Imagine having your idol come to your home town to work with you one-on-one, teaching you some valuable techniques to help you along your chosen path.
That dream came true this weekend for Katie Brackett and two other dancers at EMpressions Dance Studio in Pawleys Island when Jaimie Goodwin came by for three days.
Top-10 finalist on Fox
Goodwin is most widely known as a top-10 finalist on season three of the FOX Network’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”
She is choreographing a dance for the junior and senior company and three solos: for Brackett, Maggie Stephenson and Rachel Bailey.
Brackett, a junior at Waccamaw High School, said this week has been very exciting for her because she was looking forward to working with Goodwin on her dance solo for competitions.
“She’s amazing,” Brackett said. “I love her style of dancing.”
She said her solo will be challenging to learn, but she wants to dance more like her idol.
“I am used to the music, but the delicate style of dancing is not what I’m used to,” Brackett said. “I look forward to competitions because people say I remind them of Jaimie when she was younger. I hope I can live up to that.”
Goodwin said she is working with Brackett on a solo about heartbreak, in which she will wear a blood-red wedding-style dress with a long flowing trane.
“ It is about saying good-bye to a person she can’t be with,” Goodwin said. “She will use the long trane a lot to highlight her jumps and turns.”
Great experience
Amy Brackett said this is a wonderful experience for her daughter, Katie.
“As a dancer, to have a solo choreographed by someone of Jaimie’s caliber is a unique opportunity,” she said.
Brackett’s instructor Megan Herlong, who made this visit happen, said learning from Goodwin is something fresh and new for the girls.
“Jaimie travels a lot and she knows the newest dance trends,” Herlong said. “When you see someone on TV, they seem untouchable, so to have Jaimie here is really interesting.”
About Goodwin
Goodwin grew up in Virginia Beach, Va. where she trained at Denise Wall's Dance Energy in tap, ballet, contemporary/lyrical, jazz, musical theater and flamenco.
She was part of the competitive company and won numerous titles both regionally and nationally.
In addition to appearing on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Goodwin recently hit the big screen as a principal dancer in High School Musical 3 and since then has joined Rasta Thomas' company The Bad Boys of Dance and performs with them internationally.
She is also teaching and demonstrating at New York City Dance Alliance and various other conventions and studios across the country and internationally.