My name, if you haven't noticed, is Sage Harper. I am 20 years old and currently a junior at OU. I am majoring in Health and Exercise Science to become a personal trainer and then one day a Physical Therapist. If I can really accomplish my dream I will be a PT specifically for dancers. Why only dancers? Well, I am a dancer myself and have been for the better part of my life (14 or 15 years now) and I have also torn my PCL and meniscus so I know how much it sucks getting back into dance after such an intense injury. I want to work with dancers and teach them how to stretch and train properly so that they can minimize the amount and severity of injuries and can continue to follow their dreams!
I am currently a member of a dance company in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Portico Danse Theatre and have been for about a year and a half now. However, I am not just a dancer with the company but also one of their aerialists! What on earth is an 'aerialist'? Well, it is this:
(Personal photo.
Taken July 19th, 2014 in the Williams theater at the Tulsa PAC.
Performing "911" in "Mob Mental.Ity" by Portico Danse Theatre.
I am the one on the right)
That's right, I dance on silks 20-30 ft in the air, only locked in by my feet and sometimes not even that. I have been performing aerial for almost two years now. I have also done modern, lyrical, jazz, contemporary ballet and a little hip hop (poorly).
I was born in Santa Barbra, California but raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both sets of my grandparents along with most of the rest of my family lives in Tulsa as well so it makes it nice to have such a strong support system.
I am incredibly obsessed with dragons. I love to draw them, read about them, have stuffed animals of them, watch movies and shows that have dragons in them, I even have a Game of Thrones dragon egg canister that was given to me as a christmas present. Someday, I will have a dragon tattoo on my leg or on my back or behind my ear. No, I have not seen the movie "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" nor will I. I already have two tattoos. I have a feather tattoo on my back and a little blue dove tattoo behind my left ear and they both hold a lot of meaning to me.
(Photo info: Personal Photos. Left, my first tattoo. I got it in San Francisco in August of 2010.
Right, second tattoo. The blue dove. The three droplet things are the tail, then the wing is hollow then the beak is facing my hair line. I got this one in June of 2014 in Tulsa.)
I have two cats named Koko and Marie. I love cats and I have always had cats. I had a dog once for about two weeks but he ate the couch in my backyard so my mom and I gave him to a friend with ten acres of land. I used to have a bearded dragon (again, obsessed with dragons) named Oliver and he was pretty much the coolest thing ever.
I love to read fantasy books more than any other kind of book. Young adult books about vampires and werewolves and witches and all of that sort of stuff are my guilty pleasure books. That is excluding the Twilight series though. I cannot stand those books or the movies. If there is anyone else who reads the House of Night series by P.C. Cast, then you are awesome and we need to gab about them together because none of my other friends read them...
Finally, I am a HUGE SuperWhoLock nerd! Mostly the WhoLock part, I don't really watch Supernatural (yet), but I am a pretty huge Doctor Who nerd. I am actually going to the Doctor Who mini-con in Tulsa in April, I will be going as Amy Pond and I am so excited and not even remotely ashamed about that. The 9th Doctor is my most favorite but I do enjoy Tennant and Matt Smith and I am very excited to see what the new Doctor will be like! River Song is my favorite character in the entire show though.
That is most of the information I feel like is important to know to understand how I think. I can't wait to read about what everyone else is like! Maybe I will find a few more Whovians!
Have a great day!
I don't know that you and I could be very good friends. I can't dance, I have a fear of needles, I'm allergic to cats, and I've never seen an episode of Doctor Who. Props for the Game of Thrones love, though. Honestly, it is a pleasure to meet you and I hope to read more good things in the future. Good first week!
ReplyDeleteOh I am horribly afraid of needles. The first tattoo I got I almost passed out because the guy kept putting the tattoo gun on my back then taking it off to go do something else. It was not fun... And everyone can dance! As long as you are having fun that is all that matters! And along with that Game of Thrones dragon egg canister, my roommates and I also have The Game of Thrones Board Game and we would have watch parties for every episode. It was great! It is a pleasure to meet you as well!
