For owner of Chestermere Storage, Tim Ulmer, watching his daughter dance her whole life has been a pure joy. Where her love of dance would take her, he had no idea.
21 year old Hannah Ulmer was born in Edmonton and moved to Calgary at a very young age. She started dancing at the young age of 3 at the Edmonton School of Ballet. When she moved to Calgary, she continued taking ballet at The School of Alberta Ballet. Hannah also trained in modern and a little bit of jazz. When Hannah started junior high, she stopped dancing at the Alberta Ballet and started training with The Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede where she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and acro. Hannah also started attending The Edge School where she trained in their dance program under Sarah Dolan, Sheri Kanten and Cyndi Scott.
In high school, Hannah broadened her horizons even more as she started training in Hip Hop and other Urban Styles at Pulse Studios. A year after graduation, this brave girl moved to New York City to train at Broadway Dance Center as a student in their International Student Visa Program. “Since moving to New York I have been lucky to be able to train with and work with various teachers and choreographers such as Nijawwon Matthews, Sheila Barker, Joanna Numata, Carlos Neto, Kelly Peters, Jon Rua, Ant Boogie, and Lauren Cox to name a few,” said Hannah.
Growing up Hannah received many dance scholarships at various dance conventions. “To list a couple, I received a scholarship that allowed me to travel to Paris to train and take classes for two weeks in the summer, I also received a scholarship for a week of free dance classes at Harbour Dance Centre out in Vancouver”, explained Hannah.
Hannah’s other achievements include:
– travelling to Alaska to perform with the Anchorage Ballet as part of their production of the Nutcracker
– travelling to Spain to perform at the Jimmy Slide Institute
– choreographing the 2014 Christmas Show for The Young Canadians of The Calgary Stampede
– assisting Nijawwon Matthews (established contemporary choreographer and dancer in NYC) in Bermuda, where I was also able to teach 2 classes of my own
– Faculty Member for FRESH Dance Intensive that tours across Canada, established by Juilliard graduate David Norsworthy
– member of the company Humans Collective and their current show titled Alone-Ology – guest dance faculty member for The Edge School
As anyone who is whole heatedly dedicated to a sport or whatever their passion in life is, the commitment and sacrifice that often comes with that love can be tremendous. When asked why Hannah pursued dance to this level, she said “I pursued dancing because I have always had a passion for it and I couldn’t imagine doing anything other than dance. Growing up I was heavily involved with both gymnastics and dance, when I got to grade 3 I had to choose between the two because there was not enough time to pursue both. I obviously chose dance as I did not love gymnastics the same way I did dance and once I had to start doing back handsprings on the beam I had had enough. Haha. Dance was such a huge part of my life I just always knew I wanted to pursue it. What kind of dance I wanted to pursue was constantly changing and it still does change, but what does not change is the desire to pursue dance as my career”.
“I want my future in dance to involve a lot of different things. I train in many different styles so that I am versatile and have more options when it comes to jobs. I hope this helps me be able to experience many different opportunities such as music videos, going on tour, and dancing with a company. I would also love to be able to travel around the world teaching and setting choreography. My main goal in dance is to create something different and unique and to offer dancers’ opportunities that I wish were available to me. I want to create my own show in NYC (New York City) that brings together all forms of dance. Specifically though, I want to bring my love of the urban styles of dance to the stage. I want to collaborate all types of dance and dancers to create a show that mainly revolves around the dancers. Dancers are so often put in the background, especially in the commercial entertainment world, and I want to change that. I want a show that is on the level of Cirque Du Soleil, but where dance is the focus, not the tricks and the special acts. Contemporary and ballet dancers have companies they can join and the dancers are able to be the main focus of their shows but there is not as many options out there for street dancers. I would love to mesh together the choreography aspect that comes from commercial work and dance companies with the style and freedom of urban street styles. I want to create more prosperous opportunities for dancers as we train so hard and should be acknowledged for our art”.
At this time of year, many parents are wondering what extra-curricular activities to enroll their children in. Hannah’s parents clearly stand by their choice of enrolling her in dancing as they commented, “We are extremely proud of Hannah. She is a brave girl to go off to the big city in a foreign country by herself to pursue her dreams and passion. It’s extremely difficult to get a visa to work as a dancer in the USA – they just don’t hand them out to anyone! But Hannah is determined. She is an entrepreneur and hard worker. She is willing to do what it takes to make it, and this is what we are most proud of – she doesn’t expect it to just be handed to her. Whatever path her career as a dancer takes her, we know she will do extremely well. We love you Hannah.”
As Hannah pursues her dreams in the big apple, she’ll definitely have the local eyes of Albertans watching her with pride. Good luck Hannah!
