Born to Dance: A Feature on Emily Curry

Photography, videography and written by Maddi Dolan

Some people learn to dance while others are born to. Emily Curry is one who was born to dance.

From the small town of West Grove, Pennsylvania, Emily spent more time at the dance studio than her own home. From the moment her mother tossed her into her first ballet class at the age of four, Emily had a real talent.

“Dancing has shaped Emily from the very beginning. She always had grace in her movement and was dedicated to doing her best,” said Kate Curry, Emily’s mother.

Emily is now nineteen years old, and has never stopped dancing. She is a freshman at The University of Tampa, majoring in dance.

Right now, Emily dances four days a week for about eight hours total. Upon graduation, she plans to open up her own dance studio to instruct.

Emily is trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Pointe, Jazz, Hip Hop and Tap. Her favorites include Contemporary and Ballet. She said that Contemporary style gives one the ability to express emotion through free movement.

“The ability to express myself is the reason why I dance. It’s an outlet if i’m feeling sad or upset or stressed. It makes me really happy and I enjoy doing it,” said Curry.

Emily didn’t always know that she wanted to major in dance. She was torn between psychology, where she could become a behavioral analyst. Although, her mother always thought that she would be a talented writer.

“At first I thought that she would become a writer because that’s all she did,” said Kate Curry. “She was always writing stories about people.”

Even though Curry isn’t a writer, she is still telling stories every time she steps foot into the studio. Emily describes dance as the ability to express yourself through movement to tell a story. Each choreographed dance has characters and a storyline, and it’s up to the dancers to tell it.

Emily still sometimes struggles with if she wants to keep dancing and if becoming a dance teacher is the right career path for her. She discourages herself by comparing herself to others at her studio and people she sees on social media.

Curry suffers from body confidence issues and says many other dancers struggle with it as well. Emily said that many times, especially when it comes to styles of dance like ballet, dancers are wearing tight fitted clothes and are not given the opportunity to wear loose fitting clothes like a tshirt or sweatpants.

She constantly struggles with comparing her size with other dancers and it takes a toll on her mental health and wellbeing. Along with weight, she also tends to compare her skills to other dancers too.

“There has been many mental hardships about trying to be the best at each studio I go to. Comparing yourself to others is hard. It always makes me feel bad about myself.” Curry said.

Not feeling good enough is something no dancer should feel. But it’s not easy to feel confident in an industry of constant critique.

For every dance recital, competition, or concert, dancers are placed into or cut from pieces. They are constantly judged on how pointed their toes are or if they can keep up with the beat.

Even though this is only Emily’s second semester at The University of Tampa, she has already been placed into four performances and will be in three more in an upcoming show.

In fall 2018, Curry was put into two pieces for Fall Dance Happening, which is a student choreographed show. In Spring 2019, she was in two pieces in the Spring Dance Concert, which is guest choreographed.

The three upcoming pieces she will be in will be apart of Spring Dance Happening, which again is student choreographed. It will take place April 26th through the 28th.

Although she has been in performances all her life, she still gets nervous before going on stage. But once she’s out there, she becomes very confident and knows she can do it. Nothing beats the feeling of being on stage, showcasing her talent.

But before each show, Emily said that it can get pretty hectic and stressful, especially when it comes to dress rehearsals and performances on weekdays.

Balancing classes, work and practice can be difficult at times. After each show, she said that she is usually tired, mentally and physically. But at the end of the day it’s really all worth it to her.

“I see what it’s like for her, being busy for weeks at a time rehearsing for performances. She truly is amazing,” said Chloe Wimpfheimer, Emily’s roommate and close friend.

Despite the challenges she faces with dance, she continues to push through and improve her skills. Her mother said Emily dances for herself, and know one else.

Emily said she is grateful her mother put her into dance all those years ago. She couldn’t picture her life any other way.