Student in Motion
Keeping up with Chloe Barbera of Thibodaux requires lots of energy! Between school and her passion for dancing, her days are long and busy. She started to dance when she was 3 and has grown to love Contemporary Ballet because it connects the mind and body through fluid dance movements, and she is indeed, in constant motion. Contemporary, she says, “…allows freedom of expression.” That type of dance relies on natural energy, and the 7th grader has a lot of it.
Chloe Barbera at a Recent Competition
She says she tries to get her University View Academy school work done early in the day since she trains four-to-five times a week in the evenings, sometimes until 9 p.m. She also travels 90-percent of her weekends for dance competitions and dance conventions, where she participates and assists professional instructors in a series of all-day classes.
Her mom, Marlo, calls University View Academy a virtual opportunity. She explains that Chloe “…doesn’t miss class as she did in her former brick and mortar school.” Marlo would have to check Chloe out early on Fridays so they could travel, and Chloe would sometimes experience the anxiety of not completing her school work. Now, the flexibility Chloe has with UVA means she can take school with her on her computer. Both say they’ve fine-tuned the school schedule and it’s a peak learning experience. Chloe says the teachers at UVA are “…helpful, and she made friends with her classmates through the live sessions.”
Chloe began competing in dance when she was 7. Now, after ten years, she competes in team, solo and duet categories and belongs to two dance companies. Chloe and her mom have traveled as far as California for dance conventions, and she’s competed in Las Vegas.
Borrowing from her online live sessions at UVA, she also does physical training via Facetime with an instructor in Arizona to become stronger and more flexible.
Her mom says it sounds like a hectic schedule, but Chloe likes “to be busy” and says she’s learning valuable and therapeutic lessons. “How Chloe reacts to setbacks, like losing a competition, will serve her throughout life.”