Ella Martindale

Grade: 5

Started with Sewickley Academy in: Grade 4

Future plans: Tap dancer or tap teacher

Role model: Brittany, her tap teacher at Evolve Dance Complex

Favorite thing about Sewickley Academy: “Getting to play violin in the orchestra. My old school didn’t have an orchestra.”

Spotlight: Ella has been dancing since she was four years old, starting with ballet. She didn’t initially care for tap but stuck with it, and as she improved it became her favorite style of dance. “I like the sound and the creativity,” she said. Approximately two years ago, she began competing along with a group of dancers from the studio where she studied. When Ella found out that Ms. Murr was offering an after-school tap program for Grades 1-3, she was disappointed that it wasn’t available for students her age. But she reached out to Ms. Murr who was more than happy to bring Ella on as an assistant for the program. Now, thanks to that initiative, the younger students are able to look up to Ella just as she admires her dance instructor.