Chester Valley Dance Academy is proud to offer students with not only quality dance training at the studio, but also the opportunity to travel and participate in conventions, competitions, and master classes. The studio produces an annual Senior Showcase that gives the graduating class an opportunity to showcase their talent and have the spotlight to celebrate their years with CVDA. At this year's Senior Showcase, we celebrated the Class of 2021 and all of their accomplishments. The dances were beautiful and the messages shared through Senior Speeches were so heartfelt. We are proud to share with our studio community the Speeches our Seniors gave at the show, reminiscing on their time at the studio, and inspiring the underclassmen to savor every minute of their time at Chester Valley.

Senior Speech - Hannah Scott

"Fifteen years ago, my mom dressed me in a leotard, pink tights, and ballet shoes. She grabbed her bobby pins, wet my hair, and combed it back into a tight braided bun, with a light pink scrunchie to finish it off. Yet, upon arriving at my first handful of dance classes, this seemingly excited three-year-old actually ended up sitting there crying the entire time. The thought of Mommy leaving me for an hour was simply unfathomable, so I cried and cried and cried. But after some amount of time, whether it was just by chance, or that she could no longer bear the sound of my high pitched screams next door, Miss Kim walked into the studio that my class was in. Upon seeing how upset this little three-year-old was, and that the crying was not going to stop any time soon, she managed to find the one thing that would calm me down. She took my hand, walked me out of my own dance class, and brought me into the big girls’ room. Suddenly the crying stopped and my eyes turned wide in awe as she sat me down in the front of the room and let me watch the big girls’ entire class, rather than taking my own. This was the start of the long journey I would have ahead at Chester Valley Dance Academy.

Like my first dance class, much of my time at CVDA was shaped by the older girls I looked up to. Growing up with a big sister made my own experience that much more special. Everything that I did, she did first, and I had the pleasure of watching and waiting for the day that I would get to do it too. Watching her in the Nutcracker, getting to warm up with the big girls on the stage before a show, and being the little baby sister standing next to her and all of her friends idolizing every move they made. During my time at CVDA, I had always been seen as the little baby, yet in the blink of an eye, I am standing here today as a high school graduate dancing in my very last show.

As I look back on these past fifteen years, I can't help but smile at the memories filled with joy and magic that shaped me into the dancer and person I am today. I can picture myself as I did my own bun for the first time. The first time I did my own stage makeup, put on my first pair of pointe shoes, stepped into a tutu...each of these moments and the thousands of memories in between have shaped my love for dance. Warming up on the stage before a show, the thrill of standing in the wings before it is time to go on, stepping into the lights that nearly blind you, and hearing the applause from an audience after a great show. These are the moments I will truly miss. But I will also miss the small moments. The late night classes where we sat and talked longer than we danced, the 8-hour Saturday rehearsals, the Wawa trips, the uncontrollable laughter at the barre, and even the contract we wrote and signed six years ago saying we would NEVER complain about doing pointe. These moments, and more importantly the people by my side during these moments are what I will miss the most as I walk away from CVDA.

To all of my friends, older and younger, thank you for a lifetime of memories. You are my family and I can not imagine what my time at CVDA would have been like without you. To Miss Cathy, and the rest of my teachers, thank you for the opportunities you have given me to be the best dancer and person I can be. I will forever be grateful for the time I have spent with you and I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to Miss Kim, you have known me since the very beginning. Thank you for seeing the light in my eyes, even beneath all those tears, and continuing to guide and support me through any and every occasion. I will never be able to thank you enough for the impact you have had on me, and I will forever be grateful for knowing you. 

Today, I take my final bow as a dancer at Chester Valley Dance Academy. But the past fifteen years of memories, laughs, failures, and accomplishments, bumps, blisters, and bruises, and blood, sweat, and tears will remain within me wherever I go. Goodbyes are never easy and ending this whirlwind of a ride is no exception to that. Yet as I look to the future, I cannot overstate how excited I am to see what lies ahead. Chester Valley Dance Academy, thank you for this incredible journey, and wherever I go, you’ll be in my heart. Thank you."

~ Hannah Scott
CVDA Class of 2021
Bucknell University

Hannah performs her solo, "You'll Be In My Heart".