Hana Carlson
Dance
High School: The School of the Arts
Hometown: Tacoma, WA
Summer Institute Program: Dance
Hana Carlson is a dancer in Tacoma, Washington. She went to Grant Elementary, where she was introduced to the arts and tried it all: dance, music and acting. Dance took full force and so she started studying dance at the Morgan Family YMCA under the direction of Kelly Lynch and Lynn Wilmot-Stenehjem. In 2018, she received a scholarship to the summer Ailey Experience intensive, where she worked with Martell Ruffin and Marcus Williams. That year, she furthered her studying of dance at T.U.P.A.C. (Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center) in ballet, West African and flamenco, under the direction of Klair Ethridge and Julie Tobiason. During the pandemic, T.U.P.A.C. made an internationally recognized award-winning film Harriet: The Black Swan, in which she played spring Harriet. As a rising senior attending SOTA (The School of the Arts), she has had the opportunity to explore creating her own work. She has choreographed four pieces for the school that have revolved around climate change, Blackness, identity and love. Outside of being a student she teaches dance at her church and her dance studio, and plans to continue teaching in the future.