Anna Bella Clymer
BFA Dance: Choreography/Performance
BS Biology
For Anna Clymer, dance started even before her memories did.
“My mom tells stories of taking me to ‘Mommy and Me’ movement and music classes when I was just one-and-a-half years old. I started dance classes when I was three. I’ve been dancing my whole life.”
Clymer grew up in Goldsboro, home of Seymour Johnson Air Force base, where her father was in the reserves. There at the School of Goldsboro Ballet, she found a love and passion for dance:
“It was a small studio, and my teachers, Mary Franklin and Peggy Wingate, really shaped who I am, giving me space and nurturing me so that I could form my own love and passion for the art.”
Clymer says the studio provided experiences with guest artists, some of whom were UNCG alumni or just knew the reputation of the School of Dance. But the real reason she chose to apply was an inside view:
“There was another dancer from Goldsboro from a different studio who wound up at UNCG. She had a YouTube channel, and she was making all these great videos in the School of Dance with her friends. It looked like fun and a good place to be.”
Clymer was accepted into UNCG but just missed the deadline for School of Dance applications and auditions. Declaring an exploratory major, she took introductory level dance classes to see if it was really what she wanted to pursue. It didn’t take her long to find that answer:
“When I went to the dance building that first time, everyone was so welcoming. My teacher was a grad student who was very sweet and really hyped up the building and the professors. So, I started thinking about applying and auditioning on that very first day! That next semester, I walked into the building as a dance major and former School Director Janet Lilly said, ‘Hi Anna.’ She knew my name, and that was mind-blowing to me.
“I had been a little nervous, coming into the program later than my cohort, but having the School Director know my name felt so comforting right off the bat. It was so beautiful the way that everybody accepted me, and I felt supported as a student and an artist.”
That feeling has stayed with Clymer throughout her time at UNCG:
“School of Dance professors take the time to cherish what we create, even if it’s not the best thing in the world because we’re learning. The constructive criticism and feedback we get is never too aggressive or mean. It’s always with the intention to lift us up, to help us learn, and to show us what we’re capable of.
“After coming through this School of Dance, I feel capable of entering the workforce in this career that I’ve chosen. I’m grateful that my professors helped me understand it’s not always an easy path, but they have also encouraged me. I know dance, or any arts career, can be hard, but I feel like I can do it!”
Clymer may have entered UNCG as an exploratory major, but she is leaving with two degrees:
“Throughout high school, I’d been dually enrolled in community college. By the time I got to UNCG I already had my associate’s degree in science. I decided to double major in Biology and Dance. UNCG was the perfect place for me to pursue my passion for both.”
Her professional goal is to combine the two:
“What’s pulling at me most right now is performing, creating, and having the opportunity to be in spaces with other artists who are exploring new things.
That’s just what’s been fueling me lately, so I’d like to go the performance route first.
“A long-term goal of mine is to go back to school and become a physical therapist and work specifically with dancers. Coming from experience with injuries and having to work through that, I realize that it’s rare to find a doctor or physical therapist who understands the rigor and passion of dance as a career and not just a hobby.
“Being a double major is a challenge. There’s a lot of schedule juggling. I would tell anyone who decides to do it to get your advisors together right away and make a game plan. Advisors and professors here want us to succeed. If you have a goal and let everyone know right away, they’ll make sure you get there. Having both degrees gives me more options, and I’m grateful for that.”
One of the best things about UNCG, says Clymer, is finding community:
“I love the way the community here scaffolds. We have our family of the School of Dance, then there’s the larger community of the CVPA. For example, there are musical theatre students who come to dance with us, and we go to see their shows. We have students and alumni making work at Greensboro Project Space (the School of Art’s downtown gallery.) There’s a real camaraderie here in the arts. And then on a grander scale, we have other pockets of communities across the University and in Greensboro, like the Dance Project, which hosts workshops and classes for all ages of dancers.
“I just performed in the North Carolina Dance Festival school performance there. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if not for this beautiful community of Greensboro. And so that’s what I like the most here, the way everybody has this understanding of the importance of the arts and what that means for us as humans.”
Clymer’s advice to current and future Spartans is to take advantage of all that UNCG offers:
“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and share your passion. What I respect the most about people is when they understand what they love and how they would want to share it with others.
“I’ve met so many beautiful people at UNCG, not just in the School of Dance, and not just in the Biology Department. Sometimes when I’m walking on campus, and I see someone dressed so cool and I wonder if maybe they’re a fashion major. Or there’s someone carrying a giant poster board, and I think, ‘What are you presenting right now?’ There are so many people doing so many different things and taking so many different paths. And I think putting yourself out there is like the best thing you could do for not only yourself, but for others who might be afraid to do that.”
Story by Terri W Relos
Photo credit: Brandon Demery
