Ever since when Ms. Kristen Lombardi was a young girl, she knew she had a passion for something. That something has yet to be discovered.
Ms. Lombardi can never stop moving and loves to be active. When she was only two and a half years old, her parents signed her up to do ballet and tap dance. Ever since then, she hasn’t stopped. She discovered a love for dance as she grew older. But she never knew how much she would love it or how good she would be. She just considered it a hobby.
As every little girl dreams of, she dreamed about being on the Broadway stage to dance when she got old enough. But then she realized she wasn’t that good, but she says she would love to get the opportunity to try to dance on Broadway.
From two years old to 18 years old, she was involved in competitive dance. Always traveling from competition to competition, and having 4 hour practices after school, she would be fatigued all the time.
But she said, “I would do anything to dance as much as I used to.” Since Ms. Lombardi is now Colonia High School’s art teacher, she doesn’t have much time to dance. But when she gets the chance, she’ll go into her basement, turn the music up, and let loose.
According to Ms. Lombardi, getting off the stage after a performance is the best feeling she could have experienced as a dancer. When the performance ended, she would grasp for air just as if she was reborn, and her muscles would not stop twitching. She just knew when those feelings occurred, it was an awesome performance.
As busy as she gets, she always tries to find a time to dance, even though it may be challenging. She might be able to dance publicly as a joke once or twice a month, but she thinks it isn’t enough to fill the void. At her old dance school in Woodbridge, they offer alumni classes every now and then. When she gets the chance, she’ll take these classes to dance with her fellow partners from back in the day.
Some of you might be wondering, how does a competitive dancer become an art teacher? Well, Ms. Lombardi has always used creative expression to express her life. And from such a young age, it propelled her to become a performing arts teacher.
The TV show, Dance Moms, have mothers fighting for their young daughters and sons to garner the spotlight at competitions. Fortunate enough, Ms. Lombardi’s parents were not like that. Her dad would only attend one competition a year and her mom would only go to her competitions just to see her perform and then she would leave.
Students always wonder if teachers were the same as when they were students in high school. Lombardi, having graduated from Colonia High, is proud to teach at her alma mater. According to the Legend of CHS, Mrs. Lynn Sheehan (Health Teacher) claimed, “She (Lombardi) was the same as she is now. Very bubbly, friendly, and she would always be a helping hand.”
When asked “If there was a teacher talent show, would you participate in it?” Lombardi answered she would love to, but she would be somewhat uncomfortable performing in front of the whole school population. After practicing for a month or two she would love to start performing again. But, she believed she isn’t as good as she used to be 7 years ago.
If you are under a lot of pressure and stress from school or some outside force, Ms. Lombardi encourages you to “dance it out.” She proclaimed, “Dance is one of the best stress relievers.” Even to this day, she will go downstairs in her house, blast music, and start to rock out.
