The multiple forms of dance can mean different things to different people. The experiences that come along with the dance are often different as well.

After 14 years of ballet dancing at Tippy Toes School of Dance, freshman Julia Brookshire has taken part in performances outside of the dance studio.

In early December of 2016, Brookshire had the opportunity to perform as a party guest in the production of “The Nutcracker” at Butler University’s Clowes Memorial Hall.

She spent approximately two months preparing for her part while taking care of her responsibilities at school as well.

This was her fifth and final year of dancing in this production due to the age limit they have for the dancers. However, her dancing career is not over. Dancing means a lot to Brookshire, and she plans to continue dancing for time to come.

“For me it’s just really expressing a story without talking or anything,” Brookshire said.  “It’s just an easy way to communicate with people (about) how you feel.”

Dancing has always been important to Brookshire, and she puts her time and effort into it. She does not allow it to get in the way of her schoolwork, as explained by her biology teacher Amanda Schnepp.

“I think it’s really cool when students can be so passionate about anything whether it’s dance or art or sports or music and still put in the amount of time and effort required to do in school and to do well with their academics,” Schnepp said.

According to Brookshire, the whole process of preparing for the production took a lot of work while having other commitments along with her practice for “the Nutcracker” twice a week, including her usual classes at Tippy Toes and her school work on top of that.