Olivia

Interview Transcription, Olivia Age 12

Olivia, how long have you been dancing?

About ten and a half years.

How has your experience progressed?

I've learned so much. It's been great, meeting a bunch of people when I'm at conventions and competitions. It's really fun.

How does it feel that you are more experienced now?

It feels better. Knowing what to do and how it's working in the company makes it easier for what you're doing and so you can enjoy it more.

What does it feel like to walk on stage?

I really like walking on stage. Some people don't. I just think it's fun because then everybody's there to watch you.

What is your favorite dance or what is your favorite type of dance?

I really like contemporary and I also like jazz, and I always get scholarships for hip hop.

How do you feel when you're dancing?

I just feel free and like I can feel whatever comes to my mind. I can do whatever I want and think that there's no limit. You can always take the original choreography from something and then add your own style to it.

When you are in the middle of a dance what is going through your mind?

It's all kind of like a blur when you're on stage, but when I'm in the studio I think about every single thing. When I'm on stage, I think about all the little details, what I'm seeing with my eyes and from my perspective, I don't really see any of the audience or anything, I'm just doing it. Afterwards I'm just like, what did I just see? Because you're not thinking about everything else. You're really focused on the dance.

How is practice different than when you are on stage?

I practice every day. Practice is different because when you're in the studio you're getting corrections and they might stop you at some point and then make you redo that. But when you're on stage, it's almost like it's your last time to do that, even though you probably have other competitions. Afterwards then it's when they judge you and then you can get the critiques for the next competition. So in the studio,you stop and then start because they're giving you different things to fix that. So when you go on stage, it's like. Weee!

Do you ever have an off day? If so, how do you shift back?

Yeah, I have off days. Like some days, everything might be off. Some days it might just feel like my turns or jumps are not good or I cannot focus. But if I have an off day, I'll kind of just try to work on one thing the most. And then the next day, if I wasn't having a good turning day, I'll make sure that my turns are good that day. And if they're not, that's okay.

What do you do to pull yourself back when you do have an off day?

Um, I kinda just try to, like, focus on what I'm doing and if it's not the best, like jump or turn or something, like I'm not going to focus too hard on that because then they will get me distracted from everything else. So I try to focus on everything else and not be so concerned about one thing because it's just like a little off day.

What advice would you give a dancer who is just starting out or is afraid to start?

You shouldn't be afraid because you really just do what you love and there's no reason to be scared because it's not like you're going to start off really hard core.

What was your favorite part of this experience?

I love getting to do what I love to do. Everything around me is very welcoming.