Student Spotlight - Poppy

CMASAS sophomore Poppy Coleman is starring in two upcoming Portland Ballet Company productions - Petrushka and Firebird.

Set during Thanksgiving dinner at an iconic historic hotel in the glamorous 1950s, immigrant busboy Petrushka is in love with a dazzling lounge singer (Poppy), who in turn is in love with a dashing doorman. Petrushka be paired with John Clifford's Firebird for a thrilling all-Stravinsky program performed live by the Portland State University Orchestra.

Poppy has studied ballet for 10 years. Taking online courses with CMASAS allows her to dedicate time to rehearsing for Petrushka and Firebird, while continuing to make progress on her courses. She has worked with Daisy, her PEC, to come up with a daily schedule that works best for her. Poppy says she wakes up early and does her schoolwork before she has to go to rehearsal from 12pm-8pm, and finishes any assignments left over in the evening.

Poppy was also able to get school credit for her time spent dancing. She used the hours that she dedicates to ballet toward her PE credit. She logged the time she spent dancing, and shared videos of her rehearsals.

After graduation, Poppy would like to join a ballet company while taking community college classes. Once she retires from her ballet career, she plans on going back to school to earn her bachelor’s degree.

At CMASAS, we want our students to excel both academically and professionally. Our personalized learning model allows students the flexibility they need to succeed and apply their passions into their course work.

You can find more information about the upcoming production Petrushka and Firebird at https://theportlandballet.org/petrushka/.