The “Senior Spotlight” series honors graduating fine arts majors for their contributions to the Gustavus community.
Maddi Miller is a dance honors major with an arts administration minor from Northfield, Minn. Next fall she will be teaching dance at a studio in Northfield while looking for jobs prior to applying to graduate school. Associate Professor of Dance Melissa Rolnick says Maddi is an artist of integrity and depth. “Maddi has developed into an extraordinary dancer demonstrating a broad spectrum of expression that is rich in nuance and range. Her choreography reflects her intriguing and idiosyncratic creative voice,” she says. “Maddi leads by being herself; quiet, thoughtful, playful, generous, and caring.”
We asked Maddi to give us a little insight into her time at Gustavus and how she’s continuing to dance while living off-campus.
What will you miss most about dance at Gustavus?
I’ll really miss the people. Our professors are fantastic and they’ve helped me grow so much as an artist. They’ve really pushed me to stretch myself creatively.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to high school students considering Gustavus?
Don’t stress out too much about choosing your major right away. You have a lot of time to choose and you’ll have tons of opportunities to explore all of your different interests once you get here.
How are you continuing your dance education in your new surroundings?
I’ve been taking lots of online dance classes! Some of them are for my classes at Gustavus, but I’m also making an effort to take as many classes as I can from a bunch of different sources.
Can you tell us a story about what it’s been like to dance at home?
One of the biggest challenges at home is trying to dance around my cat. She’s always walking around my feet when I’m trying to take classes and I don’t want to kick her. Watching out for cats isn’t something I usually need to worry about in dance classes!
What professor has made the biggest impact on you and why?
Melissa Rolnick has made the biggest impact on me during my time at Gustavus. She’s been my advisor since I declared my dance major. Taking both Dance Composition I and II with her were some of the best classes I took at Gustavus. I learned so much about how to talk about dance as well as how to organize movement and make dance. Those classes with her really helped to form my choreographic identity. She’s also been incredibly supportive during my time in the department and I’m very grateful for that.