Life & Work with Chelsea Correa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Correa.

Hi Chelsea, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
At the age of 3, my mom enrolled me in baby ballet and tap classes. Dance Stop Dance Education Center, a couple of minutes from my house, became my home away from home. Under Gina Focella’s directorship, this small studio would be my beginning of learning other styles such as jazz, hip hop, musical theater, contemporary, pointe, and various modern techniques. While staying at the studio until the end of my high school career, I attended various dance conventions, competitions, and intensives, some notably being New York City Dance Alliance, The Juilliard Summer Intensives, and BalletX’s Summer Intensives. 

While these institutions and programs taught me so much about technique and artistry, nothing taught me more than what I learned on the sidelines as an observer. During my time in high school, I sustained two Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears in my right knee. In between and after the two tears, much of my recovery was used in watching my peers and learning how to adapt the information in a way that was digestible for my body with limited mobility. I took up a strong kindling to pilates and the Progressive Ballet Technique (so much so I became pilates certified both for the mat and reformer!). These taught me how to focus my strength in a controlled and nimble manner which allowed me to transition back into dancing very smoothly. Although having a very right-sided brain that favors creativity, my left-sided brain developed a strong interest in the “why” my body moves the way it does. My mom is a nurse, so medicine was ingrained in my daily life. With my mom’s job and the injuries I had, it was like having anatomy classes every day. Rehabilitating with the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries in New York planted a seed for what my interests could amount to – physical therapy for dancers. 

Being at a high caliber of dance but also wanting to pursue academic endeavors, I applied to the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance after being pushed by my mentor, Jennifer Golonka. USC Kaufman expressed a strong hybrid program where dance artists were not just artists but students who had pursuits outside of the physical embodiment of the art form. 

Dance is what led me through the program in the first two years of my time here; however, my injuries never failed to surprise me. After four years of being injury-free, this past academic year, I endured an ACL tear in my left knee, which then most recently retore a few weeks ago. Now, going through the recovery process for a fourth time, I hate to admit it, but I can do this in my sleep. The ease of knowing the ropes has allowed me to take a step back and focus on my physical therapy interests, as well as understanding the mental battle of going through an injury/rehab process. To supplement my learning, education, and teaching, I have been training in an athletic setting with D-1 collegiate athletes and my dance colleagues. During this training, I’ve also relayed my experience to younger students for them to have a healthy, preventative approach to their dancing. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My journey has been one of the rockiest roads you could possibly imagine. There are not many dancers who come back after an ACL tear, let alone four. You begin to question whether or not this lifestyle is for you. Many dancers identify dance with who they are – I was one of them. My first two rehab processes were when I was a juvenile and had immediate support from family and adults. Now I AM an adult. With family across the country and peers on their own schedules, not having another hand to hold on to was humbling, to say the least. It left me in a state of anxiety and depression. But along the way, I’ve learned what I am capable of, what I can control, and how to shift gears when I can’t control what’s ahead. I made appointments to see clinicians at the university. I took up classes which taught me about the mind-body connection. And I went on coffee dates with myself. No one has or will have the same understanding of my experience, so navigating it to the best of my ability is still an important work in progress. Needless to say, it is progress and I think I’m doing a good job at pushing through. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While being a full-time student at USC majoring in dance, while not being able to move at my full capacity, I share my passion in other modes, which I enjoy. One is that I have concentrated my curriculum to take a dance medicine route with an emphasis on pre-physical therapy. My involvement in this academic field not only allows me to learn about others’ experiences but allows me to share and apply my own. With this, I can enter my conversations about injury and training with sympathy and inspiration. 

Another way I have integrated myself into the art space has been through teaching and coordinating. I am the program coordinator and teaching artist for Kaufman Connections. This community engagement initiative provides dance classes taught by USC Kaufman BFAs to students at the 32nd Street Elementary School. Not only am I building real-time connections between school partners and staff, but connections with my peers and the students. 

Each time I walk through either the University campus, buildings, or elementary school grounds, I hear a voice shout my name. It reminds me that I have a community that sees me. I make sure people know that I see them as well. We each have our identity and spirit, and whether it be learning about the human body or dancing in a cipher, I utilize my positions in creating safe spaces for individuals to pursue their dreams and be themselves. 

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memor(ies) would be getting in the car and driving with my parents wherever it may be. Our cars were our second home. My parents did a lot for me to accomplish all that I did when younger and for me to wind up pursuing my dreams in Los Angeles. They would arrange their schedules so I would have a ride to dance classes after school. I tagged along anytime they went to H-Mart to pick up groceries for dinner (and pandesal and spam for tomorrow morning’s breakfast). Each time I go back home, it feels like a fun excursion to have them in the driver’s seat, whether we are simply going to the farmers market or driving up to see our Lola. Although I didn’t recognize it at the time, they did all of this out of love and support despite the little things they had. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_chelsea.correa_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chelsea.correa.16/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-correa-1341a8222/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@chelseacorrea1741

Image Credits
Emiko Ohta
Matt de la Peña
Rose Eichenbaum
Cheryl Mann
Hayden Rivas
Miguelangel Moya
Cassandra Yra