Student Spotlight: Meet Olivia Seidelmann

Meet Olivia Seidelmann, 10, Deptford, NJ/Jamie’s Dance Odyssey.

Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

I was always dancing and twirling so my mom put me in dance classes when I was 18 months old. Each year, I fell in love with dance more and more! When I was 6, I was invited to compete on JDO’s competition team. Last year, I won my first Title for my Tap Solo! Since then, I have added on more teams, and this past year, even though the season was cut short due to COVID-19, I was on 4 teams and had 2 solos and 1 duet!  I am constantly working on my skills and attend master classes/convention classes when I can!  Also, I love TikTok and was so happy when I hit 6000 followers this year! (TikTok: apdoliviajoy.dancer) Hoping to keep that number growing! Lastly, this year I also became a USA ALDC Ambassador (I am a huge Dance Moms fan!)

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?

I have Auditory Processing Disorder and wear hearing aids, which definitely makes me work  harder to hear and try to understand what is being said. It can be difficult to hear my teacher over the loud music or tap sounds! With my APD, I miss sounds/words often. It is extremely difficult when there is background noise or more than 1 sound at once. My brain doesn’t know what is the important or main message to listen to, and tries to listen to them ALL.  It is kind of like trying to hear something when you’re underwater. Sounds become muffled or sounds mesh together and create words that aren’t even real!

What personal limitations if any did you go through in your young career?

None that I can think of.

Has anybody ever tried to limit you on what you could do? If so how did you fight it?

Quarantine limited us all this year. We had to stay home from everything but I was so grateful to still take my studio’s dance classes via Zoom. I even took classes online from teachers that I never would have been able to in person, due to location. I entered virtual competitions and even choreographed my own solos for fun or for various contests!  As hard as it was to be quarantined, I was always dancing and that kept me happy.

How do you conquer negative talk?

If I heard negative talk, I would ignore it. I am confident and strive to be the best I can be. The only dancer I am in competition with is myself! I always want to become better than I was yesterday.

What is your favorite quote?

“Listen to my feet and I will tell you the story of my heart.”

So, what’s next? Any big plans?

I am praying that we actually have a competition season this fall/year!  I will continue to work on and improve my skills. I also would love to model for Dancewear and have more opportunities to dance! My dream is to dance professionally!