2021 Award: Academic Excellence and Citizenship Award: Performance
Major: Dance, concentration Performance; Business, concentration Marketing, Starting a Master’s in Organizational Leadership
Minor: Leadership Studies
Hometown: Enumclaw, WA
Extracurricular activities: Orientation and Recruitment Chair for Dance Council, Instructor at Dance Motionz, a local Spokane studio, Student of the Comprehensive Leadership Program, Community Service through Gonzaga’s Women 4 Others Department
More about Kalleigh
Dancing, but that is a given! I was a member of Gonzaga’s repertory company my freshman, sophomore, and junior year, as well as being a member of Gonzaga’s first ballet ensemble my senior year. I am currently producing a Musical Theatre production with another Dance Major, which has been an intensive dive into the world of professional dance. I am the Orientation and Recruitment Chair for the Dance Program and served as Secretary for the Dance Council my sophomore year. I have participated in Gonzaga’s Student Choreography Concerts, and Gonzaga’s Spring Dance Concerts as well! I am currently employed as a Research Technician at the Washington Small Business Development Center, as well as a Marketing Intern at the Rudolf Fitness Center (Gonzaga’s gym), and a Dance Instructor at a local Spokane dance studio. I am fortunate enough to have my family close, and I enjoy spending time with them and my friends from the Dance Program. When I’m not dancing, studying or working, I enjoy spending time outdoors and going hiking, as well as drawing too.
Future plans or career aspirations:
Upon graduating, I plan to join either a pre-professional program track or join a dance company. I am passionate about performing at a professional level, and eventually hope to someday create my own company. On the business side of things, I would love to market for a theatre or a sports team!
How has your major contributed to your professional or personal development?:
The Dance Major has afforded me a number of opportunities that I couldn’t begin to imagine would happen to me. I have grown as a dancer not only technically, but artistically and emotionally as well. Throughout the different courses I have taken, there has been opportunity for development. I have met a number of incredible professionals in the field and have a better idea of how to “navigate” the dance world.
What has been your proudest or most significant accomplishment during your Gonzaga career?
The most significant moment of my dance career at Gonzaga was the opening of the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center and the trip to Florence, ITL that members of the Dance Program took shortly after. The experience was such a juxtaposition; in Spokane we danced on a stage that was brand new, and in Italy we danced on a stage that was nearly 400 years old. Being a part of history in two completely different ways really impacted how I carry myself as an artist, conscious of the mark I leave on whichever stage I step on.