Brianna McCollum is a seventeen-year-old dancer from Peachland, North Carolina. She dances at Victory Talent Dance and Gymnastics.
“…my studio instilled in me the importance of taking in every moment and dancing like it was my last count of eight…”
How does dance have a positive impact on your life?
At the early age of nine years old, in the summer of 2012, my father died. This traumatic experience helped me to answer the number one question dancers are asked today: Why do you choose to dance? I dance to escape from reality, find answers, gather thoughts, and to breathe calmly. Contemporary is so heartfelt and instantly became my favorite style of dance. Through example and upbringing, my studio instilled in me the importance of taking in every moment and dancing like it was my last count of eight…
How do you want to use dance to have a positive influence on your community?
Reflecting on the start of high school, I was invited to create an opening number for Relay for Life in Anson County. I was given the opportunity to bring together the county’s youth to support this worthy cause by dancing. The idea I built behind my choreography in the Relay for Life opening number was “Your illness does not define you; your strength and courage does.” With the intention of returning home from UNC Chapel Hill each year to support my community, hopefully these experiences will teach everyone that we should never take a single moment in life for granted.
