Local Ocean
Miss Brooke Parsons By Lauren Avellino Turton. Photos provided by Brooke Parsons.
“To watch us dance, is to hear our hearts speak.” - Native American saying. The fine art of dance is deeply rooted in cultures throughout the world, since the earliest times of our existence. It has evolved and changed over the centuries, yet what remains constant, is that dance is, and always will be, a way to express thoughts and emotions. Miss Brooke Parsons has been dancing since the young age of four. With her strong desire to learn professional dance instruction, Brooke attended Charter Tech High School for The Performing Arts in Somers Point. “I danced every single day,” she recalled. “During my time there, the classes were small, I was able to explore many different opportunities, and had the ability to be creative with dance.” Brooke’s dance education brought her to Stockton University in Galloway Township. The college has a solid reputation for fine arts, and offers a variety of programs through the Performing Arts Center. “Dancing became part of each day,” she said. “It was there I became very interested in modern dance, and learned many different choreography styles.” In her senior year at Stockton, Brooke created an original dance routine, which was ultimately chosen for the National College Dance Festival Spring Concert. Brooke earned two Bachelor’s degrees from Stockton, one, in Dance: Arts Administration, as well as Education. She went on to earn a Master’s in Special Education, and also a certification as a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant. In fact, she is currently employed as a consultant by the Hamilton Township School District. In that role, Brooke conducts learning evaluations with students, and classifies any learning disabilities if warranted. While she wasn’t attending classes or studying at Stockton, Brooke danced as much as she possibly could. “I performed for ten years in Atlantic City,” she said. “I
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OCEAN CITY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019
