y ASIA EWART
Staff Writer
The Saint Rose physical education department saw a new addition to its roster of classes with the beginning of the spring 2014 semester. Eve Whelchel, the co-director of the Saratoga City Ballet School and Company in Saratoga Springs, has joined the Saint Rose community as the instructor of the ballet class offered as an option for gym credit. Whelchel is no stranger to working with students of all ages and those with no background in dance.
“It is nice to walk into a classroom of young adults who already know etiquette and how to work hard. Older students can translate the technique into their body more quickly than children,” she explained. “However, children approach movement with such joy. They have no judgment— they just dance because they love to move.”
Whelchel, who has been dancing for more than 30 years, was a professional modern and ballet dancer before taking on the role as teacher. An alumna of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, she also has an M.F.A in dance to add to her long list of accomplishments. This passion for movement has long been with Whelchel, dating back to an awestruck moment occurring at age three.
“The snow scene from the ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ inspired me to start taking ballet lessons,” she said. “The first time I saw this holiday classic, I was hooked. I was three years old and I will never forget the feeling of delight and awe I had when the curtain opened. I turned to my parents and said, ‘That is what I want to do.’ In my 11 years at Saratoga City Ballet, I have overseen over 60 performances of ‘The Nutcracker,’ and the snow scene is still my favorite.”
With a love for something comes hardships, none that Whelchel felt she couldn’t handle.
“I had a game-changing injury and had to decide if I wanted to keep pursuing my dreams of a career in dance or go down another path,” Whelchel said. “Making a career out of dance is a very difficult road. You have to have an open mind, take risks, and accept or rejection…[but] I have never pictured myself doing anything else.”
She is now bringing that love and dedication to Saint Rose. After a meeting with Ann Neilson, professor and chair of the physical education department, Whelchel described her endeavor as being very well received.
“I have found the students to be very invested in their work,” Whelchel said. “I am very impressed with their positive demeanor and friendly personalities. I am enjoying my time here so far and look forward to being a part of the Saint Rose community in the future.”
So what is Whelchel hoping to have her students take away from her class?
“My ballet classes are centered around using proper alignment and the body’s individual range of motion,” she said. “This allows for a reduction of tension and fluidity in movement quality. It is very important to me that students in my ballet class experience a deeper understanding of what it means to be present and comfortable in their body. I hope to create an environment in which my ballet students at Saint Rose can feel safe to discover their own creativity and bring that awareness into their daily lives.”
She further assures that dance is an activity anyone at any age can take up. Whelchel has proven herself and her talents to be popular at the College, as the buzz of ballet can be heard all over the EAC. She also has a few choice words for what it takes to be a dancer.
“Discipline, musicality, excellent training, humility, a sense of humor, and above all else, persistence,” Whelchel said. “When you get 20 ‘no’s, you have to have the persistence to step through that door one more time, because eventually, if you keep at it, something will stick.”
