I really enjoyed TDFUK earlier this year as not only I was able to volunteer to help with the festival but I was also able to participate in a range of classes to improve my technique and understanding in tap dance. From TDFUK I was offered a scholarship by Chloe Arnold to attend DC Tap Fest alongside some of my friends. This created a great opportunity for me to not only meet new faculty and make friends with people from around the world, I was able to learn different styles of tap coming from various countries. As well as this it boosted my confidence in a style of dance I had only been doing for five months and it pushed me to work harder to get to my goals within dancing.
TDFUK is different to other festivals I’ve attended as everyone is constantly surrounded by supportive and passionate people. I will be attending 2018 and I’m excited to join in with Maud’s Afro-funk class as it was so much fun at DC Tap Fest and also being able to participate in other styles of dance.
My next step is to hopefully be a part of TDFUK’s Future Faculty Lab Series Initiative as well as auditioning for dance institutions across the UK to further my training in various styles of dance.
My advice to future scholars is to get out of your comfort zone and believe in yourself! When I was given the opportunity to fly to America it showed that Chloe believed in me, so all that was left was for me to believe in myself. From doing that, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and my confidence grew immensely allowing me to become the dancer and performer I am today.
