Meet The Dancers

EMILY WOHL

Emily Wohl as Mary in The Secret Garden, 2011

Emily Wohl of Flemington, NJ is a senior at Hunterdon Central Regional High School and will perform the role of Lilias in the upcoming production of "The Secret Garden." She is a student in the Conservatory Program at Princeton Dance and Theater where she studies ballet and other dance forms. She has been with the DanceVision Performance Company since 2007 where she has danced a variety of roles including Marie, Chinese, Snow and Flowers in "The Nutcracker," Butterfly, Rain and Mary in "The Secret Garden" and most recently, Princess Annelise in "The Snow Queen." She has attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theater in NY, Chautaqua, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Harid. She will enter Princeton University in the fall.

 

DV:  How old were you when you started to dance?  What made you fall in love with ballet?

EW:  I started dance class when I was four years old. My first memories of ballet are of watching New York City Ballet’s The Nutcracker on VHS (the one with Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone). My sister, Abigail, and I would watch the tape over and over again and dance around my house. My mom also used to dance. So, when Abigail started class, I followed in her footsteps. I have always loved being able to tell stories with my body and with movement. Even when dance is extremely hard and intense, doing it makes each day seem worthwhile.

Emily Wohl, as Princess Annelise, and Josiah Foster, as Prince Frederick, in The Snow Queen 2011 premiere

DV: What has been your favorite role to dance? 

EW: I love every part that I have danced. You form a bond with the role, and it’s always a little upsetting when you graduate to a different part. I absolutely loved dancing the roles of Chinese in The Nutcracker and Butterflies in The Secret Garden. These two parts were just so much fun! I also loved dancing Mary in The Secret Garden. I always felt like the show was real when I danced this role. I enjoyed becoming a young girl in a magical garden each night.

DV:  What has been your most challenging?

EW: My most challenging role was The Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker. This role was so physically demanding, and so much stamina was required to accomplish it. I have never been so nervous that I was going to either throw up or pass out on the stage.

Emily Wohl, as the Sugarplum Fairy. and Gleidson Vasconcelos as Cavalier in DanceVision's The Nutcracker, 2010

DV:  Can you explain to us what dance and ballet has meant to you and how it has impacted your life?

EW:  I cannot even describe how much dance has impacted my life; it is hard to put into words. I am positive that I would not be the same person if I had never started dancing. Ballet specifically has taught me so much. You learn an enormous amount of discipline from dance. Most kids my age are shocked when they hear how much I dance and the strictness of this art form. Recently in school we learned about "duende" which is a Spanish word that has no exact translation in English. It is a type of passion that is deep in one's soul. This is what dance is to me. Doing ballet and growing up in a community of dancers has shaped my life.  

Emily Wohl as Marie in DanceVision's The Nutcracker, 2007

DV:  How is the DanceVision Performance Company unique compared to other area ballet companies?

EW: The DanceVision Performance Company is really extraordinary. At other studios and companies in the area, students never get to perform roles past the corps. If I hadn’t become involved with DanceVision, I would have never had the opportunity to grow so much as a performer. In DanceVision’s, productions the audience members do not see kids dancing on stage. They experience a professional performance with student dancers who have learned to dance like mature company members.

Emily Wohl, as Lilias, and Leland Schwantes, as Mr. Craven, perform an excerpt from The Secret Garden at DanceVision's DanceFest 2012!