Joanne Braun
Staff Writer
Thursday, December 7, 2006

Alyson Young's list of extracurricular activities isn't a long one.

The one item on that list, however, represents a life-long dream and has been her focus since she was a preschooler.

Now that the Moon Area High School senior is 17 and getting ready for college, performing is still first and foremost on her list. And her dedication has not gone unnoticed.

A student of Karen Prunzik's for three years at Sewickley School of Performing Arts, Alyson has been chosen by her mentor to take a step up.

She and Karen worked together to recreate a classical tap piece featuring a group of dancers who have been rehearsing at Karen's new dance studio, Broadway Dance Studio in Robinson.

The piece originally was created by Paul Draper in 1980 for the American Dance Machine, but it was never performed on a stage. When Karen was Alyson's age, Draper was a drama professor at Carnegie Mellon.

She studied privately with him for a few years, the only one to have ever had the honor to do so, she says.

The perfect opportunity to recreate and perform Draper's piece came last month when Point Park Conservatory of Dance presented Pittsburgh Connections 2.

on stage

The program spotlighted choreographers from the Pittsburgh area.

Karen, a Broadway performer, says she felt Alyson was ready technically to assist her in the re-creation of the piece, and she wasn't disappointed.

She and Alyson spent "endless" hours at Karen's new studio, built by Karen's brother, reviewing the original video and perfecting the three movements of the piece to be ready for rehearsals in October.

From there, the partners taught and rehearsed with a group of dancers to prepare them for the performance.

"It was amazing to watch this 17-year-old girl take command of a roomful of college kids," Karen says, "teaching this, fixing that, even guiding the pianist through the tough spots, since she knows the work like the back of her hand."

And Alyson enjoyed it as well. It was first time she had ever been in charge of other dancers, she says, and she liked "seeing it all come together and seeing how I have an impact on the dancers."

Her teacher says when her new studio officially opens on Monday, Jan. 8, Alyson will assist her there, as well with any special Draper projects she will work on with the students.

Alyson will still remain a student as well, and just recently auditioned at Point Park for inclusion in the college's dance program.

She is hopeful, she says, but if she is not chosen, she has some other colleges in mind.

Her interest in the theater came very early in her life when, at age 4, she began dancing in the aisles at her cousin's dance recital.

Afterwards, her mother immediately signed her up to take classes at Roselyn Kenneth School of Dance in Green Tree.

Since then she has moved onto Sewickley School of Performing Arts and has taken not only dance lessons but voice, piano and acting lessons too.

She says her list of extracurricular activities isn't large because she spends all her time dancing.

For the past three years, she has performed in Sewickley Melody, directed by Karen, along with the academy's Christmas presentation, which includes singing and dancing performed in malls, and at Light up Nights each year.

Last year, Alyson received a gold award for a solo performance and a duet platinum award and $100 scholarship in an Access Broadway competition held at the Airport Hyatt.

She says she isn't sure what exactly she wants to do after she graduates from college -- perhaps audition for shows and-or move to New York.

In the meantime, she plans to continue her lessons with Karen, who she says has brought out the performer in her.

"She made my dancing come alive. She has always believed in me."

For more information about Broadway Dance Studio, call Karen at 412-973-6270.