Meet Heather Moran

Heather Moran is an incredible dancer who actually came to ACC to join the nursing program. After a single Ballet class, she realized she needed to switch programs. She’s currently working on her Associates of Dance at ACC with hopes to travel to Europe to earn her Bachelors in Dance.

A Peaceful Heather

Her piece was initially influenced by an in-class exercise that had students improv movement to poetry that was read out loud. "I had a poem about where prayers go which really stuck with me because I'm not connected to any religion." As she worked through the process in her own life of self-awareness and the ability to forgive the past, she found these concepts showing up in her piece. She also drew inspiration from a quote from her favorite TV show, “We’re all stories in the end – make it a good one.” 

This is Sarah - one of the dancers in Heather's piece.

The hardest part of the process for her? “Not getting stuck in routines." In order to break out of these patterns, she and her dancers used improv to generate a fresh vocabulary for her piece. As Heather puts it, "we basically had play days to find movement we loved.” 

Heather’s favorite style of dance is contemporary because of its expressive qualities. 

When I asked her what inspired her to dance? “Everything! Eating – I have a happy dance. My dogs – I dance with my dogs!”

As a side note, all student pieces have officially auditioned for the showcase. As soon as I find out who will be performing on the Main Stage at Rio Grande on the 6th and 7th of December and who will be performing in the studio on the 12th of December, I'll let you know.  

Pictures by Anne Wharton