{"id":4473,"date":"2020-05-07T11:42:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T15:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=4473"},"modified":"2020-05-07T11:46:41","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T15:46:41","slug":"live-breathe-ballet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=4473","title":{"rendered":"Live Breathe Ballet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Sophia Jaeger<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Bucs&#8217; Blade<br \/>\nGrand Haven HS<br \/>\n1st Place Division 1, News Writing<br \/>\nPersonality Profile<\/p>\n<p><b>JUDGING CRITERIA<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead captures attention, arouses curiosity; reason for sketch is made clear early in story<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasizes fresh angle; individualizes person<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colorful, lively presentation; effective form\/style<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflects adequate research, sound interviewing techniques from a variety of sources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoids encyclopedic listing of subject\u2019s accomplishments<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Effective use of quotes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interesting; appeals to the emotions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proper diction\/grammar<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>P<\/b><\/span>ale pink pointe shoes patter rhythmically across the floor as sophomore Alexandra Hodge bounds into the air hair cascading in waves behind her. Hodge pours herself into dance, spending countless hours in class and rehearsal perfecting her technique. \u201cYou have to focus your full mind full body on one thing,\u201d said Hodge \u201cYou don\u2019t really have time for anything else and it\u2019s just it\u2019s kind of like my freedom. I picture myself on the stage or in my favorite place or just out in the grass one summer day and then I just dance.\u201d This focus has led Hodge to a promising future in dance, one that will take her to a summer workshop with the prestigious Boston Ballet. Hodge started dancing at the age of four, in part as a way for her parents to channel her energy. \u201cShe was all over the house jumping out off the furniture,\u201d her mother, Dawn Hodge said \u201cI didn\u2019t want her to hurt herself. So I thought that dance would be a good thing\u201d Since then Hodge has spent much of free time in dance studios.. Her first ballet class was at Nancy Baum\u2019s studio in 2005. Hodge credits the experience for laying much of the foundation for what followed. \u201cThat\u2019s where I learned to really love to dance,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cShe loved to dance, she wasn\u2019t into competition. She wasn\u2019t pushing people, she let them find ballet.\u201d Baum\u2019s studio was a single room in the basement of her home with worn wooden floors. There Hodge danced until 2010 when the studio was closed after Baum passed away. \u201cIt really sparked my love,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cEver since then, I can remember back to times when I was in that studio. I would see light on the floor, and I\u2019d be like, I\u2019m going to jump over that light we just turned it into some dance move.\u201d After her first studio closed, Hodge began following her instructor Amanda Keift to other dance studios around the area until she was pushed to go to Grand Rapids so she could continue to develop as a dancer. \u201cIt\u2019s very scary because the expectations were much higher,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cAnd I wasn\u2019t at the top of my class, I really had to push myself and I had to find my independence myself. Because I wasn\u2019t there to rely on my freinds\u201d Hodge credits those expectations with making her a stronger ballerina. \u201cIt really helps me grow,\u201d Hodge said \u201cEver since then, I\u2019ve been more of an independent dancer. I don\u2019t rely too much on other people to tell me what to do, or to push me.\u201d Hodge takes both lessons at the Grand Rapids Ballet and is a member of their Junior Company. This allows her to be in the performances that the Junior Company tackles each year. Since joining the Junior Company, Hodge has found herself in many roles that continue to challenge her and push her further in her dancing. Attila Mosolygo, Director of the Grand Rapids Ballet Junior Company is quick to praise Alex\u2019s work ethic, going so far as to call her \u201cfantastic.\u201d \u201cI know that she\u2019s very strong as an individual.\u201d Mosolygo said. \u201cShe\u2019s always able to carry certain roles that are soloists roles when she\u2019s dancing by herself. But I wonder if her greatest strength is being able to lead a team and often times when we have group enters she would be the dancer, dancers would come to.\u201d This doesn\u2019t come without a major investment in time. On weekdays Hodge travels the hour to Grand Rapids to attend dance classes and rehearsal. Most nights she is not home until 9 p.m. . \u201cIt\u2019s really hard,\u201d Hodge said \u201cA lot of people think like oh yeah, just stick your legs in the air and twirl around. It\u2019s actually really hard you find muscles in your body that you did not think you had and they will hurt.\u201d For Hodge, her time with the Grand Rapids Ballet is just a step to further herself as a dancer before she pursues a future in a larger company. \u201cThis really is my passion.\u201d Hodge said. \u201cSo that just keeps me going and getting better roles. And I want to become famous someday. So that\u2019s pushing me too. I just want to be the best.\u201d This summer Hodge will take another step at fur- thering her chances for a future in dance at the Boston Ballet summer camp. There she will spend a month spending her days in classes honing her skill as a ballerina. \u201cI\u2019m so excited.\u201d Hodge said. \u201cThe dancers there, they push you more, you dance more.\u201d After completing the camp, Hodge will be able to audition for their professional program, which could become a gateway to a career in dance. Like many fields of the fine arts it is difficult to make a career out of ballet. \u201cIt is possible to train your entire life and never actually be able to become a professional dancer.\u201d Mosolygo said \u201cJust because there\u2019s so many dancers out in the field and looking for jobs, And there\u2019s only so many jobs available.\u201d However daunting the chances may be, Hodge will forge on. For her, there is no other option. \u201cIt\u2019s just a part of me,\u201d said Hodge. \u201cLike, God was just like, \u2018she needs to do this.\u2019 It\u2019s just something that\u2019s going to happen. And I feel like if it was taken away from me, I don\u2019t think I could function like even sitting here, I\u2019m moving around. I\u2019m trying because I need to do something. And dance is just my outlet. I need to dance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sophia Jaeger The Bucs&#8217; Blade Grand Haven HS 1st Place Division 1, News Writing Personality Profile JUDGING CRITERIA Lead captures attention, arouses curiosity; reason for sketch is made clear early in story Emphasizes fresh angle; individualizes person Colorful, lively presentation; effective form\/style Reflects adequate research, sound interviewing techniques from a variety of sources Avoids [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,63],"tags":[175,20],"class_list":["post-4473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","category-nw","category-personalityprofile-nw","tag-2019-20","tag-division1","post_format-post-format-image","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/LIVE-BREATHE-BALLET-pdf.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/LIVE-BREATHE-BALLET-pdf.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Joel Beeker","author_link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?author=9"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/LIVE-BREATHE-BALLET-pdf.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6K0n6-1a9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}