Step by Step: UT Dance Student Plans to Leap Into Exciting Career Soft morning sunlight streams into the

studio through eight arched floor-to-ceiling windows. Erica and her classmates prepare for their lesson, bending their bodies into beautiful yet seemingly impossible formations to stretch their long, powerful muscles. Class begins, and she observes her instructors precise, intricate movements, subtly mirroring them as she watches. The music starts and she moves in time with the delicate tones of the piano, but this time she cant seem to get the steps just right. Her classmates stop for a short rest while she continues to work, refusing to let this technique elude her. Erica Saucedo is and has always been a dancer. She took her first classes when she was 4 years old. After a few years spent exploring other activities such as soccer and choir, she decided at the age of 11 that dance was her passion. My dad really wanted me to do tee ball. My mom was a cheerleader, but she never really cared what I did as long as I was doing something, she said. I just wanted to get back onstage. Saucedo is a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is working toward a bachelors degree in dance. Last summer, Saucedo spent six weeks in an intensive program at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. There, she practiced four hours each day and learned new styles of ballet, improvisation and contemporary dance. Being in New York helps because you can find classes everywhere, she said. Its very different from Austin. Here, you have to really work hard to get extra hours in. In New York, theres art everywhere. Saucedo has also studied at the Escuela Profesional de Danza Mazatln in Mazatln, Sinaloa, Mexico, and plans to study in Austria this summer. Saucedo knows that even after her many years of practice and performance, she still has a lot to learn. She said she struggles with her desire to execute every routine flawlessly.

I have a hard time with failure. When Im pushed to my limit and I fail, its really difficult to pick myself back up, she said. Sometimes Im too much of a perfectionist and miss out on the whole point of performance. When you watch a dancer who is free and puts all of their fears aside, it looks so effortless. You can let your mind just be present rather than constantly thinking about whats next, or if youre going to miss the next step. Thats what you really want onstage. When that happens, its the best feeling ever. Dr. Tina Curran, who teaches Saucedos intermediate ballet technique class at UT, said she has watched Saucedo work hard during the semester to shake the inhibitions that sometimes hold her back. The change that Ive seen with Erica is a refinement in her movement, and more flow, she said. Its less about moving from position to position and more about really dancing. Her clarity of movement and the lines of her body are great. She has an awareness of the design of her body as a whole. I think she sees herself in the professional field as a performer, and she could go wherever she chooses, said Curran. Ashlee Davie, a junior broadcast journalism major at UT, has been a close friend of Saucedos for 10 years. They met when they were both dancing with Fusion Dance Company in Austin. Davie said Saucedo has come a long way since they were younger. Shes matured in her dancing and gotten more confident, she said. Her dancing has become more cultured, and shes gained more control over her body. She did a dance to Shake Up the Party when she was about 13. I played it for her boyfriend and she about killed me because its so out of control. Davie said Saucedos skill has always inspired her. Saucedo entered Fusion Dance Company at a lower level than Davie because she was younger, but she quickly moved up to join Davie in the more advanced group.

On stage, her presence is captivating, Davie said. Ive never seen someone dance like her. Shes very unique, and shes able to own her differences instead of changing them to be like everyone else. Thats what makes her stand out. Well, that and those long legs of hers. Davie echoed Currans belief that Saucedo will be able to turn her dancing into a career if she chooses. She works her booty off, said Davie. That girl will be dripping sweat, but she never takes a break. She can do whatever she wants if she sets her mind to it. Saucedo said she wants to audition to join a dance company after college, and that she will perform until her body will not let her do so any longer. At that point, she wants to return to school and earn her masters degree so she can teach dance at a university. Saucedo says what she loves most about dance is the fact that it is universal and inherent in all people. Im always the first person to dance at a party because it brings everyone together immediately, she said. I think that is so beautiful. Some people think they cant dance, but its in our nature. Weve been moving our whole lives. Saucedo said those days in class when the steps arent coming easily are difficult, but that she will never stop working to reach her goals. The hardest part is always striving for perfection and never reaching it, she said. My body type isnt ideal for dance, and it gets really frustrating when I want to do something but my body is holding me back. There are ways to get around that, and Ill have to train really hard. Thats what Im trying to do. Dancers always work to be perfect, but there is no perfection.