Dance is a hobby, a passion, a lifestyle, and most importantly, a major time commitment. For those who choose to pursue dance seriously it takes sacrifice and it takes extreme dedication.
Vitti (Vittoria) Gortan, a senior at AHS and member of the dance team, has climbed through the ranks within the dance world and is currently going through the process of college recruitment. Her journey started from baby ballet to winning nationals with the high school dance team. For Vitti, dance forced her to make sacrifices in every aspect of her life, sacrifices like driving from Carbondale to Aspen every day and dancing in different places before and after school. Gortan even transferred from CRMS to Aspen High School senior year of high school. Gortan says she did it all for dance.
Gortan’s mother signed Vitti up for dance at a young age. Being a dancer herself, she felt it was important to give her daughter the chance to love the sport. Gortan’s passion for dance started simply as many passions do, being put in class. When she was younger dance was more of a social event than a passion, until she got the chance to perform as Clara in the 7th grade and her mindset completely changed.
“I was Clara in The Nutcracker and I was like holy f@$% performing is so fun,” Gortan says about her first real opportunity to perform.
This was the moment she knew she had to continue dancing. No matter what it took.
Gortan was not only fueled by her love of dance and performing but also she felt that she had a natural advantage. She still had to work hard, but the learning of combinations along with the mindset needed to succeed in dance was easier for her to grasp than her counterparts. Being a physically graceful and fluid dancer is not the only way to get to the top. Your mentality and your cognitive abilities are equally if not more important.
Although every second of performing on stage is exciting and thrilling, dance can and has been a physical and mental challenge for Gortan. In moments when anything is hard, there is always the option to stop. Gortan has had to endure multiple injuries like a broken foot, and back issues. But Gortan has not let these injuries discourage her from her passions.
“It’s hard sometimes. I wish I could just give up and that’s [when] I’m in pain. I’m like, I just can’t do this anymore. But I think it’s just like those days when I hit a skill,” Gortan said.
Gortan has won two state titles, and one national title, and is currently going through the college recruitment process. Part of the reason she was able to get this far is because she loves the feeling of winning and succeeding in dance.
The hard part isn’t done for her yet. While getting recruited for college dance she has to go to clinics, film videos, and attend auditions. All of these factors take time, especially on top of rehearsals for competitions and other performances. One video she sent to colleges took her about two months to complete.
Although dance has consumed most of Gortan’s life she has also spent time kayaking, doing gymnastics, and playing instruments. Gortan’s life has almost always revolved around dance but luckily that is just how she likes it.
