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Carmen Cortez is graduating from Granada High School in Livermore. While a senior she has served on the VDT board as a student representative. Carmen has been dancing with the Valley Dance Theatre for 8 years. Carmen would like to thank all the amazing teachers that have made her the dancer she is today. From Virgil’s refreshingly fun jazz classes, Kristin’s tiring yet informative technique classes, Genoa’s self-expressing modern classes, and Betsy and Maddie’s constructive and enjoyable ballet classes. Carmen looks forward to attending Saint Mary’s College of California in the fall as both a dance and clinical psychology major. She loves her VDT family. It has been a memorable and wonderful time.

Lia Sendler will be attending Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Anthropology and Sociology. While there, Lia will be studying on the pre-med track with the goal of becoming an MD/PhD in the future. Lia has been with VDT for 10 years, performing in the annual Nutcracker and Spring Reps as well as Guild performances. She credits her self-discipline, perseverance, and love for dance to the Valley Dance Theatre. The friendships that she has built with her fellow dancers will follow her through life. She plans on getting involved with the Lafayette Contemporary Dance Company while in college to continue to foster her love for dance.

Please enjoy this video honoring our graduating seniors.

https://youtu.be/HvZ2K1svL5U

Alexia Herrera is graduating from Dublin High School. She started dance at the age of 2 and joined the VDT when she was 7. She is grateful for Betsy, Maddie, Virgil, Genoa, and Kristin! She feels that she wouldn’t have been the dancer and person that she is today without their guidance. Not only did she learn technique, but also how to creatively express herself through dance. Alexia was a very shy person who disliked being in front of huge crowds. Now after all these years she loves performing and even speaking in public. She will forever love everyone at the Valley Dance Theatre, especially all of the close friends that she has made. They have been like second family and she feels very lucky to have them in her life. Alexia will be attending Las Positas in the fall and will be transferring to a UC or State school to major in Nursing. Thank you VDT for all these amazing years.

Vijay Memula is graduating from Granada High School. He has been a part of the backstage crew for VDT since he was in 7th grade. He initially joined the crew to get volunteer hours for Boy Scouts and ended up coming back every year for Spring Rep and Nutcracker. Vijay will be attending San Francisco State University and studying Studio Production in the fall. He imagines that he will be backstage again in the future!

Janelle SooHoo is graduating from Dublin High School. She began dancing at VDT in 2014 and has since fallen in love with ballet. These past 6 years with her VDT family have provided her with many memories that she will never forget. Her first roles were in The Nutcracker as an Opening Girl, a Handmaiden, and a demi-soloist in Chinese Tea. She worked her way up to performing her favorite roles as the Waltz Queen and Snow Queen. She is very grateful for the experiences she has had at VDT that have helped her grow as a dancer and as a person. Janelle would like to thank her family and friends for their constant support and love. She would also like to thank all of her teachers, especially Betsy, Maddie, and Genoa, for making her a better dancer and for their endless encouragement. Janelle will be attending University of California Los Angeles in the fall to major in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology on the pre-med track.