It was 20 degrees below zero when she stepped out of the St. Louis airport in January – the air so cold it took her breath away. She gasped, laughed, and soldiered on, climbing into a cab to take her to yet another hotel in a city that she wouldn’t get a chance to explore, but where she would dance 12 hours a day, until another cab took her back to the airport (this time, in an ice storm).
For the past year, Erin McMahon has been traveling two weekends a month to cities across the United States – Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Boston – to dance.
In June, she walked across the Bluffton High School graduation stage, fifth in her class, president of the National Honor Society, and into a career in dance. The week prior, her signing ceremony to CLI Conservatory filled the high school auditorium with fellow dancers, classmates, teachers, family, and friends.
When Bluffton High’s valedictorian spoke at graduation she noted, “Some of us will pursue academics, others athletics, and some … dance.” It was a nod to her friend Erin, and the road less taken.
Now, as she prepares to move to the Northeast to fulfill her dream, Erin said, “It didn’t faze me that my path is different.” Oh, but it is.
After an intense high school career, focused on all AP/honors classes, and near-perfect grades, choosing a non-academic route is a bold, yet beautiful, move. Erin applied to seven colleges for dance education or commercial dance. After being offered scholarships at Winthrop, South Carolina, the illustrious Boston Conservatory at Berklee, as well as the CLI Conservatory, she cancelled the rest of her auditions and knew it was time to dial in her choice.
When she stepped onto the campus of CLI Conservatory in Southampton, Massachusetts, and it had, as she said, “everything I wanted it to have,” she knew. Two rounds of video auditions and an interview preceded her visit and, as she traveled north on I-95, it became clear. Signs along the way pointed her in this direction – the lucky number 343, with which her mother has a bit of an obsession, appeared on license plates, gas pumps, and the arrival time on their GPS.
Her visit included the opportunity to take classes and, Erin said, “They made me a better dancer in just one day.”
The CLI Conservatory is a 10-month intensive dance program designed to prepare students to enter the world of professional dance. More than 100 industry-leading choreographers comprise their faculty. Not only are they great educators, but they are also the most in-demand choreographers working in every area of the dance industry.
Uniquely, the faculty combines educational and practical work experience so that their students can make strong connections with the choreographers they want to work with once they graduate. Thousands from across the world apply, less than 200 are accepted each year, and they dance eight hours a day, five days a week.
The goal? This time next year, Erin is working as a professional dancer. Lofty? Yes. But, “I’ve danced my whole life, I can’t picture life without it,” Erin said.
And that is true. Erin’s onstage debut was at just 3 years old. She wore a little red and green dress, her hair in a bun with a perfect bow, a dash of lipstick. Her family blanketed her with flowers after her 90 seconds in the spotlight and a tiny dancer was born.
Erin danced for fun until fourth grade, and along the way her parents tried to convince her to expand her horizons and try other sports. At age 6, she came downstairs dressed for her first soccer practice in shin guards and a tutu. That’s when they knew: Dance is it. After a brief hiatus, in fifth grade Erin started dancing again at Alliance Dance Academy – and what began as a recreational pursuit soon became competitive, thanks to a nudge from studio owner Rochelle Clarkson.
For the next seven years, Erin danced multiple days a week and traveled to competitions on the weekends, officially making her mom a “dance mom” and setting the stage. According to Clarkson, “Erin has always been dedicated to learning, focused on being the best she could be, picked up new steps very quickly, took corrections willingly and more importantly, was able to apply them. She shined bright when she was in class and even brighter onstage.”
But where does this commitment and drive come from? That is easy. “Surrounding yourself with the right people,” Erin said. “I’ve always been on this AP track and every year I would have a conversation with my advisor about my goals that didn’t necessarily include college – and every year she would say, ‘You’re not struggling. You are a hard worker. Stick with the AP classes. Don’t give up.’”
Erin gives a lot of credit to her advisor, Dana House, who was also her cross-country coach. Yes, in addition to dancing every day after school and not getting home until after 8 p.m., to then tackle her mountain of AP homework, Erin started her mornings at 6 a.m. at cross-country practice.
“Cross-country gave me support and focus,” Erin said. “We pushed each other to be better. I loved practice, when there was no clock, just me and my teammates running together … I guess that is why I love dance – I’m surrounded by other people who are just as passionate as I am.”
Her love of performing also spawned a love for teaching, inspired in part by Bluffton High School dance teacher, Beth Herring. “Beth makes a connection with every student – she cares. She is supportive and brings a positive energy into the room,” Erin said.
The teaching side of dance has been a part of Erin’s journey for the last few years – as a teacher cadet at the high school and M.C. Riley Elementary School, as the leader of the dance club at Bluffton Middle School, and as the hip hop competition team teacher and choreographer at Alliance Dance Academy, racking up awards along the way.
Not many 16-year-olds are tapped to teach but, according to Clarkson, “Not only is she an amazingly talented dancer, Erin has a knack for teaching, too. Not every great dancer is able to teach. That is a gift that she was born with.”
As senior year neared and her friends and classmates were talking about colleges, majors, and scholarships, Erin was focused on a different route. “I can go to college anytime, I may not always be able to dance,” she said. With her parents and family firmly in her camp, it was full steam ahead on chasing her dream.
This time next year, with her intensive 10 months at CLI Conservatory in the rearview, Erin will be focused on her career path as a dancer. She’ll have auditioned for agencies, dance companies, tours, and shows. The dream job? “Touring with an artist as a dancer, but I know that will take time,” she said. “Maybe commercials? A cruise line? Whatever opportunity gets me first, either way, I will be happy.”
As for what the stage feels like and why this is the path she’s chosen, “It’s like a fever dream,” Erin said, as her eyes twinkled. “Most of the time, I don’t even remember what just happened onstage. I get to disconnect and be 100% myself.”
Erin’s friends, family, teachers, describe her as quiet, humble, kind. And then she steps onstage and becomes another person. “When I dance people say, ‘Whoa, who is this?’”
She is a relentless force. Get ready, because this time next year, we’ll see her on the biggest stage of her life and the world will be saying, “Whoa, who is this?”
