hard to prepare for their performance. The responses from our interview with the students were amazing. It was impressive to see how the kids answered what their favorite parts of dance class were: actions like, stretching and barre movements. They are a great example of how enthusiastic children are about dancing, especially from our intern Sandy who has worked with the Bridge kids before and was happy to see how much they have grown in such little time.