Introduction

Saint of Santa Fe | Mariah Preeden

Saint of Santa Fe | Mariah Preeden

Ballerina dancing and jumping in the air during a performance.
SF student Mariah Preeden during a performance of Holiday at Santa Fe in December 2019.

June 24, 2020 – “Being an artist is one of the hardest careers on the planet, but the most rewarding,” said SF student Mariah Preeden. “I can’t think of another career that lets one express themself, and/or their feelings like being an artist can.”

“Of course all mediums of art can do this, but there’s something so different about being a dancer. Being able to use the entirety of your body not just a pencil and paper, or paint and a canvas. There are countless amount of times that I’ve gone to the studio, either not having the best day or feeling down, and just used my body and my movement to just let all of my emotion out. There have been plenty of times that I’ve been dancing, and just started crying because of how this release of emotion made me feel. Being able to use the entirety of your body, from head to toe, to express anything and everything you feel is one of the greatest things about this art form.”

“Another reason why using dance to express emotion or to cope is so great is because you can help your choreographer show this emotion or frustration to the an audience. When you have group pieces, a lot of the time we are either trying to collectively send a message or show an emotion/frustration. We, as dancers, are incredibly grateful to be able to do this for a living; creating, expressing, coping, the whole nine yards.”

– Mariah Preeden, Dancer