JDP senior Mya

JDP senior Mya has an artist soul that resonates through everything she does. There’s a creative spark and effervescent joy that emanates from this young woman that is down right contagious!

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Mya didn’t hesitate for even a second when I proposed walking out onto the fallen tree in our pond on studio grounds. We were all quite a sight! I envisioned her cradling her beloved viola and hearing the songs of nature to inspire her own creations.

Expression of her creativity unfolds in just about every facet of her life. She’s committed to bringing beauty into this world via her viola, an instrument that she’s been tenacious about wrangling. She smiled ear to ear as she led me into her musician mind. She’s been taking private lessons for 7 years now and has no plans to stop growing in her craft. She’s in Tri-Music honors for her viola and plays in all-county orchestra as well.

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I asked Mya to distinguish a viola from a violin for me, a layman. She said often the violin is played with the goal to impress; the viola is played with the enjoyment of the listener as the priority. Mya loves playing quiet, slow pieces that challenge her technically. However, since there are so few violas she’s often encouraged to play loudly. Her favorite thing though, is to find the quiet vulnerable spaces for her viola to sing its song. Her chief objective is to make the listener feel, to take them on a journey of emotions that makes them feel life.

Mya is also a lover of baking and is currently in the culinary baking and pastry program via Career Tech. She’s dually enrolled taking college classes as well. She gets so excited taking a handful of raw ingredients to create deliciousness in the form of cakes and cookies. She created her own set of cupcakes to pay homage to this for her portrait time.

Making cookies is like a well established muscle memory for Mya now! The perfectionist in her thrives in baking and she’s eager to advance into decorating her creations. And here we see the silly side of Mya that everyone adores about her!

Mya also plays tennis for Winters Mill and is being encouraged to take on the role of team captain this spring. For her family, tennis is a family affair.

Of all her creative pursuits though, dance is the one that has most captured Mya’s heart, her mind, her energy. She dances “everywhere and nowhere” as she puts it today. Once a week she travels to Center Point for her dance instruction, another day she travels to train at Ballet City Charm City in Baltimore. She also trains locally at the Synergy space. She works with Jam Youth which is a top performance company. Recently she’s been traveling to Chicago to work with TDA dance coaches to help prepare her for her college auditions. She trained there this summer as well and loved it.

Mya is looking forward to studying dance in college and pursuing a career in dance after graduation. She’s looking forward to auditions for University of Hartford, University of Arizona, Shenandoah University, SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory and George Mason University. Her faves forms are tap and contemporary but she’s pretty infatuated with all forms!

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Mya I pray that you continue to bring the joy bringer to all you touch your hand to in life. Your kind of joy is a rare and precious jewel that our world is sorely lacking. May you continue to shine and spread that sparkly eyed wonder to each stage of life the Lord blesses you with!

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