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Dancer’s dreams come true
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Neighbors | Submitted .Angela Krpicak, a 2012 graduate of Canfield High School, was a cheerleader from eighth-grade through her senior year.
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Neighbors | Submitted .Angela Krpicak performed in dozens of recitals and dance competitions throughout her dance career.
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Neighbors | Submitted .Angela Krpicak, center, a 2012 graduate of Canfield High School, achieved her lifetime goal of being a professional dancer when she recently landed a job on the Norwegian Sky cruise ship.
By ABBY SLANKER
Angela Krpicak, a 2012 graduate of Canfield High School, has realized her dream of becoming a professional dancer on the Norwegian Cruise Line Sky cruise ship.
Krpicak, daughter of Sheila and Pat Palombo, has been dancing since she was 3.
“Since my first dance recital when I was 3, I knew I wanted to be dancing on a stage more than anything else. For the next 15 years, I studied every form of dance. I performed in dozens of recitals and dance competitions. All my friends know that I dance for the same reason I breathe, it is my life,” Krpicak said.
Krpicak competed in New York City against 300 dancers for only 14 openings with the cruise line. She received several call-backs and then was e-mailed a contract and asked to report to Tampa in 48 hours.
“I was warned that it usually takes two to three years before a dancer lands a great dance position with a big cruise line. However, after only a month of auditions in New York, I was shocked when Norwegian Cruise Lines offered me a lucrative dance contract on the Norwegian Sky. I didn’t know how to react. I called my parents and they reviewed the contract. I then had two days to pack and be at rehearsals in Tampa,” Krpicak said.
Krpicak was a Canfield High School cheerleading captain, which she used as another way to express her love of dance.
“I was a Canfield High School cheerleader from eighth grade through my senior year. Cheering was another expression of dance for me. I enjoyed choreographing the dances performed by the varsity cheerleaders. In my sophomore year at Canfield, I was so proud to have won the Dance Diva award at the COA Dance Camp in Columbus,” Krpicak said.
Krpicak received lots of support and encouragement from her local dance instructors, who also inspired her to follow her dreams.
“My dance instructors at the Performing Arts Center in Canfield, owner/director Lisa Friend and instructor Ann Skufca, inspired me the most. Ann had performed on cruise ships and told me what a great and fun career it was. She encouraged me to travel to New York and begin auditioning for dance positions with the cruise lines,” Krpicak said.
Krpicak said landing this job was a dream come true and she is grateful to her Canfield teachers who motivated her to work hard to achieve her goal.
“Starting a professional dance career at 18 is a lifetime dream come true. I am so grateful to my parents and brothers who encouraged me and supported me as a dancer all my life. I am also grateful to my teachers in Canfield schools who inspired me to work hard until you achieve your goal. At every performance on the ship, I dance my best for the audience, but I am also dancing my heart out for my family and friends back in Canfield,” Krpicak said.