Taylor goes to Grad School... kinda

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Hey guys! It’s Taylor Schmuelgen here with a summer update! I am headed into my senior year as a BFA in Dance and BS Exercise Science double major at the University of Texas at Austin. This year, I am super excited to be serving as Dance Action co-president alongside my babe Kayla White, and can’t wait to work with the whole board and leadership team as we conquer the 2019-2020 school year- one spreadsheet at a time (that was a joke, but seriously- you know I love a nice, colorful, well-organized spreadsheet).

Speaking of spreadsheets… I am spending my summer at Hollins University in Virginia hanging out with fellow UT BFA David Cruz and everyone’s favorite Hollins grad student/UT professor Erica Gionfriddo. I’m primarily here earning internship credit for my minor in Arts Management and Administration (affectionately known as the MAMA), but as an intern with the Hollins MFA in Dance program, I’m doing a lot more than just working! I am able to take 1-2 dance classes a day, see multiple performances a week, listen to the grad students give their artist talks, and attend discussions about current issues in the dance field. I also have some unique opportunities coming up this week… I am creating a piece on some of the other interns for the Faculty/Staff concert this Friday, and am performing with Erica in her thesis, In the Ether, on Thursday!

Being a part of this dance community for the summer has been so great! I’ve been at Hollins for just over three weeks now, and have enjoyed working with the MFA thesis coordinators to plan performances, create tech schedules, and help the thesis presenters with anything they might need as they get ready to share their work. Imagine planning five S.E.E.D. shows that all take place within a period of 3 weeks and you’ve got an understanding of my summer. (PS- being on the Dance Action Board for the past two years definitely prepared me for this job!)

I could not have asked for a better internship this summer! I’ve learned about producing other artists’ work, observed the struggles of grad school, and have realized that dancing in humid Virginia without AC is hard (seriously… today I stood by a window during barre and the sun was quite toasty). Fellow MAMA friends- please check into Hollins for next summer, and let me know if you want to hear more about the experience! You can also follow me on Instagram (@tayschmuelgen) if you want to keep up with the rest of my summer!

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