Dancing to new heights

By Starlene Soler
February 17, 2012

Carn has been dancing since the age of 5 and takes headshots yearly for her portfolio.

When Cherise Carn was 3 she took tap dancing at her first dance school. At the age of 4, she attended a different dancing school and has been dancing at the same school until she came to Cabrini.

Carn, freshman secondary education major,  from Aldan, Pa., has been dancing since she was 3 years old. Throughout her dance career she has learned many different styles of dancing such as tap, ballet, pointe, jazz and hip-hop.

Unlike most young girls, Carn wasn’t forced into a dance school by her parents. Her love for dancing developed so early that she herself decided she wanted to take classes.

Carn’s only complaint about dancing was that she and her two friends would get in trouble during classes.

“I used to go to dance school with my two best friends and we would always get in trouble, and that kind of took the fun out of it,” Carn said. “When they would tell us to do something, I would make jokes about it to make everyone laugh or I just wouldn’t pay attention.”

Although the dance school she attended didn’t have competitions, they had two shows yearly. In earlier years, she had never danced on a team with any more than  10 people; during senior year of high school, the team she danced on numbered about 20.

“It was exciting to dance on a larger team because the structure of the dance changed,” Carn said.

She finds a balance between dance, her friends and her school work.

“If I could, I would dance all day, but I know I need to give focus to my schooling and spend time with my friends,” Carn said.

Carn has also made up a dance for the dance team at Cabrini, with the help from freshman Gina Avanzato.

“Cherise is really creative and fluent with her dancing and has alot of interesting cool moves,” Avanzato said.

The dance Carn and Avanzato choreographed will be performed at the men’s playoff basketball game later in the season.

“Cherise is a big asset to the dance team. Coming on as a freshman she brings a lot of great ideas to our dances,” Theresa Agro, dance team captain, said.

Dancing on the Cabrini’s dance team was a big change for Carn because she has been dancing with the same people since she attended dancing school at age 4.

“I think I enjoyed dance more before I came here. Not that I don’t like the dance team here because I do. But before I came here I was used to dancing every day and here it’s not as serious and people are much calmer about it,” Carn said.

Carn’s mom was a big influence on her dancing and supported her in every showcase, performance or play she was in.

“Cherise was born with the God-given talent to dance and is a true leader and a confident and outgoing young woman,” Kimberly Carn Louis said.

When Cherise was in high school, she danced in “Once on this Island,” a musical about people of different skin tones. The role that Cherise played was one of a poor person that struggled in every day living.

“I have found in my many years of dancing that some choreographers make certain dances dependent on your race,” Carn said.

In the future, Cherise plans to find a job as a background dancer at concerts.

“I don’t want to make it my whole life but I definitely want to keep it in my life,” Carn said.

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Starlene Soler

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