This summer, Heidi Duckler Dance welcomed a group of interns through programs such as USC Gateway, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, ICA LA, and Exploring the Arts. This year, our 2025 interns, Keaton, Anna, Quinn, Yasmien, Damian, and Victoria contributed their time, talent, and creativity to projects that supported the company’s 40th anniversary season! From assisting with education programs to curating exhibitions and developing marketing campaigns, the interns gained hands-on experience while leaving their mark on HDD’s summer programming.
Three interns, Anna Ellazar (USC Gateway), Keaton Lazarus (LACAC), and Victoria Marchetti (LACAC) have shared reflections on their experiences. Their stories highlight not only the skills they developed but also the personal connections and lasting memories they made along the way!
HDD x USC Gateway Internship Reflection 2025
As a Biological Sciences major with the goal of going to law school, I really hoped to spend the summer building my experience with writing, communication, and nonprofit management. While being a STEM major helped me gain a lot of valuable knowledge with research and data analysis, I felt like there was much more I wanted to learn outside of my coursework. With this in mind, Heidi Duckler Dance gave me opportunities to explore and develop new skills.
The first project I was part of was Ebb and Flow: Vista Hermosa Natural Park, which is a community dance, music, and arts festival centered on themes of environment, nature, health, and humanity. This was an exciting introduction to my summer because I was able to apply my natural sciences and sustainability background in a fresh and creative way. It was incredibly fulfilling to apply my passion for the environment to engage Los Angeles communities in a significant space.
Another impactful learning opportunity during my internship was collaborating with various staff to draft and review grant applications. When writing drafts, I worked closely with the Executive and Artistic Directors to explore the logistics of future projects, focusing on budget, accessibility, creative vision, marketing, and community engagement. I also conducted research into the grants themselves and the involved communities with the hopes of producing high quality responses for each application. I am especially appreciative of the opportunity to work on grant applications, and the staff were receptive to my interest in these projects. Thankfully, I was assigned many grant proposals over the summer, allowing me to strengthen my practical and collaborative writing.
Overall, I’m satisfied with the time I spent interning at Heidi Duckler Dance. I learned and applied a wide variety of valuable skills and felt consistent support from the staff and my supervisor throughout the summer.
HDD x LACAC Internship Reflection 2025
This summer I have had the amazing opportunity to intern through the LA County Arts and Culture Internship Program for Heidi Duckler Dance. During my internship I have developed a wide range of skills from grant/contract writing and navigating programs like Neon CRM and WordPress to running front of house for events and archive curation. I believe that these skills will be very beneficial to my future career and job pursuits. This internship has given me invaluable insights into a career in the arts and helped me to foster connections with creative people across many fields.
I really enjoyed getting to assist with educational program development and one of the highlights of my internship was attending the final performance of a dance workshop with the organization Aidan’z House, a non-profit whose mission is to create a supportive network for Special Need parents. During my internship I was tasked with finding and connecting with an organization in District 8 who was interested in movement classes. I connected with the founder of Aidan’z House, who also happened to be Aidan’s mom, and together we got the ball rolling on a free movement workshop for the members of her community. Seeing the kids and mothers dancing together and dancing confidently for the final performance was inspiring and it was amazing to tangibly see the impact of the work HDD does.
I’ve also enjoyed working at the performances and getting to interact with the dancers, artists, and other interns. For our exhibit, panel, and performance at the Southern California Architecture Institute (SCI-Arc) the HDD summer interns spent hours collaborating together on the planning and exhibition of the event and the sense of comradery and creativity we shared was one of the best parts of the internship. During the performance for Architecture Through the Body: A Living Legacy exhibition at SCI-Arc the intern Quinn and I were in charge of moving the rolling wall that was a staple element of the performance. Being a part of the performance itself was a fun challenge and allowed me to witness the creative process of Artistic Director, Raymond Ejiofor.
I am so grateful to the team at HDD for providing me with the opportunity to learn from and work alongside them this summer! Thank you for such an incredible experience!
HDD x LACAC Internship Reflection 2025
This summer, I had the opportunity to Intern with Heidi Duckler Dance through the Los Angeles County Arts & Culture Internship Program. The experience allowed me to grow my skills while contributing to the company’s 40th anniversary season.
A major highlight of my internship was supporting Architecture Through the Body: A Living Legacy exhibition at SCI-Arc. I assisted with curation, promotion, and installation, and had the chance to visit the Getty Research Institute to film an interview with Maristella Casciato, Head of Architectural Collections. This project was both rewarding and challenging! From photographing behind-the-scenes moments to writing the press release, updating the website, creating social media content, and designing the digital program, I loved being involved and learning new skills.
Throughout the internship, I created weekly newsletters and contributed to the Flashback Friday newsletter and social media series, which highlighted memorable works from Heidi Duckler Dance’s past. From Zanja Madre to Laundromatinee, I enjoyed looking into the company’s historic performances and selecting moments to share. I also gained hands-on experience with tools such as Neon CRM and WordPress which I had never used before, so becoming comfortable and proficient with them has been an exciting and valuable part of my learning experience.
Beyond the practical experience, which I was eager to gain, this internship gave me lasting memories. Whether installing the exhibition with fellow interns, gathering testimonies, videographing amazing dancing artists or collaborating with a passionate team, I am grateful to have spent my summer surrounded by creativity. I am especially grateful to the HDD staff for welcoming the other interns and I into Heidi Duckler Dance. Working alongside the other interns was motivating, and I am proud to have contributed to an organization that creates meaningful, site-specific work that brings artists and communities together.
Thank you for an unforgettable summer!
