Los Gatos Patch Whiz Kid of the Week—Emma McAdams

Emma McAdams, age 16

School: junior at

Accomplishments:

• Eight years dancing in San Jose Dance Theater's Nutcracker
• Attended two summer dance intensives: Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Northwest Dance Intensive
• Currently auditioning for summer ballet intensives
• Performed in all school musicals through , and Los Gatos High School
• Currently performing in Putnam County Spelling Bee as "Marigold"
• Yearbook staff at Raymond J. Fisher Middle school and Los Gatos High School, one year each
• Link Crew for incoming freshman orientation, junior year
• Cheerleading (freshman year), Dance Team (sophomore year) at Los Gatos High School
• Has taken dance lessons since 5 years of age
• Currently takes ballet at Los Gatos Ballet
• Assistant choreographer with Los Gatos Youth Theater for the past two summers
• Maintains a 4.2 GPA
• Member of California Scholastic Federation and the Japanese Honor Society

Key to Awesomeness:

"I love to dance. I haven't stopped dancing since I was 5 years old," writes this whiz kid in her email interview when asked what makes her special.

"Dance has taught me how to budget my time and that if I persevere, I can accomplish what I set out to do. No matter how busy or stressed out I am, I love to go to ballet class because I know that I can leave everything behind for two hours and just focus on the music and the movement."

Emma's favorite dance quote is, "You can either make yourself miserable, or make yourself strong. The amount of work is the same." 

She adds: "I hope to always be able to incorporate my passion for dance into my life somehow."