DeleteHey Sage! I cannot believe you dance with silks in the air! That is amazing! Have you seen the girl on America's got talent that dances in the air while acting out a story? Every time I have watched her it has blown my mind. I have to say I am also a Superwholock fan! However, I am really more Superlocked because I just haven't had enough time to get into Doctor Who. I know once I start there will be no stopping me.
ReplyDeleteI have seen her I think! I know I saw one woman who was super bendy when she was performing. It was crazy! I am DEFINITELY not that bendy.... I will start Supernatural if you start Doctor Who! I started at the beginning of fall semester last year and would watch it with my roommates. It is the perfect show to sit and watch if you just want to watch a couple one night then binge watch another night. But you MUST start with the 9th Doctor! It is the first Doctor on Netflix and he is AWESOME. As you can tell, I am very enthusiastic about this show but it is hard to not be! It is so great!!!
DeleteI think it's awesome you are an aerialist. I have danced for a long time as well, it's a passion of mine. How long did you have to train to be able to do that, and did you go somewhere special to learn or was it just at your studio? I am very interested in this since I have only seen aerialists in Vegas. I didn't know that was an option for the Tulsa area.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I love the tattoos and I am sorry to hear about the fact you had to give away your dog. I love dogs! Anyways, it was great to meet you. It sounds like you have a very exciting life!
Best of luck this semester!!!
I think I have been doing aerial for two years now but it didn't take me long to be able to perform. I had a lot of upper body strength to begin with and that makes climbing and holding on way easier! The dance company I am with actually has aerial classes in Tulsa every week through out the year until around july and then starts up again around late august early september. I actually have my own silk and am searching desperately for a place to rig it so I can practice more! There is a studio in OKC called Pole Zone. They used to be located about 5 minutes from Ou's Norman campus and I would go there to practice during the school year but then they moved. :( They are a great place to learn silks though!
DeleteOH MY GOSH: aerial dance! Sage, that looks incredibly cool... both for the audience to see, and also for you to experience way up there. I have to repeat: WOW.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course you have come to the right class if you are obsessed with dragons. So, when you go to do your Storybook topics thing this weekend, please feel free to propose four different topics about dragons... there are probably hundreds of different possible dragon topics, and I would be so curious to see just what kind of dragon projects inspire your imagination!
And DOCTOR WHO: I was so happy with the Capaldi episode. What did you think? Eccleston is my favorite doctor too and I am thinking that with Capaldi we may get back to some of the dimensions Eccleston explored so wonderfully with the Doctor's character.
And you know, of course, a Doctor Who STYLE of storytelling would be totally cool...! You could be Amy Pond for your Storybook project, in addition to being Amy at the mini-con!!!
The fact that you are an aerial dancer amazes me! It must take so much dedication, especially with balancing schoolwork. The strength that the dancers have is incredible and they make it look so easy and majestic. One of my best friends lives in Tulsa so maybe when I go visit I can see a show.
ReplyDeleteI am also a health and exercise science major studying to be a physical therapist. I work at a physical therapist office now as a technician and absolutely love it. I just started sending in my applications since I will be graduating in December and hopefully starting PT school in the Summer/Fall.
One of my roommates is obsessed with Doctor Who and watches it constantly. I have never gotten into the show but I feel like I know everything that happens from how much she talks about it.
Like what everyone before me have said, it is so awesome that you are an aerial dancer! I am not much of a professional or formal dancer, but I definitely appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to be one.
ReplyDeleteNice tattoos! I have been meaning to get my first one for a long time now. I am not exactly scared of the pain, rather, I am a bit scared of the commitment. However, this year is the year for me! I will definitely not end 2014 without one. Haha.
You have such fantastic goals! I've noticed that a lot of my friends who are going into PT (or the PT I've had after my back surgery) have been inspired to go into the field because of their own injuries. I think that's really awesome since there's really no better person to learn from than someone who has had to learn it themselves. There are so many things I want to comment on about your introduction, but to spare you from a huge babbling message, I'll skip to the dragons part! I have a book called Mermaids: The Myth, Legends, and Lore. It's full of art and has information about legends from around the world. What I'm getting at is, there's also a dragons version! I haven't had the chance to look at it yet, but if you don't already have it I think it'd make a great addition to your dragon hoard.
