In high school, Margaret began taking classes at the Arlington Center for Dance until she was introduced to Cuppett’s, a comprehensive studio in Vienna where a select number of very dedicated and aspiring young dancers spend many long hours. “I started taking more classes there, because I wanted to be one of the better girls, I looked up to them.” Margaret’s ambitions were evident after her first year at the studio, she was offered a jazz and modern scholarship. She took advantage of the entire year’s worth of free classes, building a busy schedule that would finally grow to nearly 20 hours a week.

Margaret’s hard work and improvement landed her at the Governor’s School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Humanities in the summer of 2005 and it was there that she realized she could really pursue dance as a profession. “After Governor’s school, I started taking dance more seriously. I saw that people actually do this and actually want this.” Since then, Margaret has danced with the Cappies Program at the Kennedy Center, was accepted to the prestigious summer dance school at Interlochen, made the cut for the Fusion Dance Company, scored a Gold Prize at a Dance Masters of America Workshop, and was accepted to Virginia Commonwealth University’s dance program, which she will attend next year.

So, why dance? “It’s a big world that you can do almost anything with,” said Margaret. Dance’s breadth is apparent in its many styles, of which Margaret prefers modern because, “it’s so open to interpretation.”

She added, “I extract experiences from my life and put them out there and dance for them.” For Margaret, dance also carries a variety of opportunities for the future. One day, she hopes to secure a role in a contemporary traveling company and later settle down, perhaps become a college dance professor or even establish her own company. At 17, in fact, Margaret has already experienced teaching, and a lot of it. For 11 additional hours a week at the Falls Church Community Center, young girls, and a few boys, from ages 4 to 12 attend “Miss” Margaret’s ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop classes. “I love teaching dance because it’s a meaningful job and I can pass on what I love. I can understand what it’s like being in a ballet class as a young dancer and wanting to learn,” said Margaret. Teaching also offers her the creative license to choreograph over 10 dances for her students to perform on stage in the Community Center’s June Recital.

Miss Margaret, as she is called by her young students, explains an important dance step to the girls in one of the 11 classes she teaches every week at the Community Center. (Photo by Anna Duning)

Margaret knows that like any performing art, success does not come easy. “I don’t want to be completely pessimistic and think I can’t go very far in dance, but I have to be realistic,” she said. In college, she does plan on studying Spanish and English, two of her many other interests, in addition to dance.

For now though, Margaret will continue to dash from school to teaching to one class to another; and she doesn’t mind. It’s all part of progressing. “I am a perfectionist and an overachiever, but I know that I will always have to work to get better.” Thus far, her dedication has certainly paid off.