M-A senior Kelly Warren is Beach Blanket Babylon finalist in dance catergory

Menlo Atherton High School senior Kelly Warren is a finalist in the dance category for The Steve Silver Foundation and Beach Blanket Babylon “Scholarship for the Arts.”

Each of the nine finalists will perform live in front of family, friends and a panel of celebrity judges on Monday, June 4.

One winner in each category — singing, dancing, and acting — will be presented with a $15,000 check towards their college education.

According to an article by Emily Young in the M-A Chronicle last year, Kelly’s mother enrolled her in her first ballet classes when she was three or four years old because she believed dancing would be a fun activity for her daughter. As a young girl she continued to dance because I “wanted to be like my older sister,” who danced as well.

“As she got older her love for dancing grew and Kelly learned to appreciate dancing not because it was something her sister liked, but because she wanted to dance, ” Emily wrote. “Jokingly she added that she ‘wasn’t good at any sports,’ so she continued dancing because she had no other active outlet.”

Since then, Kelly has enjoyed being a part of the dance team at Bay Area Dance School where she feels the “team is always striving to improve” and that the girls genuinely care about each other.

As a high school junior, Kelly was unsure if you would continue dancing when she started college. “Since then, my passion for dance has only grown, and I will continue to dance when I attend Vanderbilt University in the fall as a Child Development major,” she emailed InMenlo. “My volunteer work at the Multicultural Institute helped me to realize that I would one day like to work in education.

“Still, I plan to continue dancing by taking dance classes both at Vanderbilt and at surrounding dance studios in Nashville in addition to being a member of the Vanderbilt Dance Team.

“This summer I will also be attending a summer intensive at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance for 4 weeks before heading off to college. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a Beach Blanket Babylon scholarship finalist and am excited to perform with a group of talented high school seniors in front of an amazing panel of judges.”

Photo by Rachel Neville