Lower Gwynedd Dancer Spends Summer Learning With Suzanne Farrell

This summer, the Kennedy Center welcomed 34 students from 14 states to participate in the 19^th annual three-week ballet training program, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell. The dancers, including Lower Gwynedd’s Thuy Wyckoff, were selected from auditions last winter, according to a press release from the Kennedy Center.

Thuy, who was born in Ha Bac Province, Vietnam, and grew up in Lower Gwynedd, is 15 years old and began her ballet training at the age of 4 at the Philadelphia Dance Theatre, where she continues to study.

As part of the Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell program, students take two daily ballet technique classes with Farrell six days a week for three weeks at the Kennedy Center. They also participate in a number of cultural activities while in DC, including visits to museums, historical landmarks and other special events.

Thuy has performed in various works for the Philadelphia Dance Theatre, including Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the original ballet production of The Emperor and the Kite, in which she was featured as the principle character "Dieow Seow," according to the press release.

This is Thuy’s second summer studying with Farrell at the Kennedy Center. According to the release, Thuy is currently focusing her attention on developing her own inspiration and artistry. She hopes to pursue a career in classical and contemporary ballet.