Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Jimenez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lauren. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At the age of three, my mom put me into my first ballet/tap combo class and I have been dancing ever since. I grew up as a competitive dancer at East County Performing Arts Center in Brentwood, California. Interestingly enough, I begged my mom to quit dance my whole childhood, but thankfully she never let me. My sophomore year in high school, I joined the Varsity dance team. Once I got into high school, I gained a new sense of motivation, leadership, passion, and inspiration that then inspired me to continue to study dance at a higher level. I became obsessed with the endless opportunities to improve myself both as a dancer and as a human. To this day, what still inspires me most about dance and movement is the idea that there will always be a way to be better, in terms of both a mover and a thinker, than I was the day before.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey to getting to where I am now has absolutely not been easy. Growing up, dance was never my natural talent. I always had to work twice as hard as others in my classes to get the equivalent outcome as them. I would always go home and watch instructional dance videos on YouTube to further my understanding and training. I was never on the “best” teams at my studio and was always in the back of the dances (rightfully so at the time).
My most prominent memory of experiencing failure in dance was my Freshman year of high school when I was the only one of my friends to not make the dance pom team. Although highly devastated, this motivated me and that next year, I improved tremendously and helped truly set my dance journey off on a new path. The following year, I made the team and the following three years consisted of various community recognitions as well as helping lead my team to becoming National Champions at USA Nationals in 2017.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am currently finishing up my third year as a BFA Dance major at Arizona State University, where I primarily focus on Postmodern Contemporary, but also have an interest in incorporating other styles into my movement and training. I have a specific interest in performing as I have performed numerous times within ASU and in the Phoenix community. Some notable performances are: “Rooted in Nothingness” choreographed by Mac Allen, “Bernstein’s Mass” choreographed by Carley Conder and performed in Gammage, and “You Know What I Mean (?)” choreographed by Avery Polster and performed at the American College Dance Association Adjudications concert. Last summer, I was one of ten dancers around the world to be chosen for the HOT SUMMER POP UP’S at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina, where I attended for free and worked with Mark Dendy and Kayla Farrish.
Besides performing, I have also presented my own work “within an empty space” co-choreographed with Genna Oppasser, as well as “F(L)IGHT,” which both premiered in 2019. Most recently, I just finished up a new work entitled “the weight of…” co-choreographed with Mia Nelson that unfortunately did not premier due to COVID-19. I also serve as the President of the Dance Undergraduate Organizational Support and recently just finished up an internship with a local contemporary dance company, CONDER/dance.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from my childhood has to be all of the long days that my neighbors and I would spend playing outside. We had the wildest imagination and would hate when our parents would make us stop playing to come inside for dinner or to go to bed. We always somehow ended up covered in mud or creating Lemonade stands.
Contact Info:
- Email: ldjimen1@asu.edu
- Instagram: laurenjimenez_
- Facebook: Lauren Jimenez
Image Credit:
Emily Black, JC Estrada, Ben McKeown, and Tim Trumble
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