Brittany Johnson

“Dance and Movement Studies (DMS) at Allegheny helped me to craft a gift I didn’t even know was present when I first started dancing at the age of four.”

— Brittany Johnson

“Dance and Movement Studies (DMS) at Allegheny helped me to craft a gift I didn’t even know was present when I first started dancing at the age of four. Not only did I grow to love dance even more, but I learned that movement speaks in a way that can bring purpose and maybe even answers.”

Although she became re-introduced to the art form while at Allegheny, Brittany Johnson, ’12, wasn’t even necessarily looking for a dance program during her college search. For one thing, lingering memories of a knee injury in high school plagued her spirits.

“I was very hesitant to dance again after the episode with my knees. I doubted my ability. But, I was inspired because there were a lot of students at Allegheny that had never danced before, but knew they wanted to try.”

“I didn’t even know it was an option to go into the sciences and get involved with dance. But, because of the minor requirement at Allegheny, DMS worked out perfectly. It was a great balance. You get to study something you are passionate about [in her case, a self designed major of Science, Health and Society] and dance!”

Her eventual goal is to become a pediatrician. Dance and medicine are seemingly unconnected fields, but it’s actually their connection that makes the most sense to Brittany.

“My education at Allegheny has allowed me to look past the fundamentals of medicine and fuel the fire that I’ve always had for the particularities of medicine such as the individual’s view of themselves and how their actions—both physical and mental—affect their life. Dance has allowed me to perfect the craft of reading someone’s body by allowing me to look past what the patient tells me and see what is actually going on with their health.”

Although in the midst of preparing for medical school, she recently created the Freedom Unspoken Dance Ensemble, a traveling dance ministry.

“The seed was placed at four, but blossomed with the Allegheny Dance and Movement Studies Department to create a passion that will always be a major component of my life. I am more than grateful of the understanding dance has given me about myself, and my desire to go into medicine. I now have the gratification of conveying my devotion in two areas of my life… by loving my patients through movement.”