An Immersive Dance Experience in NYC: Discovering Dance as a Form of Healing to Meld the Mind, Body, and Spirit

About the Program

This summer I had the privilege of receiving the Benenson Award in the Arts, which allowed me to immerse myself in the New York City dance community for three months. My funding supported travel, dance studio memberships, and performance opportunities that provided me with training and artistic growth I could not have accessed otherwise.

Although my plans shifted from what I initially envisioned, I found myself fully rooted in the vibrant dance culture of the city. I was accepted into the Brickhouse NYC Work-Study program, which became the foundation of my summer. In exchange for weekly work hours, I gained access to unlimited classes, and Brickhouse quickly became a second home. I trained intensively there in Hip-Hop, Street Jazz, and Heels with choreographers who emphasized performance quality, musicality, and storytelling. This environment pushed me out of my comfort zone and demanded both stamina and creativity.

Alongside Brickhouse, I trained at Broadway Dance Center, PMT House of Dance, and Modega in Queens. The variety of studios gave me exposure to different teaching methods and movement vocabularies. I ultimately found myself consistently taking classes in in Hip-Hop, House, and Heels. These classes spoke directly to my strengths as a performer and connected me to a thriving community of dancers who share the same passion. Through the process, I strengthened my technique, learned to pick up choreography quickly, and began developing a clearer artistic voice within these styles. The work was demanding—physically and mentally—but it was also deeply fulfilling.

My summer in New York reaffirmed what I had already begun to discover last year after enduring mental health struggles: that dance is a powerful tool for healing, grounding, and self-expression. I carried my academic interests in neuroscience and mental health with me into the studio, paying attention to how repetition, improvisation, and performance practice helped me embody resilience. Training daily, I felt the coalescence of mind, body, and spirit that I plan to explore in my senior thesis project. Not only that, this experience has left me more confident in my abilities as a dancer and more connected to my Hispanic and Queer identities through movement. Being part of New York’s dance culture taught me the importance of community, perseverance, and showing up authentically in the studio space.

I am deeply grateful to the Benenson Award donors for making this possible. Their support gave me more than just access to classes—it gave me the opportunity to reconnect with myself, expand my artistry, and lay essential groundwork for my senior thesis. I will return to Duke next year with a renewed sense of purpose, a stronger artistic voice, and gratitude for the ways dance continues to transform my life.