January: Jordan Villanueva

What are your goals/New Year's Resolutions for this year as a dancer /student?

As each semester passes, and I think about how much closer I am to graduating, I begin to worry about the future and what it holds for me in my dance career. I’ve come to realize that at this point in my training there is no holding back and I must take up every opportunity that comes my way. I used to come up with excuses such as “I’m so young” or “I have time” but in reality that time is limited. I’ve decided this new year I am going to work harder than ever before I have to tackle the “real world” and that I will no longer be timid. I also decided I was going to stop being so hard on myself. As dancers we naturally are perfectionist but perfection does not exist. Yes being hard on yourself continues to give you the drive to improve but sometimes it can also be harmful. This year and the years following I am allowing myself to make mistakes and not beat myself up about silly things. Everything is a learning process and that process requires failure in order succeed. I have great feelings about 2016.