Fall — 2005

Sarah Gombia

Dance

“I have Ms. Richards for my Ballet classes for three hours every Sunday, and it’s intense. She’s tough when she needs to be, but she’s got a great sense of humor.”

“First, the weather here is incredible, so you never really mind going to school,” says Sarah Gombia, who has to speak the best English of anyone ever born in Nice, France. “It’s just beautiful here. But what I love most about SMC is that you have so many possibilities to do things that you could never do even in the big universities. I mean, how many colleges offer their dancers flamenco? And then there’s acting, yoga… it’s all just great!” But, for this particular dancer, the pathway to dance was a bit circuitous.

“I was studying science in France and got my bachelor’s in Florida. Then I began a PhD program in molecular biology, but I didn’t finish it,” Sarah says without regret. “It was a big shift in my life, but I realized that science just wasn’t my passion. Dance definitely is.” Sarah reports, “All of my dance classes have been amazing. But I think the department really needs more support, because when the funding comes, they get nothing. And I think our department chair is really frustrated by that. But, still, they do a great job.”

Sarah states that she’s found a completely different atmosphere in classes at SMC than she’s ever experienced anywhere else. “You’re always with people of really different ages,” she says. “I’ve been in class with people who are 15 to 50. And you meet people from different countries, with amazing backgrounds. It’s all just so good.” It’s Sarah’s plan to “Get my AA and then—as an international student—take a year of practical training with a dance company, and hope for a sponsor and a permanent job.” Of her adopted country, Sarah states, “I feel very comfortable here, because Americans are so open-minded. And people at SMC are always willing to help, and—for me—this is all an amazing opportunity.”

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