Senior Spotlight: Danielle Knesl
4 Years Dancing at Sharon’s
$120.00 Scholarship
Danielle Knesl has been dancing at Sharon’s Studio of Dance & Music for 4 years! At her final recital, she will be awarded a $120 scholarship. She will be attending Drew University in the Fall. Danielle will surely be missed at the studio but we are excited to see all of her accomplishments throughout college and beyond. Read Danielle’s senior dance essay below.
From a young age, I have dealt with severe anxiety and depression. Through these struggles, I turned to exercise (specifically, dance) as an outlet that allowed me to express myself in healthy ways and gave me a distraction from the struggles I was facing in my life. I started off dancing at various studios, but never felt a strong connection with the students or teachers there. I felt that I was “just another customer”.
However, this changed when I started dancing at Sharon’s Studio of Dance and Music. I joined the studio in September 2018, and have stayed until the present June 2022. I started off as my usual quiet, anxious self. Yet, as the years progressed, I made friends and had meaningful interactions with the teachers. I felt as if everyone there really cared about each other, and I always felt comfortable, never judged in class. I also noticed how all the teachers took dance very seriously, and I not only learned dance steps, but also worked on my general dance knowledge about muscles and bones in the body, and how they are meant to work with you through steps. This helped me improve my dance skills on a deeper level.
Aside from this, going to my weekly dance lessons was a major stress reliever, especially as an overwhelmed high school student. I always arrived at class feeling stressed about school assignments, yet left feeling calm, happy, and ready to tackle them. Classes served as a distraction from everything else going on in my life and allowed me to spend even just an hour of time participating in something I loved doing. I could not be more grateful for being a part of Sharon’s Dance Studio. It has strengthened my love of dance and music and improved my mental health. I am attending Drew University to pursue physiology.