Spotlight: Jordan C. Walker ’07

What is your assessment of Harvard’s artistic community and culture?

In terms of dance, I feel that student groups are very strong and are becoming more prominent. While the Dance Program does offer a few credit courses, I think the strength of the dance program at Harvard is based on the fact that it is predominantly extracurricular. As a result, students involved in dance are enthusiastic about what they do because they independently choose to spend their free time in the studios.

Although I do not know a lot about other student groups dedicated to the arts, I would imagine that the students involved in these groups recognize similar benefits. At the same time, while the dancers involved in Harvard Ballet Company are very enthusiastic about dancing, we rarely have the funding to fully realize all of our goals and ambitions, and this is a directly attributable to the fact that dance at Harvard is primarily extracurricular.

What do you find rewarding about performing? What inspires you, as a busy college student, to continue to participate in an art that requires such intense training?

I absolutely love performing, and I always have. It may sound cliché, but there is something completely indescribable about being onstage. The rehearsal process in order to perform a piece of choreography is so intense and detail-oriented, and it is wonderful to perform onstage, knowing that you have worked very hard get where you are. When you have put that amount of dedication into anything over the years, it becomes part of your identity; and upon coming to Harvard, I couldn’t imagine quitting ballet. Though keeping in shape and performing ballets is extremely intense, I love doing so, and it is really an outlet for me when I’m sick of writing papers or going to classes all day.

What has been your most fulfilling artistic experience?

Attending the Arts Leaders’ luncheons last spring and again this fall have been my most fulfilling artistic experiences so far at Harvard. Especially as a freshman last year, it was awe-inspiring and incredible to meet students involved in all different aspects of the arts and to learn from their experiences. I never could have talked to so many interesting people and discovered so many facets of the arts at Harvard if I hadn’t had this opportunity.

How has Harvard been a home to you? How has your time at Harvard affected you or your performance art?

I feel that Harvard has a very close-knit dance scene in the sense that I know dancers in many other groups, and I know the directors and teachers within the program fairly well. Coming to Harvard, I encountered a nurturing and supportive dance network among peers for the first time in my life, and that was the best transition into college I could have asked for.

In terms of dance, being in a college program has definitely affected my approach towards the art. Because I cannot dance as much as I did in high school, I am required to take more initiative before performances to get myself in shape and learn my parts. I think my college experiences—and the challenges that come with not only being director of the company but also simply being a college student—have definitely changed the way I perform. Particularly having co-produced two performances for Harvard Ballet Company, I see how much work goes into a production and the importance of each person’s individual role.

Characterize yourself in five words.

Caring, creative, committed, driven and ambitious.

Where do you imagine yourself next year, post-graduation and in ten years?

Next year I’ll be plowing through my two concentration requirements, speaking a lot of Spanish, and analyzing a lot of art.

Post-graduation, I hope to go to graduate school. I haven’t figured out which field it will be yet, but it will certainly be taking place in a warmer climate!

Ten years from now, I’ll be wherever life and my own volition have taken me.

Which do you prefer: performing your own choreography or performing a dance designed by another choreographer?

I absolutely prefer to perform in pieces choreographed by other people. Student choreography is wonderful and necessary, but creating dance pieces is not one of my strengths.