Hannah Park MEMBER SPOTLIGHT by Chara Huckins, daCi USA Member Liaison daCi member Hannah Park comes from a family immersed in academia. She says, with a laugh, “I get a lot of tips from my dad.” Hannah was born in Minnesota where her father was in school pursuing an MBA and PhD. Later, he accepted a job at a university in Korea, so the family moved there when she was six. She and her brother grew up visiting their father’s research center and campus office. At home, the family had a library and the custom of playing classical music. The children were exposed to different kinds of arts and sports, and she tried many different activities like swimming, taekwondo, skating and piano, but her attention was captured by dance. Her parents signed her up for a contemporary dance class. At that time, they thought it was acceptable to concentrate on music, but they were a little hesitant about her dancing. However, her parents never said anything negative about her passion for dance.
In Korea, when young students reached a certain level in ballet or modern dance, they began competing in serious artistic competitions. Hannah started to compete and win. She remembers that it was at that point that her father called her into the family’s library. He told her, “Hannah, it looks like you really enjoy dancing. I am willing to support this but here is the deal. I would encourage you to go into dance education and become a professor. I think that it would be more valuable." Her father advised, “to be a true educator you need to go through a conservatory track to get training to become a professional dancer. Then, you should complete a doctoral program in dance education.” Thus, the beginning of her pathway in dance was forming. Hannah’s conservatory training began at the North Carolina School of the Arts, followed by a BFA in Dance from the State University of New York, Purchase. After that, Hannah received an MFA in Dance Performance and page 01
13
