“Dance is who I am; if I introduce myself I always say,  ‘I am Genevive, I am 18, I am a good student and I am a dancer.’”  

Genevive Bondaryk has been dancing since she was four years old, and the 18-year-old has covered a wide range of styles. Originally, she began with ballet, jazz and tap, and expanded upon those skills, following with modern and contemporary styles. Bondaryk has done hip-hop as well, though she feels she looks a little silly dancing that particular style.

Dance Department director Christien Polos has been working with Bondaryk since her sophomore year. She has danced in his Choreography class and his Advanced Level class, as well as two of his musicals: Thoroughly Modern Millie and Grease. He feels that one of Bondaryk’s strengths is her versatility, and her mindset.

“What’s wonderful about watching Genny dance is that she is comfortable in many styles,” Polos said. “She is always challenging herself to learn new things about dance or theatre. She’s not afraid to fail in order to succeed.”

Bondaryk’s younger brother, Alex Bondaryk, has been close at hand to  her develop her skills, and he has enjoyed his front row seat.

“It’s always been fun to watch her grow as a dancer,” Alex Bondaryk said. “I’ve always gone to her concerts and have enjoyed seeing her work improve as she’s grown up.”

Bondaryk started dancing at the age of 5 or 6 and vividly recalls how she began to perform. She describes her love for the art, painting a vivid picture as if it were yesterday.

“Light coming in through the windows, it was a beautiful sunny day, and we were doing leaps across the floor, across these little stars on the floor and I just remembered this feeling of pure happiness and joy when I got to leap, and just being me,” Bondaryk said.

Bondaryk has covered a lot of artistic ground, and when asked to pick a favorite style, she was torn between tap and contemporary.

“I like them both because they let me express emotion really well. Tap [dance] I love because it is just fun, it make me so happy. There is no other feeling that compares to that moment when I am in that euphoric state, when I am in the zone,” Bondaryk said.

Bondaryk ultimately feels a deep connection and source of emotional expression through contemporary dance, and settled on it for her choice.

“Contemporary is my favorite because it lets me express any emotion that I am feeling,” she explains. “If I am having a bad day I can definitely go take a class and lose my mind, just to leave everything outside the class, and just be in the class and dance, and just move.”  

Although Bondaryk is very passionate about dancing, she has decided not to pursue it professionally. She recognizes the difficult lifestyle and how emotionally and physically straining it can be to be a successful dancer.  

“It comes with a lot of injury, it would mean really long practices and training sessions,” Bondaryk said. “I just I want to do other things, other things that interest me. I am really into biology and science, so I plan to pursue that kind of track.”

Christien Polos expressed desire for her to stay connected to the performing arts field throughout and after college.  

“I also think Genny would be a great teacher,” he said. “We need intelligent, creative, and talented people like her in this field.”