Carolyn

“Dance can transform a life. It brings joy and meaning to the world. It is a creative outlet full of endless possibilities.

After I quit dancing for a while I fell into deep depression at the age of twenty eight.

I was ordered to dance again and it was a crazy realization that I need this in my life. I began slowly by taking open classes in New York and things just spiraled into understanding how dancing really fulfilled this absence in my life. Since I was young I danced when I was sad, happy, all emotions – it was the only way I could fully express myself. 

While taking class was enjoyable, I got a yearning to perform again. However, at the time I thought I was too old to pursue this. Additionally, I was working for arts’ non profits and surrounded by visual contemporary work. I auditioned for pieces and realized I had this need inside of me to choreograph and was listening to music not generally associated with ballet. It was then that I began to explore this relationship between sound art and visual art. It brought about so much joy being able to bring my passion to the world in which I also found so much joy.

It was a long journey from moving away from home to attend ballet school with the intention of dancing in a classical ballet journey to where I am now. I realized that dance can exist in so many arenas and am now studying video work in grad school to make dance pieces that can be seen not just as live performances but also online, in galleries, and around the world. I would like dance to transcend all fields and be able to be seen in unexpected places.

Through making videos and choreographing I hope to share my passion for dance in an effort of educating and encouraging others to do the same. Through this whole process I have come to the realization that you are never too old to dance or pursue a career in it. It is something that, for me, needs to be brought to life within myself in order to fulfill a void, one that exists when dance is not present.

Carolyn Schoerner lives and dances in New York, USA. Her website here.