Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2011)
February ;>. • v * - vv ; -ft PI ■ I::::: ” . ' AI ' I ■ ¡M ____________________________ Andrews dances on "The Edge" of success C lara A ltemus & M ary E arp The beautiful dancing and melodic tunes of "The Nutcracker" were just part of the inspiration for Emily Andrews, senior, to pursue a career in dance. Having seen the show every year since she was little and having danced in it since she was 10, Andrews has always lived in the world of dance. "I honestly love dancing so much," Andrews said. "That's where I can escape, any time for a life...let alone sleep," Andrews said. Early in her eighth grade year, she and her sister made the switch to home schooling through a private charter school. "We both got really ahead with credits, so when I went back to West Linn for my junior year I only had to go half days," Andrews said. Now, Andrews is officially done with high school, having completed her senior made Andrews eligible for the Los Angeles Dance Force competition, where she was awarded an additional scholarship. "Out of all the competition pieces, my solo won the highest score," Andrews said of her competition for the scholarship. "At the end of the weekend I was lucky enough to win the best scholarship they give, a four week scholarship to The Edge. Basically, I could take months of classes, as well as an opportunity to be in two pieces in a show at the end of the year. "The Edge show is seen by agents and casting directors as well as many other important people in the dance industry," Andrews said. "Dance with the Force made me realize where I wanted to go, and that it was actually possible to do that." Over the years, Andrews has gained more than just of moving to Los Angeles to dance. "My family supports me a lot, especially my mom. She wants to do everything she can to help us, and she uses her horse money when we need something," Andrews said. The next things on her list include moving to Los Angeles and taking classes on scholarship from The Edge. "You get free classes all year long, and you Photos provided by Emily Andrews Emily Andrews, senior, displays her dancing abilities in her ,,Lingua,,contemporary dance (left) and her "Heybrow" contemporary dance (above). Andrews has been awarded many scholarships for dance and eventually hopes to dance for a living. and it's something to wake up for." Andrews started dancing at age 10 for Van De Veere Productions, eventually switching to Dance Vision in hopes of improving and learning more about dance. "When I switched to Dance Vision, I realized there was so much more to this world," Andrews said. With the hundreds of hours she was putting in every month dancing, it became difficult to merge her two worlds— school and dance. "Madeline (sister) and I were so busy with dance that it was really hard to get homework done and have year at the end of the first semester. "I will most likely still walk with my class in June, but I have all the credits I need," Andrews said. Andrews recently received a four week scholarship from The Edge Performing Arts Center, a nationally recognized professional dance center located in Los Angeles, Calif. The Edge Center is home to many famous choreographers from the television show ’So You Think You Can Dance’ such as Sonya Teyah and Mandy Moore. This scholarship also as many classes as I wanted for a month." After completing her time at The Edge, Andews won another scholarship from the program, this one for Dance With The Force, a program through The Edge. "Out of about 50 people that received the four week scholarship from LADF, I was lucky enough to be one of only seven that they picked for Dance With the Force. I got to spend two months in Los Angeles and just take classes at Edge all day, every day. It was a dream come true," Andrews said. Dance With The Force includes three dance experience, having traveled on numerous occasions to perform in Los Angeles, Calif., Branson, Mo. and New York City, N.Y. "Emily is a very sweet, intelligent hard-working person. She has worked so hard, and she deserves everything she has gotten," Madeline said. Madeline currently dances at Houston Ballet Academy in Houston, Texas. Andrews' sister is not the only family member that supports her. According to Andrews, her mother, Julie, is one of the most encouraging people to help her reach her ultimate goal Something on your m ind? Want som eone your own age to talk to who will listen and not judge? We listen, we support, and we keep it to ourselves live chat online make connections that are key to succeeding as a dancer," Andrews said. "The Edge trains you to be a professional dancer, and exposes you to that world. The dance world is very tough, but this program gives you what it takes to make it in that industry." Contestants use own strategies continued from page 1 Standings were posted on the ROAR. They had a special announcement every day during the week telling who remains. The contestants all planned on using different strategies, ranging from making friends to cutthroat tactics. Some contestants wanted to stay popular with everybody, like Baxter Wilhelmi, survivor contestant. "Stay funny, stay amusing, stay classy," he said. While one contestant had a plan for recognition, others hoped to stay alive by flying under the radar. "My strategy is to lay low until the finals and then surprise everyone that I’m still there," Sharon Shin, survivor contestant, said. However, others were there simply for one reason and one reason only like Taylor Rose, survivor contestant. "I’m in it to win it," he said.
