Carodie Walker is a 13-year-old dancer from Virginia. She dances at The Academy of Dance and Gymnastics.
“As an Active Duty Air Force family, dance has been the only constant in my life. No matter where we relocate to, my parents always make sure to first find us a home and second find us a dance studio!”
Tell us about your dance experience!
I took my first ballet class at the age of 3 when my family was stationed in Oahu, Hawaii. Since that first class 10 years ago, I have studied ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, musical theatre, and even hula! One of the highlights of my dance career was in 2018 when I had the honor of dancing a duet in the Great Russian Ballet’s “Nutcracker” performance in Rapid City, South Dakota. Currently, I am a competitive dancer who dreams of being on Broadway!
How does dance have a positive impact on your life?
As an Active Duty Air Force family, dance has been the only constant in my life. No matter where we relocate to, my parents always make sure to first, find us a home and second, find us a dance studio! Dance is a place where I can be myself in a room full of people I don’t know and allows me to feel at home, in a place that feels foreign.
How do you want to use dance to have a positive impact on your community?
I want to use dance to have a positive impact on my community by bringing people together, and starting conversations. Dance alone is very vulnerable, and invokes different emotions in different people; But it also opens the door for conversations with people you may not have ever expected! Who knows…? Your history teacher could have taken a tap class! Your grouchy, next-door neighbor could love going to the ballet! Dance in your community brings people with different backgrounds and experiences all come together to share stories about how dance has impacted THEIR lives and how it has changed from dance of the past to what we know now.
