Dance Program Senior Award Winners

Isabelle (Izzy) Hendrickson and Ally Simon are the recipients of our first annual Senior Awards presented at our Senior Celebration event April 12, 2025. Ally received the Creative Making Award while Izzy received the All Around Excellence Award. These talented dancers have contributed to our community as performers, choreographers, and enthusiastic participants in all the opportunities we offer in the Dance Program from XSeries to PCDC to Contact Improvisation club.

 

 

Ally began dancing before college, and knew she wanted to dance at Purdue where she came to get a degree in Civil Engineering. Upon arriving for her freshman year, Ally auditioned and got cast in a Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC) work. She stayed involved in PCDC throughout nearly her entire time at Purdue, for seven total semesters.

Asked about her excellence as a student and dancer Ally said, “I think that my purpose for dancing has been what has made me the most successful. During my time at Purdue, I’ve shifted my mindset from dancing to please others or to be seen, and rather dancing because it brings me joy to use this gift I’ve been given!”

Ally minored in dance, taking classes in choreography, improvisation and dance history, along with various dance techniques. She applied to be a student choreographer on PCDC in 2024 and created her work “Intertwined”. This work was selected by the faculty to be presented at the American College Dance Association conference (ACDA) in March of 2025. Adjudicators at ACDA included it in the prestigious Gala Concert, and also as an alternate to go to the ACDA National Conference in Washington DC. These accomplishments are made even more special when we know that her works were being compared with that of students and faculty from large dance programs in this region with dance majors including University of Michigan and Ohio State.

It is no surprise then that Ally was honored with the Creative Making Award, for a student who has excelled as a creative artist of dance works. Reflecting on her success in the Dance Program, Ally said “…a big part of being successful as a dancer and choreographer has been the support around me, whether from faculty, my fellow dancers, and even my friends… In the supportive environment that Purdue’s dance program has created, I’ve been able to not just dance, but thrive.”

 

 

Izzy too came to Purdue with a background in dance, but as a highly competitive ballet dancer she had become burned out in high school and did not plan to pursue it in college. On the advice of her mom, she decided to try a modern dance class at Purdue and said it helped her “reconnect with dance in a way that felt more grounded and genuine—less about perfection, and more about presence.” From then on she found more and more opportunities to engage with dance at Purdue, in addition to her studies in her kinesiology major.

Joining PCDC, choreographing and dancing in the XSeries concerts, Izzy became very involved in the Dance Program. This included attending and performing at ACDA and participating in a workshop with visiting Colombian artist Sergio Sierra. She was also involved in Purdue Dance Marathon and received academic honors such as scholarships and Dean’s List.

One of Izzy’s peers nominated her for the award for All Around Excellence because she was so grateful for how welcoming and supportive Izzy was when she was an incoming freshman. The nomination letter cited how Izzy modeled her work ethic, kindness, and collaborative spirit to everyone around her.

When asked what advice she had for students entering the Dance Program Izzy said, “Stay curious. The most growth I’ve experienced came not from mastering technique but from letting go of assumptions—about myself, others, and even what dance should be.”

Ally’s advice? “Take every opportunity! My first couple of years in the dance program I just took class and danced with PCDC, and I wish I would have started taking opportunities sooner.” Ally eventually started choreographing, and was president of the Contact Improvisation club, helping plan and host the CI Gathering.

After graduation, Ally is going into a full-time engineering job. She said, “I truly believe that my dancing informs how I solve problems as an engineer, and that my work as an engineer informs how I approach dance. Purdue’s dance program has taught me how to ask questions, be curious, think outside of the box, and be creative, and I see that carrying into every part of my life.”

This was the inaugural year for senior awards within the Dance Program, and we could not be more proud of the recipients. We look forward to acknowledging more students in the future who demonstrate how dance is an important part of their Purdue experience, and helps them become the fully developed people they are as they graduate and head out into the world to create their lives.