ReplyDeleteSage,
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that you are a dancer, but even more so that you do some of your dancing up in the air on silks! That must take so much talent and skill to be able to hold yourself up their, let alone dance! I also find it very cool that your aspirations career-wise are founded on your previous experiences as a dancer. That will give you a passion for your job that others might not have.
You're so daring! I love to dance, it's one of my hidden loves.That seems so fun but yet I'm too scared too do it. I love your tattoos too I've always wanted one but haven't mustered up the courage to do it. Dragons are interesting, their so majestic and mysterious. I would love to see some of your drawings sometime. It was nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteHi Sage!
ReplyDeleteWow that is such a good picture of you doing your aerial dancing! I have always been pretty fascinated with that stuff because it is so scary to watch someone hanging by only their arms and feet. I would be terrified to try it! I danced for about 14 years also! I do not dance anymore, but I also did jazz, tap, and lyrical. I think it is great that you have found such a passion in dancing, and that you can have a career that helps people with the same passion as you! It was nice to read about you, and I look forward to reading your story! Have a great weekend!
Hey Sage, first of all I love your name! The fact that you are so involved in dance is really amazing and I hope you are able to reach your goals with the physical therapy. Sounds like you have had a fair share of physical injuries yourself so I am sure your experience will be beneficial in the future! It is really awesome you do aerial. I have seen a few performances and always was stunned by how much talent they have. Beautiful tattoos by the way and I hope you are able to get your dragon tattoo! I have a few myself and love them to bits! Good luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteHi Sage,
ReplyDeleteFirst off good job working through your injury and continuing what you enjoy doing, a lot of people would just give up. My sister was in a similar situation as you, she had to quit dancing for a while due to a surgery and she missed dancing a ton. I'm also impressed by you doing the aerialist stuff, I hate heights. Good luck with your major and career path.
That is cool that you want to help others get through what you have had to go through already with your own injuries. I am really impressed that you are one of the dancers that spins around on those longs sheets and ropes. That has got to be so hard and tiring. Also, I believe you about the SuperWhoLock fan because you left a comment on my storybook about how happy you were that I was doing Doctor Who. Keep up the good work in her.
ReplyDeleteHello Sage! I think the only things we have in common is that we are both pretty active and lived in Oklahoma before college. I am a terrible dancer. I have no rhythm. I am not big on cats either. Its not that I don't like them, they just don't like me for some reason. Your tattoos are great. I really like the feather one. I have also had knee problems and surgeries. So I know what its like trying to get back to the activities you did before.
ReplyDeleteSage,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that I am obsessed with your name. I have never heard the name Sage before and I really like it! You seem like such an interesting and fun person from your introduction! Your passion for dance and wanting to help people like yourself is so inspiring and I am jealous that you have that talent!
I wish you the best of luck in your dream to become a physical therapist! I think your passion for the job is awesome and that you would do such a great job!
I really like your name, it’s different! Where did you graduate from? I am from Owasso. I am so jealous that you are an aerialist. I have always wanted to do that, but didn’t know what it was called or how I could have gotten involved. I think it is such a beautiful art. I also love dragons a lot. I play video games, and I love video games that include dragons (like Skyrim). I’ve always wanted a bearded dragon or some other reptile, but they freak my mom and sister out. I read the House of Night series! It is so good. Cheesy at times, but really good and based in Tulsa of all places. Haha. You should definitely watch Supernatural, it is SO good.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to meet you Sage. I have heard about arial dancing before and seen pictures of it. However, I have never actually known anyone that specifically performs it. It looks amazing and incredibly scary all at the same time! I am actually a Senior studying to be a Physical Therapist one day, you have chosen an amazing career goal and I wish you the best of luck! I like how you included the pictures of your tattoos, they are really neat! I do not have any tattoos, however, I have often contemplated getting one! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Sage, you sound like you've lived a really interesting life. I'm not a dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but I can definitely appreciate how difficult it is. I can only imagine what being an aerialist would be like. I also thinks its awesome that you want to take your passion for dance and use it to pursue a career in physical therapy. I hope it all works out for you, because you sound like an awesome person!
ReplyDelete