Featured Dancer Markella

Posted by Danzia on Wednesday, 26 July 2017

Our featured dancer of the week is Markella!
Starting out 
(as she puts it) as one of the worst dancers easily, through perseverance and dedication she became a scholarship student. 
She has even worked on videos with Jojo Gomez.
Even with all of her success, she still wants others to stop taking everything so seriously.
She encourages everyone to dance out of passion and not with expectation.
Read more about Markella down below....




At 5 years old I began dance classes but I committed myself to it when I was about 15! 

While I'm trained in hip hop, jazz, contemporary, modern, ballet, ballroom, and pointe, I am especially fond of hip hop and a variation of hip hop called jazz funk! 

I'd always had an interest in dance but never committed until one of my friends told me to audition for the scholarship program at Elevation Dance Studio in my hometown Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I didn't want to go but she kept asking and ended up going. I did so bad, I was the worst one there, easily, but I got it and ended up being a scholarship student until I graduated high school! My teachers and mentors from my studio are to this day some of my favorite people and best friends. They made me the dancer I am and I'm so grateful that I got to train with them! I don't have words to express how much I love them!


 My greatest accomplishment thus far in my dance career would have to be assisting JoJo Gomez. I met JoJo when I was 17 years old and fell in love with her style, her movement, her choreography, everything. We have gotten so much closer since then and about a month ago she asked me and one of my best friends Caitlyn to assist her at Millennium Dance Complex. I have assisted her twice since then and I could never thank her enough for all she's done for me. 

The most memorable moment in my dance career was probably the moment I received the video from the day I assisted JoJo. Directors and producers Tim Milgram and Donovan Omikura put it together and it was a visual representation of all of our hard work on a platform that JoJo would show to the world. The fact that JoJo Gomez trusted me to tell that story with her was overwhelming and it meant so much to me. I remember I sent the video straight to my family, who has always supported me in everything I've done, and the feeling of them being proud of me was the best feeling in the world. You really need your family in this industry, and I'm so thankful for mine. 



My greatest challenge would be the struggle of discouragement. There are a lot of factors in the process of becoming a dancer that make you want to let go of your dream. It would be so much easier just to go to school or go home. It's so easy to give up but I know that if I did give up, I would always wonder what I could've accomplished, and just wondering for the rest of my life seems like way worse than failure, because the only real failure is giving up. 

My advice to other dancers is to SETTLE DOWN! Stop taking everything so seriously! Dance is meant to be an enjoyable, social thing that's turning into a cold, competitive atmosphere and that's not how it should be. Stop taking class with this "I have to get called out" mentality. Calm down, remember why you love dance, and don't rush anything. If you're working hard and are a good person, you'd be surprised at the things that just fall into your lap. Yes you should make connections, thank your teachers after class, keep up with open calls and auditions, but don't take everything so seriously. Be thankful that you get to dance! Not everybody does. Remember why you love to dance and let that be your motivation. You are loved and that's the only thing that can define you so stop caring what anyone else says! Thank you guys so much for this opportunity! I hope to work with you in the future!



Follow Markella for More!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markella/
Blog: http://dancedogsanddevotion.tumblr.com/