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originality (the ability to think creatively) and improvisation . They combine different styles of dance and prize creative self-expression. Kendra, on the other hand, was more interested in ballet. “My mom is loud and outspoken,” Kendra says. “She needs to be dramatic when she dances. And she has to have a certain amount of freedom over everything that she does. Ballet isn’t anything like that. Most ballets tell stories, so it’s not so much about expressing yourself. It’s expressing someone else’s story. It’s about coming up with a dance that does justice to the emotion of the story.” According to Kendra, ballet has a lot of rules. It is a more rigid art form because a dancer is not prized for how well they improvise but rather for how perfect their form is. By the time she reached high school, Kendra was already sure that she wanted to pursue a career in dancing, but she was unsure whether or not she wanted to go to college. “My mom wanted me to go to college,” Kendra says, “but not for dancing. She would say, ‘You already know how to dance; learn

Young artists discuss why they love their careers and how they broke into the field.

12 CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL: THE ARTS