Meet our Campus Celebrity of the week, Amanda Clayton! Amanda is not only a friend of mine, but also a sister who has had the amazing experience of dancing in a professional ballet company for two years in her home town of Pensacola, Florida. This week I was lucky enough to sit down with her and ask her some questions about her fabulous life. Currently Amanda is a first year at DU, however she will have junior status academically at the end of this quarter. A fun fact about Amanda is that her favorite ballets are La Bayadère and Swan Lake. “Swan Lake and La Bayadère, they are both super pretty. La Bayadère is very precise and athletic so it is super fun to dance and watch.” Another interesting fact is that she wears Russian pointe shoes and is lucky enough to get roughly 1 pair a month from the company.
Amanda began dancing when she was 2 and became serious about ballet in the 5th grade. She was then offered the amazing opportunity to dance with the Ballet Pensacola when she was just shy of her 16th birthday. When asked about how being a professional ballerina has impacted her life, Amanda told me “It was such an amazing experience! It has really shaped who I am, especially attending cocktail parties where I had to speak to benefactors and guests. I was also one of the youngest students at 16; most of the other company members were 19 and older. I have had the opportunity to participate in a bunch of summer intensive programs such as the Tulsa Ballet, Joffrey Chicago, International Ballet competition, and Atlanta Ballet. My company also got the chance to tour in North Carolina for 10 days. I didn’t attend a regular high school. I took college classes at a local four-year school which is why I have so many credits. I took early morning classes then went to ballet and I also took night classes. On Fridays I also got the chance to do volunteer work promoting the arts with local elementary schools.” Amanda was also lucky enough to get sponsored during her time as a professional ballet dancer, which really helped with the cost of shoes, tights and costumes.
Coming to college Amanda said, “It was definitely a difficult decision because ballet was such a large part of my life. I was scared to let it go, but now looking back, college is amazing.” Amanda’s mother was also a large influence in her decision to go to college. Her mother explained to her that going to college when she is older would mean that she might not have the chance to have the same experiences she would now and might not get the opportunity to be as involved. Coming to Colorado from Florida is a huge change, but Amanda says that she actually likes the cold weather, however is confused by how it can go from being 45 degrees in the morning to being 80 by noon. Amanda is lucky enough to be part of the International Living Learning community here at DU and is in love with it. “In the International LLC we have an open door policy, and everyone is super close. Lunch is always a big group of people and we get the chance to go out off campus for dinners together as well. We also had the opportunity to go on a retreat together, which was super fun!”
In terms of this upcoming year, Amanda has a lot going on. She plans to take open classes at the Colorado Ballet as well as possibly join the company next spring, if she brings her car and her class schedule allows for the time. Amanda also just signed with Wilhelmina Denver, an elite modeling agency. I know that I can’t wait to see what awesome things Amanda will be doing soon. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for her on campus and at the ballet barre classes!