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I’m currently a second year student in Columbia College Chicago’s Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling program. I’m originally from the Metro-Detroit area and have been dancing since the age of six. I’m technically trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern. I attended Eastern Michigan University majoring in Dance following the pre-dance/therapy track, and minored in both Psychology and Social Work. While at Eastern Michigan, I was active in both choreographing and performing and performed in works by guest choreographers Tom Smith and Daniel Gwirtzman. During my studies I also fulfilled a field placement with registered dance/movement therapist, Karen M. Barsy, at Penrickton Center for Blind Children located in Taylor, Michigan. I observed and worked alongside Barsy in providing dance/movement therapy sessions for children who are severely disabled. After graduating with Sum Cum Laude honors, I took a year off before applying to Columbia College. During that time I taught dance at Randazzo Dance Studio and worked as a rehabilitation assistant at Eisenhower Center, in Ann Arbor, MI, providing both dance classes and services for adults with traumatic brain injuries. I’m currently looking forward to continuing my journey at Columbia College. This fall I will be fulfilling an internship at Anixter Center with dance/movement therapist Jeanine Salemi, working with adults who have developmental disabilities.
I choose to apply to Columbia College Chicago because it was not a requirement to take the GRE! Well…. Okay, that is partially true, but I chose to attend Columbia College Chicago because out of the three schools I visited it was the only school to represent its specific dance/movement therapy community completely. Upon my visit I was able to meet most, if not all of the DMT & C faculty, as well as many of the adjunct faculty. Not only that, but it was the only school that offered me a tour as a prospective student and was willing to show me the facilities where my learning would take place. As a prospective student I got to meet and see the community in which I was about to immerse myself in. Further, Columbia College’s DMT & C program’s emphasis on creativity resonated with me personally. Other schools seemed to be a bit “scienctifical”, and upon entering this field I wanted to stay true to the dancer within myself, which is also very important to the program. Throughout the year the program offers students opportunities to both perform and present their own choreographic work. Finally, I chose to attend Columbia College because out of all six schools accredited by the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), it offered the most scholarship opportunities at a departmental level. The program offers two Fellowship Awards which pays most of the two-year tuition, as well as assistantships that cover two to three credit hours per semester.
Currently I am working on providing current Columbia DMT & C students with yet another performance opportunity. I and a fellow peer, who is also a second year student, are beginning to work on hosting a dance show at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theatre this upcoming November specifically for students in our program. The dance show hopes to question and explore the human condition through movement, spoken word, and visual art. Many of the Columbia DMT & C students will create work that will integrate their experience in working in the Chicago Community through their internship. Personally, I am hoping to explore the practicum experience I had this past summer working with women at Grace House. Grace House provides interim-housing for women coming out of Illinois Prison who are coping with recovery from substance abuse, homelessness, and other trauma-related issues. As part of my therapy work there I recorded women reading personal journal entries or prayers that were pertinent to them. I am planning to create choreography to their vocal recordings to integrate both my experience at Grace House, as well as the experience of the women who stay there. The power of performance is something very important to me both personally and as an emerging dance/movement therapist. Working on the fall show and this specific dance piece is one way for me to continue to sustain myself as both a dancer and emerging therapist.
Do you want the student perspective on the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling MA program?
Email our Ambassador at dmt.ma@colum.edu
By the time you read this, I will have completed my second year in the DMT & C program. I will have already walked across the stage in a cap …
By the time you read this, I will have completed my second year in the DMT & C program. I will have already walked across the stage in a cap …
Although the biographies of the DMT & C faculty are listed on the DMT & C website, I wanted to give you a more in-depth look at one specific instructor, …
Although the biographies of the DMT & C faculty are listed on the DMT & C website, I wanted to give you a more in-depth look at one specific instructor, …
As the close of the spring semester nears, so does the end of the year celebration, Manifest. Manifest is Columbia College Chicago’s urban arts festival that celebrates the work of graduating …
As the close of the spring semester nears, so does the end of the year celebration, Manifest. Manifest is Columbia College Chicago’s urban arts festival that celebrates the work of graduating …
As I have mentioned before in an earlier blog post, one requirement of the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling program is completing a master’s thesis. This entails conducting research on a topic …
As I have mentioned before in an earlier blog post, one requirement of the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling program is completing a master’s thesis. This entails conducting research on a topic …
In my blog post last week, I talked a bit about a new way of doing dance/movement therapy, in my modest opinion anyway. Although I clearly stated my viewpoint as …
In my blog post last week, I talked a bit about a new way of doing dance/movement therapy, in my modest opinion anyway. Although I clearly stated my viewpoint as …
First I want to preface this post by clearly stating my standpoint as the writer. I am a second year DMT & C graduate student studying at Columbia College Chicago. …
First I want to preface this post by clearly stating my standpoint as the writer. I am a second year DMT & C graduate student studying at Columbia College Chicago. …
I go on and on writing in my blog about this and that, but I often wonder if readers are ever like, “So, really though, what does a day in …
I go on and on writing in my blog about this and that, but I often wonder if readers are ever like, “So, really though, what does a day in …
I’d like to start by saying congratulations to all of the individuals who have been accepted to the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling, GL-CMA and/or MPACC programs. All of your hard …
I’d like to start by saying congratulations to all of the individuals who have been accepted to the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling, GL-CMA and/or MPACC programs. All of your hard …
As a graduate ambassador, I have many duties. In addition to writing a weekly blog entry, I must also check my e-mail daily (dmt.ma@colum.edu), post five photos to the Graduate …
As a graduate ambassador, I have many duties. In addition to writing a weekly blog entry, I must also check my e-mail daily (dmt.ma@colum.edu), post five photos to the Graduate …
I have already written two blog posts about my internship at Anixter Center, working with adults with developmental disabilities, but I am about to venture into writing another. Please bear …
I have already written two blog posts about my internship at Anixter Center, working with adults with developmental disabilities, but I am about to venture into writing another. Please bear …