Whiz Kid: Nicole Tudhope Dancing Through Life

Whiz Kid: Nicole Tudhope

School: Senior at Curtis High School

Accomplishment: Dancer, and Choreographer for Danceblast 2011

Nicole started dancing at  a young age with the YMCA dance program.  She has taken jazz, lyrical, and ballet.  Her favorite dance is point but she loves lyrical too. (Lyrical Dance: a mix of ballet, modern and jazz that expresses the emotion of the song and its lyrics.)  She was invited to be in the Morgan Family YMCA dance company at the end of ninth grade.   Nicole was able to participate with the Y  dance company  and perform for 3 years. Dance company members are selected from the Morgan Family dance programs for their dedication, enthusiasm and exceptional dance abilities.  Nicole was a dedicated dancer practicing weekends and weekly as the group performed two performance seasons a year in the community. 

Once at Curtis High School, Nicole tried out for Danceblast each winter and was invited to be in three dance performances each year 2009, 2010, and finally this year.  Growing up watching Danceblast on the Curtis stage, Nicole always wanted to participate and someday choreograph a dance for the annual CHS production. 

This year's Danceblast 2011 was a highlight because Nicole applied to be a choreographer and was accepted.  It's a very competitive process involving submittion of a written application and presentation of the dance. She choreographed a lyrical piece to a song by One Republic "Made for You".

Nicole said, " I chose a lyrical piece besides ballet is one of my favorite styles of dance, and it is difficult to create a ballet piece that people will enjoy and understand at the high school level. I chose the music because I felt One Republic makes songs with a definite beat and I prefer choreographing to a strong beat.  My dance was about choosing to follow the norm or venturing away from a comfort zone, therefore you are suspended between those two places hence the name 'Suspension.'"

Suspension was performed by Sarah Leitzinger, Molly Maloney, Brenna Smelt and Sienna Williams, choreographed by Nicole Tudhope.  Danceblast begins with tryouts for interested students.  There were 10 dances, and dancers may try out for all or individually selected performances. Members are chosen by the choreographers and their director Ms. Gormley.

Then begins the practice and rehearsals which happen once a week for about an hour and a half.  Each group is given stage time towards the end of the rehearsal nearing performance week.

I asked Nicole what she learned from being a choreographer versus performing in Danceblast.

She responded: "This year as a choreographer, I got to see everything that went into the show and I looked at the show with a more critical eye. By the time the performance came around after 50 some hours of rehearsing, I still had my doubts that I had taught the dancers  well enough to project the message through my dance to the audience."

But those who attended Danceblast confirmed that it was a success with many claps and cheers of applause!

Key to Awesomeness: In addition to dance, Nicole is involved with  cheerleading, academics, and family.

Nicole was a varsity cheerleader this year and was able to help promote school spirit while the football and basketball teams had successful runs in the state competitions.  She felt that being on the cheersquad gave her a connection to the school and added to her high school experience.  Also, cheering allowed her to use her dance knowledge and skills.

Nicole has maintained a rigorous course load at Curtis, being nominated to Honor Roll and Honor Society.  She is a conscience student, particularly interested in science and math.  She plans to continue her studies at a four-year college to major in biochemistry with a minor in dance. 

When she's not spending time with her family, Nicole has volunteered as a dance assistant spreading her love and knowledge of dance to young dancers.

Congratulations Nicole on all your achievements particularly being a choreographer for Danceblast 2011. Proud parents are Liz and Andy Tudhope of University Place. 

Nominations for Whiz Kid (s) contact Marion Lybbert at mmlybbert@aol.com Know a youth doing great things?  How about a success story for a team or group?  Pass it along...let's highlight the good we see happening.