By Katina Handrinos

This issue’s featured artist is Franchesca Vilmenay ’22, dancer and photographer! Franchesca has been a huge part of developing the dance program at Winsor, and she also enjoys photography in Winsor’s art classes. Here’s a look into Franchesca and her work: 

What is your favorite class that you have taken at Winsor?

It would have to be AP Portfolio, which I took last year. I was basically able to create my own projects, and I took about 15 photos. It took me a semester to finish, and I came up with everything and edited the photos myself, and that was really fun. 

What is your favorite Winsor performance?

I really enjoyed the Rock On performance last year. The crowd was really electric and it was the first big school gathering since we had come back from COVID. Outside of school, I used to do competition dance, and I had a solo once. Being able to take up the entire stage and have the entire audience be engaged is really hard, but it was really awesome. 

What do you love most about dance and photography? 

What I love about both of them is that they’re both methods of storytelling. You’ve heard the saying a photo can say a thousand words, but I really saw this while taking my photos. Composition, editing, and lighting, and the way that you’re posing your model all add to the final product. And in dance, the costume you wear, the choreography, and the lighting are all important. That’s really cool, that with both art forms you can really tell a story to your audience.

How has your family inspired you to pursue your passions? 

In terms of dance, my mom was the one who put me in dance at four years old, and she was my right hand during recitals, competitions, and performances. She was there helping me with my hair, my makeup. She’s my rock for dance. I used my sister a lot for photography during COVID, because I was at home and couldn’t use other models…. That was really inspiring.

Thank you, Franchesca, for sharing your experiences with dance and photography. We cannot wait to see what you do in the future!