Samantha Murphy (“Sami”) is our newest Dancer of the Week. Sami has a wonderful family which consists of her mom, dad, and big brother, Stephen, Luckily, they are all very supportive of Sami’s dancing. She is fifteen, tall and brown eyes and blonde hair. (An unusual, and great, combination.) Sami eats, sleeps and breathes dance every second of the day! When she is not dancing at her studio, she is teaching the younger kids or helping out in the office. Besides her home, the studio is her next favorite place to be. Dance brings so much happiness and joy to her life that she doesn’t know what she would do without it.
Sami’s grandmother was an amazing tap dancer, and when Sami was born, her mom put her in dance class. Sami absolutely loved it! However, her mother wanted her to be well-rounded and wanted her to try other activities. Therefore, her mother enrolled her in soccer, softball and basketball. When Sami started doing cartwheels in the outfield and leaps and turns on the basketball court, her mother finally realized that dance was where her heart is and that she belonged in dance class. Her mom and her grandmother attend every competition, showcase and performance without fail.
Sami started with ballet and tap at three years of age and then continued on to jazz, pointe, acrobatics, modern, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and so much more.
When asked what was their happiest moment related to dance, many people respond with their best performance or biggest title that they have won or have a similar answer. Sami believes there are other awards more important than titles. Don’t get me wrong, she has plenty of titles. However, she responded to that question by saying that her happiest moment was when won the Michael Flanagan cup at nationals last year. The Michael Flanagan cup is not a traditional title. It is given out to the dancer who is recognized for “their passion for dance, competition, and fair play, as well as the most improved competitor.” She was also the recipient of the George Lon Scholarship this year from all of the dance teachers. This is another award that recognizes her “humble acts of inspiration, courage, perseverance, and kindness of the heart.” These were Sami’s two proudest moments related to dance.
Sami’s dream since she was five years old and watched the Radio City Christmas Spectacular was to be a Rockette. She was accepted into their Summer Intensive Program this year and trained with them. It was like a dream come true! Sami plans to audition when she is old enough. In the meantime, she hopes and prays that one day she will be a Rockette!
Sami and her mom make her solo costumes every year and this year they needed a specific color of booty shorts and half tops. They found Bailar Dancewear and were very excited that they could get any color they needed. Sami said their experience has been wonderful, and her mom was very happy that shipping was free!!!
Sami’s goals this year, first of all, would be to continue to learn and grow from all of her dance teachers. She feels like every year she has really grown as a dancer and she wants that to continue. She would also like to teach more classes at her studio. She really enjoys teaching the little kids. Sami would also love to be home schooled, but her mom doesn’t believe that is a good idea either for her or for Sami. Public school or home school, she plans to strive to continue to be a distinguished scholar again as she enters 10th grade. She also plans to dance her best at each competition this upcoming season!
She hopes that dance will eventually take her to Radio City Musical Hall and hopes that she will be able to dance as a Rockette! Sami also loves to sing and act as well as dance. Also, she hopes to be a part of a Broadway show some day!
Sami feels very lucky to be a part of her dance studio, The Performing Arts Academy, and is so thankful to all of her teachers but especially to Dawn LaViola-Schaub. She has always been very good to Sami, and Sami believes her training has made Sami the dancer she is today. Sami is also really thankful she has been able to be a member of the United States Dance and Acrobatic Team for six years. That has taken her to so many places. She has been lucky enough to perform at Downtown Disney, Universal City Walk, Madison Square Garden, The Hammerstein Ballroom, The Prudential Center, Hershey Park, My Symphony Space, The NYU Skirball Center, and many more places.
Whether Sami eventually becomes a Rockette or not, she is destined to do great things. She already has accomplished a lot in her young life.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Samantha Murphy.
