By Emily Duncan, Staff Writer
Rome, Ga., is a small town down south where Chip Byars, dance performance junior, grew up with a passion for dancing.
It’s a place where his community doesn’t see the point in supporting the arts. What people do see is something more characteristic of a sleepy town tucked away in old southern traditions and views of a surrounding countryside that are described as “breathtaking.”
When Byars talks about his town, endless mountains and an appreciation for the beautiful outdoors are his initial descriptions.
But Byars learned beauty can manifest itself in ways other than just a landscape traced with the etchings of mountain tops.
Some people refer to it as the “concrete jungle.” Byars said their definition is accurate.
Also known as New York City, it is the place where Byars spent his summer as an intern with Broadway Dance Center, 322 West 45th St. It’s also the place that when compared to his town, Byars labels as the “city of opportunity.”
Byars said he chose this internship to challenge himself.
“I really wanted to further myself as a dancer and network within the dance world,” he said. “This internship provided all these opportunities for me.”
Byars learned through a friend that the internship would act as a trial period to test his abilities in the “real world,” he said.
“By doing this internship, I proved to myself that I want to do Broadway,” he said. “I got to take class with dancers that I respect as Broadway performers.”
Byars worked various jobs at Broadway Dance Center for two months. In exchange for his work, Byars got to take 10 dance classes a week, along with attending seminars and master dance classes taught by professional company and Broadway dancers.
In the dance studio wasn’t the only place Byars grew. He learned to acclimate himself to city life and become independent.
“I learned to live on my own and cook for myself,” he said. “I got a part-time job selling and promoting tickets to Broadway shows. In turn, this allowed me to network even more.”
In a place where people swap mountain landscapes for terrain marked by jagged skyscrapers, Byars said he knows this is where he wants to call home.
“I can’t wait to go back,” he said. “It’s a city full of energy and its comforting to know this is a place where the arts are supported with other people sharing similar goals to mine.”
To check out the audition video Byars submitted to intern at Broadway Dance Center go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx4D3TJH1Ww.
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