Photo courtesy of Crystal Parks. Crystal Parks , 17, dances in a performance last year. The Suitland High School senior attended an elite dance program this summer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Published on: Wednesday, September 01, 2010

By Michelle J. Nealy

Crystal Parks lives to dance.

Even when she speaks, her hands and eyes gesture rhythmically through a conversation. Her words pirouette through each sentence.

“When I’m dancing,” said Parks, “I’m in my element. It’s the way I express myself.”

This summer, Parks was selected to participate in an elite summer program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pa.

The program is designed to provide performers with an opportunity to hone their skills and explore new techniques and styles in a university environment.

Parks, 17, a senior at Suitland High School found the program to be fun and instructive.

“U Arts was something that I thought would be interesting,” she said. “I thought that I could get a lot of technique from the experience. I also know students who attend the school, and they are good dancers.”

Parks — who is trained in modern, jazz, hip hop, tap and African dance — was introduced to a genre of dance that she was unfamiliar with: ballroom.

“I learned how to do the cha-cha, the tango and the waltz,” Parks said.

The University of The Arts is among the nation’s top universities dedicated soley to visual, performing and communication arts.

Parks is considering the school as the destination for her undergraduate studies.

“I’m deciding if I want to go to an all arts school or a (traditional) university,” said Parks. “I’m interested in studying medicine and becoming a pediatrician, but I also want to own my own dance company.”

Parks has always been ambitious, her mother, Arlene Parks said.

“Dance is discipline. Anybody will tell you that,” her mother said. “Crystal is an honor roll student. She works very hard. Dancers at Suitland graduate with 10 additional credits because they go to for an extended day.”