Senior Spotlight - Sienna Smith

Senior Spotlight: Sienna Smith

13 Years Dancing at Sharon's

$390 Scholarship

Cornell University, Pre-Law

In 2012, I walked into Sharon’s Studio of Dance & Music for a ballet and tap combo class. Initially, my parents put me into Sharon’s because at home I liked to dance, and they thought it would be a fun thing for me to try. Throughout my time here, I’ve been in the performing group, taken classes in several different styles, and even briefly had lessons for piano. 13 years later, I’m still here, dancing in lyrical and contemporary classes. 

I find dance so fulfilling because it connects the emotional and physical in an artistic way. Physically, I’ve maintained core strength and flexibility, skills that keep me healthy and are useful in my other sports. Emotionally, I’ve been taught how to express myself through movement, gracefulness, discipline, and body language, with the same community since kindergarten. I have worked with the girls in my classes closer than anyone else in any other sport. Together, we have learned new moves and rehearsed late hours into the night. If it were anyone else, I would have been uncomfortably close to them as we lifted each other, sweat while doing cardio, and held each other while stretching. Yet, with these girls, it’s not uncomfortable. We provide each other with a place free of judgment, where we learn to develop more complex moves every year. Our performances evolved as we got older, going from cute tutus and claps on stage to conveying meaning and increasing in difficulty. I will be pursuing law, and I’ve noticed connections between my dancing experience to legal fields. Dancing proved to me that as groups change, so does how they are expressed. Similarly, as a society changes, so do the laws and elected officials to reflect societal change. Dance emotionally expresses a group, and society expresses itself through the legislation it makes and the regulations it prioritizes. These perspectives that I've learned through dance will continue to teach me as I graduate. 

Looking forward, I will be attending Cornell University to study Environment and Sustainability on a pre-law track and a minor in Art History. I will greatly miss my weekly dance lessons that have been a part of my life for so long. Thank you to all of the girls in my classes and the friends I've made who make dancing so much more fun and rewarding, I’ll miss you so much. Finally, I want to give a big thank you to Ms. Amanda, who has been my teacher for years. Thank you for being patient with me, caring about me, and making dancing something I’ve truly enjoyed, I wouldn’t have done it without you!

College/Career Plan: Cornell University in Ithaca, NY; Studying Environment & Sustainability on a Pre Law Track with a minor in Art History