Featured Dancer-Mallary Quaderer
For those who absolutely must dance!
Ashley Lodge loves to dance. What she loves even more than dancing herself is photographing others dancing. Capturing the spirit and moments of the individual dancer is one of her specialties, and it is a pleasure to feature some of the most talented young men and women to grace her lens.
This month we are featuring Mallary Quaderer, dancer at Elizabeth Williams, winner of the 'Future Star Award' at Celebration Talent National Competition, and all-around amazing young woman.
1. How old were you when you started dancing and why did you want to begin?
Since I was younger, I had only taken one class a week but it wasn’t until I started middle school that I had begun dancing competitively and taking more classes. I decided to dance because I enjoyed the person I became when I was dancing and I wanted to continue seeing that version of myself and applying it to my everyday life, and it makes me the happy person I am today.
2. Where do you dance? How many classes do you take? What is your favorite style and why?
The studio I dance at is Elizabeth Williams School of Dance, and on average I dance about 15 hours a week. My studios specialty is ballet, so it didn’t take long to become one of my favorites along with lyrical.
3. You dance with so much energy! Where does that come from? Do you practice every day?
Coffee!! It’s definitely a big help to get me alert and awake so I’m not focused on how tired I might feel. If I’m not dancing at the studio, then I’m caught dancing around my kitchen or grooving in the car when music is playing, and I definitely try to stretch when I can feel my muscles more tense and sore to keep up when I return to the studio.
4. Describe a day in the life of Mallary.
It will more than likely begin with a cup of coffee! And during the school week, I attend Pigeon Forge High School, go tigers! Where I’m also on the dance team and mat girls squad. After school, if I don’t have dance team practice I will come home, eat and rest until I go to the studio. When that’s all done, back home, sleep, and start all over!!
5. You recently received several special awards! Describe those to us.
I’ve been so blessed to have received all the awards I have, from judges choice awards, placing in top 10’s, or 1st, to being a national title holder. But the one I’m currently most proud of is the one I had received this past summer at Celebration Talent Competition Nationals. Where the owners of the competition through out the week got to pick 1 person based on many features, not only dance, but personality traits to give the Future Star Award to. Gratefully, I was selected out of hundreds of dancers, and it was an amazing moment for me! Soon I will be featured in Dance Spirit Magazine, and it’s now a reminder that you are always in an audition.
6. What are some of your other passions and hobbies?
I’m very proud of being involved in my schools dance team and mat girls, it’s given me so many friendships and memories I cherish dearly. Aside from those, I enjoy being on the boat with my family and my personal favorite, jet skiing! Crafting and sewing are also big favored hobbies of mine. I’ve was able to create and customize my solo costume to every last detail I desired, and it was an outlet for me to share my creativity outside of dance.
7. What are your career dreams?
Further into my future, I wish to be an orthodontist! I’ve always loved the dental field and went back and forth multiple times of what kind of way I wanted to work in dentistry. I’m extremely happy with my VERY thought out decision and I can’t wait to open my own practice one day.
8. What is next in the world of dance for you?
Taking on senior year, I’m looking forward to all of the productions and different routines my studio will create amazing choreography for us to compete with. I will be attending several dance team clinics in hopes to be spotted by colleges to be on their dance teams. I’m very interested in UTC’s Sugar Mocs dance team and will be trying out in the summer to hopefully be on their team and attend UTC in the upcoming fall.
9. Advice for the next generation of dancers?
Always always ALWAYS be proud of yourself! I’ve been 6 feet tall since I was about 13-14 and it was always a challenge because I couldn’t look like the other dancers or I’d be too tall for some spots in formations and I got down on myself too much. After pushing myself to be the best I could, I slowly learned to be proud of who I was and it didn’t matter that my body was different. I’m now called out by choreographers at conventions for my height and ability to still keep with the music and I never have to worry about not fitting in. It’s cooler to stand out anyway, so why not be proud of it.
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