It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better than you were yesterday. That’s the philosophy dancer and Kaneland sophomore Brooklyn Brown abides by. Self discipline and dedication are two things that have always been implemented into Brown’s diligent lifestyle.
Brown’s standard week looks very unconventional to most teenagers her age. She wakes up and completes her school day like most students do, but the real diligence starts after school. Brown drives straight from school to dance and some nights doesn’t arrive home until 11:35 p.m. While most kids her age are sleeping, she’s working for the future she wants.
While this isn’t the case for everyone, Brown realized at just a young age that dance was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She fell in love with dance and all portions of it, making all the choices she’s had to make with dance completely effortless.
“Ever since I was little, I would get home from a 6+ hour night at the studio and just keep practicing until my parents had to practically force me to go to bed,” Brown explains. “That’s when they knew how much I loved dance and that they weren’t ever going to stop me.”
While she was just a kid with big dreams, the more Brown continued to pursue dance, the more she saw small results that led to big accomplishments. In Brown’s last few years of dancing, she has made exceptional achievements. She is signed with Go2Talent, one of the biggest agencies in Los Angeles, and is working on upcoming jobs in LA. Brown is also an assistant for Dupree Dance Convention, and she travels to new states every few weekends to assist a variety of teachers in master classes.
The opportunities and accomplishments she’s worked tremendously hard for are opportunities many dancers dream of experiencing. Dance isn’t something that’s for everyone, particularly because of all the misfortune that is highly associated with it, but for eager people like Brooklyn the outcomes mean more than the challenges. Even with all the hardships she faces, she continues to have a high level of respect for everyone and everything through her journey with dance.
“The road to being a Dupree Assistant was a bumpy and rough path. Before I became an assistant, my mother took me to Dupree Nationals one summer in order to try and win the assistant scholarship,” Brown said. “I got cut after day three right before the interview. That really showed me reality and that if I don’t get something I am striving for, I need to work harder and come back stronger.”
Brown grew up training at M&M Dance Studio in Elburn. Empower Dance Company (EDC) is where Brown found the competitive side of dance and instantly loved that community through M&M. EDC was Brown’s life for a significant amount of time until her path was not leading her in that direction anymore. It wasn’t an easy switch for Brown as M&M had become a staple in her life, but she’s now continuing her training at a more suitable environment for what she needs for her future.
No matter what it is, Brown is always seeking the best for herself. She knows what she wants and navigates her curiosity through the challenges to provide an endless amount of possibilities. Brown’s mom plays a huge part in her life. Whether it’s taking her to different states each weekend to assist, supporting her through dance or even just enforcing encouragement amongst her disciplined life, Brown’s family supports her through everything she does.
“At a young age, Brooklyn appeared very observant and took in everything around her. She watched her role models excel and be excellent in all of their endeavors,” said Brooklyns mother Lisa. “I strongly believe that Brooklyn internalized these qualities, and it has helped transition her into the powerful and confident person that she is today.”
In the dance world, there are so many more “no’s” than “yeses” but as brilliant and inspiring as the dance world is, the normal repercussions everyone goes through aren’t the only negatives most dancers, Brown included, face. Mirrors, while it sounds strange, are a huge part of dance. Brown explains how it can be hard to stare at yourself in a mirror for so many hours a week. It’s small parts of dance like that, that can take a toll on a person’s mental health.
“The feeling of not being good enough if something doesn’t turn out right after a long weekend of dance, or the constant stress and anxiety if something goes wrong, or if I’m scared to take on what needs to be done,” Brown mentioned when thinking of some of the challenges she faces daily.
While dance is a huge part of Brown’s life, she knows the importance of school and that she must prioritize both. She believes in order to stay successful for the colleges she is interested in, her GPA, grades and resume, are extremely important. Brown is Kaneland Key Club president, was presented with the American Legion Award in 8th grade and keeps up an exceptional grade point average.
While it may look effortless from an outside perspective, Brown explains the perseverance it took to get each academic attainment. Her hard work in school is a reflection of her determination in dance. She tries exceedingly hard to get all she can done at school, whether it’s using the passing period to continue working or taking out her computer at lunch. Brown does what she can to work with the time she’s provided so little time is spent pressurized outside of school. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work in her favor.
“When I don’t get my work done at school, I tend to stay up pretty late doing it and lose sleep, which I know is extremely important for me and all I do. I know that’s not really a good answer, but it’s the real answer,” Brown said.
There’s no doubt being a dancer takes a disciplined lifestyle and can be a hard career to pursue. It takes time, passion, and lots of hard work to create a place for yourself in the dance industry. Brown started at just four years old and fell in love with dance from the start. She shares her passion and enthusiasm in hopes of her continuance with dance.
“My ultimate dream is to be a backup dancer for a singer in LA and hopefully be on a dance team or in a dance program earning my BFA within dance in college,” Brown explains.
It’s very clear Brown is putting in the work she needs each day to create an excellent future for herself. Whether it’s dancing, putting in extra work for school, taking up teaching opportunities or even just hanging out with her friends, Brown handles all she does with elegance, always going above and beyond.
“As a dancer myself I know how hard it is to balance school, dance and a social life, but Brooklyn seems to manage all of that and more,” sophomore Aubrey Nystrom, who used to dance with Brown, explains. “She takes every opportunity she is given and always puts all of her energy into it. It’s hard to imagine how she’s able to make all she does work.”
