OBSESSION WITH THE ARTS Never Say Never Eleena deLisser/University of Pennsylvania Almost every little girl dreams of being a ballerina; floating across the stage in pink satin, and being able to stand on her toes. Most, however, lose interest before their ballet shoes get dirty. Catharine Clark was the exception. The 20-year-old University of Pennsylvania student devoted her life to ballet, until at 16 she was told she would never dance again. Catharine began the dedicated life of a dancer at the age of 8, putting in long afternoons at ballet class in her hometown, San Francisco. As her ca- pabilities progressed, she sought more personalized instruction at the highly acclaimed San Francisco Academy of Ballet, where she studied throughout her teen years. Everything Catharine did as a teenager was directed towards be- coming a professional dancer, from the classes she conducted for children in her home studio to the high school she attended that accommodated her talent, allowing her time to practice around classes. During her sophomore year she was given the rare oppor- tunity to go to Europe for the summer to study further. Training abroad was something Catharine had been preparing and hoping for ever since she could re- member. Completion of the program she planned to attend in St. Moritz, Switzerland, would add to her pres- tige and her chances of having a professional career. "For those who have what it takes,' she said, "there was the eventual promise . . . that would inevitably set you up to go to a company in Europe." Catharine's lifelong dream, how- ever, was shattered when an unfor- tunate accident changed her life in every way. Initially the injury seemed harmless. Conducting a dance class for a group of five to eight year olds, Catharine was unintentionally pushed by one of her young students during a stretching routine. "I sprained a muscle in my left leg, and then after trying to dance on it in pain, I went to a doctor who put me on painkillers so I couldn't feel what I was doing;' she recalls. On her physician's advice, she continued to dance. "The doctor told me to take classes and I ripped the muscles in my left leg, and sprained some mus- cles in my right leg," she said quietly. "I went to a different doctor and they told me that I couldn't dance any- more." Faced with a sudden turn in her calling and concerned that she was not being academically challenged, Catharine transferred from the Con- vent of the Sacred Heart to prep school to prepare herself for college. "The transition was really difficult," she said. "I cut off my hair and I didn't know how to deal with academics for the sake of furthering my education and becoming a college student." For a while Catharine's self-esteem took a plunge. In a lot of pain, she underwent physical therapy every day after school for a full year. The sessions served as a constant re- minder of the career she had lost. "In the back of my mind was that the only thing I really enjoyed was danc- ing," she said. "I think the hardest thing about losing something like dancing is that when you lose it you are, I don't know what the word is, but you are 'normalized' or made mortal in a way. You're not special- well that's not really true, but you feel like.that for a really long time." 'Ibday, as a junior at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, Cathar- ine has found a new love-modern dance. The transition from ballerina to free-form dancer scratched some old wounds. "It was really hard when I started dancing here again;' she ex- plained. "It made me want to cry, be- cause I'd look in the mirror and see that I wasn't what I used to be." Ca- tharine persevered, however, and now finds that modern dance in many ways picks up where ballet left off. Not only has she learned a new dance PennDance performer Catharine Clark. e e 4 4 Take off with the original cast... and some new civilian recruits as they take to the streets and the skies to fight crime. WARNER BROS. Presents A Paul Maslansky Production "POLICE ACADEMY 4 CITIZENS ON PATROL" Starring STEVE GUTTENBERG OBUBBA SMITH - MICHAEL WINSLOW -DAVID GRAF - TIM ZURINSKY SHARON STONE - MARION RAMSEY - LANCE KINSEY- LESLIE EASTERBROOK - COLEEN CAMP G.W. BAILEY as Capt. Harris BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT as Zed and GEORGE GAYNES as Cmdt. Lassard Music Composed by ROBERT FOLK Written by GENE QUINTANO Produced by PAUL MASLANSKY Directed by JIM DRAKE Available on HiFi Stereo Videocassette. umo Spanish-Subtitled HiFi Mono VHS Videocassette Also Available. form, but she has choreographed a couple of original works for the PennDance troupe. She says that both the choreography and the perform- ance allow her to be creative and dar- ing. "You don't have to have excellent or 100 percent turnout," she said. "You have to feel it inside of you the same way in classical ballet, but you have to elaborate much more." 4 Ten years from now, when her col- lege years are behind her, Catharine sees herself in an arts management career. Explaining that she is inter- ested in "intellectualizing" the arts, she would like to be the manager of a performing arts company or the cu- rator of a museum. Whatever it is, she will do it with passion. "I think my biggest fear is not being able to find the same passion I have for dance in something else. But I'm working on it." Panache C a .t-edpbytheNationalCape( 11987 Warner Home Video Inc. - FROM WANNER BROS. WORNERHE VIEO) AWARNERCOMMU ITNe ON _ _ _%sWaneBos nusiospin Nsossms 12 Fall 1987