Allie Anderson quite literally soared as a dancer at Copper
Hills High School not long ago, her drill team winning three state competitions
while she was a student there. Anderson, 20, has been twirling and leaping
since she was two, when she would spend time at her grandmother’s dance studio
in Kearns.
So, when she enrolled at the University of Utah in 2016 with
an academic scholarship and money saved up for college, it looked like she was
on her way toward a bachelor’s degree in modern dance. But for someone
determined to pay her own way through school without the help of student loans,
the price of a college education quickly added up. “That’s why I switched to
Salt Lake Community College, to get my associate’s degree,” she says. “I
haven’t gone into debt, yet.”
Upon arriving at SLCC, she quickly discovered the school has
a robust dance program, with classes in ballet, jazz and modern dance as well
as the vibrant SLCC Dance Company, of which Anderson is currently president. And
while at the college, she has found that dance – extracurricular and academic –
is now set against a backdrop of possibly pursuing a career in criminology and forensics or detective work.
“It wouldn’t be boring,” Anderson says. “I just don’t want a boring lifestyle.
I want something that is different than the everyday stuff.”
Then again, dance might still win out for this energetic,
personable, self-described average student. “I could end up dancing
professionally, because I do love it so much.” Anderson currently teaches kids
age 5 to 15 at her grandmother’s studio, Becky’s School of Dance. Even when she
is not dancing, she’s still moving. “I just have always liked music and moving
around,” she admits. “I have a lot of energy.”
Anderson brings her kinetic presence to SLCC Dance Company,
directed by Whitney Harris, who it turns out once took dance instruction at Becky’s
School of Dance. Harris calls Anderson a “brilliant” dancer, kind, a strong
leader, “extremely silly” and an “extraordinary” person. “She has mastered the art of having fun while working hard,
as she is certainly committed to progress,” Harris says. “It's been a real gift
to share a strong foundation in dance and character with Allie, having roots in
the same company. I don't know what she'll go on to do, probably anything she
wants.”
Allie Anderson is lifted by fellow Dance Company dancers during their fall performance.
