From one stage to the next, senior Heather Guthrie dances, teaches and choreographs all over Elizabethtown, Pa.
Guthrie teaches seven classes at E-Dance Center in Elizabethtown, with students ages 3-18 years old. She has taught a range of levels and abilities since her first year at Elizabethtown College.
“I love it. Dance teachers were some of the most influential people in my life, and to be on the other side has been transformational for me,” Guthrie said.
Guthrie is the captain of the Elizabethtown College Dance Team (ECDT) on campus as well. She choreographs four dances a year for the highly talented group and coordinates campus events for the team like One Elle of a Night, a charity fundraiser for the Elle Foundation, raising money for wishes for children with recurring cancer, and Dancing with the Jays.
“This team means everything to me. We are a student-run group, so we do it all together and from scratch,” Guthrie said. “We’re all like sisters. The team is so close which makes all the work we do so much easier.”
As the choreographer of the E-motion dance “Another Day of Sun,” Guthrie has the largest dance in the club with 48 dancers. She choreographs for varying levels and experience, together in a production-style number.
This is Guthrie’s first time choreographing for E-motion since being in the club from her first year. “It blows my mind that this many people wanted to be in my dance,” Guthrie said. “I choreographed my first ever dance my sophomore year of college for E-Dance and never would have thought I would be doing what I do now.”
Guthrie dances every Sunday through Wednesday with all the dance commitments she is a part of. On Wednesdays, Guthrie dances for eight hours straight, going from E-Dance Center to Emotion, to ECDT, back-to-back.
“She puts her all into the dance team and her job as a dance teacher, choreographing at any and all hours of the day and night. She was made for dance, you can just tell,” senior Madison Fischer, Guthrie’s roommate, said.
This is Guthrie’s third full year dancing with ECDT. Her first year was impacted by COVID with little dancing happening at all. The team regrew into their roots with her the past three years.
“I never felt that connection my first year. We barely danced and it didn’t feel like much of a team,” Guthrie said. “I feel like as I grew at Etown, the team grew alongside me.”
Guthrie makes lasting impacts on peers’ lives. “Having Heather as my captain has changed my life… She doesn’t only inspire me in a leader and dance setting, but in everything she does,” junior ECDT member Olivia Fabiano said.
A dance choreographed to depict women’s suffrage is Guthrie’s favorite piece she has choreographed.
Guthrie is a Peer Mentor for the first-year seminar “Statistics Through Tabletop Gaming” as well.
Guthrie recently completed her first round of level one fieldwork for occupational therapy. She was the first ever Etown student to be placed at the Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center.
Guthrie inspires all around her and continues working at her craft. She is a leader on campus and teaches along the way.
