Name: Clara Zander, 16 years old
School: Rye Country Day School, Sophomore
Accomplishment: Received the 2011 Maria Jones Scholarship Award for excellence and promise in the field of dance at the JCC Dance School’s annual Westchester Theatre of Dance (WTD) concert in April.
Key to Awesomeness:
On April 2nd, Scarsdale's own Jewish Community Center (JCC) honored one of their star pupils, Clara Zander, at their annual Westchester Theatre of Dance concert.
At the concert, Zander was awarded the 2011 Maria Jones Scholarship Award, an honor named after a beloved JCC ballet instructor who taught advanced level ballet students for many years.
"We pick Clara as our award recipient based on her dedication to her training and the craft. She exhibited great progress this year," said JCC Dance School Director, Jayne Santoro.
Zander started ballet at an early age.
"I started dancing at the age of 3 or 4. My mom was a dancer, and so she put me in classes. I've been dancing ever since," Zander said.
"Being selected for this award is truly an honor. I really love it there at JCC," Zander said.
This summer, Clara will travel to California to participate in the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive.
When she is not dancing, Zander can be found at Stone Barns in Tarrytown breeding and showing heritage poultry: ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese and pigeons.
"My family had a couple chickens. My parents took me to a local fair, and it grew from there," Zander said.
