Isadora Duncan? Martha Graham? No, it's Adelphi's Own Kara Rosales

by Sara Forrest 

Dancers are a peculiar breed.  Twisting, bending and stretching their fine-tuned instruments in ways that make most of us cringe in pain just talking about it; these passionate creatures dedicate their lives to the science of movement.  Combining musicality, rhythm, and intellect, dancers generate a world of magic and emotion that we often forget exists in our mechanical lives.  They preserve spirit, remind us of who we are, and nourish our souls.  For dancers, including our own at Adelphi, creating physical art is a way of life.  Adelphi senior, Kara Rosales, is a promising example of a fine artist.  For her, dancing is not only her lifestyle; it is a way of being.  Her work, her passion, her love, her existence is focused around one dream:  to dance.

For all the time she spends in the studio, Kara should just claim residency at Woodruff hall and crash with a pillow on the couch in the dance office.  Why not?  She puts in roughly nine hours a day in the studios anyways.  Her training regimen?  "I wake up at seven, commute to school by eight, and then have dance classes and rehearsals until nine."  Now for the real kicker, this is the routine six to seven days out of her week.  "I'm usually sleeping like a log by 10:30 every single night."  With a schedule like that, who wouldn't be?  "Sometimes I wake up literally dancing in my bed.  I usually dream that I am still in class and wake up doing portabras with my arms hovering over my head."  When I asked her if she considers it too much of a sacrifice she immediately replies, "This is what makes me happy and strong."  Obviously, for Kara, too much of a good thing is fantastic.

At the ripe age of 21, Kara is visually stunning.  With wide, energizing green eyes, a flawless ivory complexion, and a petit defined figure, she flashes me a radiant smile as she enters the dance office.  Talk about picture perfect.  Her hairstyle alone is a work of art.  Tightly pinned back in a braided twist, she puts my prom do to shame.  Apparently, it never falls out of place either.  

"It is a mystery in the dance department," jokes a student, "no one can figure out how she stays so polished throughout the day."   

Sporting black dance pants and a blue spaghetti strapped leotard, she is taking a few moments in between class and rehearsals to rest and supply some autobiography.  Born in Huntington, Long Island, Kara has never drifted far from home.  Under the watchful eyes of her parents, she has always excelled in academics.  "I have always enjoyed math and science in school, which is why I chose to do environmental science on the side, but dance is in my heart.  I could never see myself working a desk job, I have to be moving around and physically doing something or else I'll go crazy."

No stranger to a studio, she basically leaped out of the womb and into dance class.  She began her training when she was two and continued dancing in high school.  First, she chose to attend college at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, but transferred to Adelphi soon thereafter.  "I like the smaller atmosphere here.  There I felt like it was easy to get lost in the shuffle of other dancers."  She considers Adelphi to be her chance to train on a professional level and values the intimate interaction with her professors.  Intimate it must be.  For one's first disconcerting sight of Adelphi's dance facility looks a lot like a gym with a few holes in the track for small studios.  Maybe because it is one.  When I expressed my empathy for the department's lack of space she chose to look on the brighter side, "Yea, but you can have the biggest studios and the crummiest teachers and you won't get anywhere anyways."  

Under the direction of Rebecca Wright, Kara's mentor and inspiration, she is using her experiences here to solidify her technique and as she states, "to absorb all that I can in as little time as I can and then absorb even more."  Luckily, Kara is receiving the opportunity to work with choreographers rising to the forefront of mainstream dance.  In Dance Adelphi this March, Kara is involved with five of the seven works, including both guest works with artists affiliated with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.  Plus, she is attending the American College Dance Festival this March with a group of dancers, performing a piece by Marlies Yearby, the choreographer of the Broadway hit RENT.  When asked which one she enjoyed dancing the most she couldn't say.  As is required required of all dancers in the field, one must be able to pull off a variety of techniques.  Kara does it all, from the classics to jazz to all types of modern, she definitely qualifies as a well-rounded performer.

According to her fellow dancers, Kara is a sparkling powerhouse.  "She is the ultimate energizer bunny if there ever was one. She just keeps on going and going and going - even at night, when everyone else is dead tired and dragging she is still charged with this remarkable liveliness," states Karli Keller,a friend and dancer in the program.  Everyone seemed to agree and I wanted to see for myself, so I asked Kara if I could watch her next rehearsal.  Her eyelids rose with the brimming optimism of a child and she replied with an energetic, "Sure!"  Break time ended and I followed Kara across the worn track and into the comfy dance studio, littered with book bags, water bottles, and remnants of bandages and other dancer droppings.  I plopped myself down in the front of the room on the floor and listened.  The choreographer coached the five dancers on how to connect transitions between certain steps while staying right on the music.  Deep in thought and quietly marking the steps, Kara prepared to dance.   An abstract African score began and the innocent 4'll" doll transformed herself into a fierce warrior of motion.  Turning, darting, spinning, and leaping in all directions, my eyes were drawn to her; her toned arms and legs seemed to paint the air with a kaleidoscope of colors.  She is fast on her feet, techniquely clean and focused, and amazingly alert.

As if her pounding schedule weren't enough proof, Professor Rebecca Wright had nothing but good things to say.  "Kara's greatest gift is her pure desire and spirit.  She is very clear about the work; whatever it is that she is doing, and how to approach it with unbelievable integrity and optimism.  Nothing gets in her way.  It's like in the back of her mind, no matter how far away something may seem, she is not a defeatist, she has no limits to what she can do.  She is probably the most overall improved dancer who has come through the program and has taken on a tremendous amount of responsibility."

Upon graduating this fall, she will have earned degrees in dance and environmental science.  Also a member of the Honors College, she is working on completing her thesis project; a choreographic work incorporating disabled students.  She considers the project "an incredible challenge and learning experience.  It is a collaborative effort where the kids are actually a part of the creative process."  Kara's final piece will be performed in the University Center ballroom at the Disabilities Dance on April 13th.

Wait!  What about her personal life?  She laughs, "Well, my boyfriend thinks I'm nuts."