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As someone who started dancing as a 6-year-old, Jenna Moriello always knew that “dancing was everything” to her, even after first getting diagnosed with scoliosis in the fifth grade.
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“I remember the first time I got my diagnosis, I cried because I didn’t know what that would mean to me (regarding) how I would dance and how it would impact my mobility and flexibility,” Moriello, a Linden native, recalled.
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Moriello called dancing “such a good outlet” and said it’s a good way for her to process things: “If something big is going on in my life, I’ll tend to find a dance studio to kind of just let things out.”
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She was diagnosed with a severe form of scoliosis during her freshman year of high school and as her condition progressed, she ran the risk of her scoliosis eventually impeding her lung function, according to a news release from NYU Langone Health where she underwent a procedure called vertebral body tethering.
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The procedure does not reduce a patient’s mobility and afterward, Moriello was able to return to dancing, according to the news release.
Moriello said that although she mainly dances in contemporary modern style and is majoring in that at the School of Dance at George Mason University in Virginia, where she is going to be a sophomore, she also said she has worked in “every other genre” of dance.
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Moriello had advice for people who have just received a diagnosis that could impact their passions: “Really lean on the people close to you because having that support is truly what got me through surgery and recovery,” she said. “If I didn’t have the support of my close friends and my family, I think I would’ve caved into myself.
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“It was a very big struggle to deal with mentally. If I can’t pursue my passion … that affects me mentally. I would really advise [people in similar situations] to lean on the people close to you and who support you.”
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Although dancing was not a part of Moriello’s long-term life plan before surgery, she said that after her surgery, “I was dancing bigger and better than I was pre-op, which was super surprising for me — I’m doing things now that I never could have imagined.”
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Moriello said she wants to join a modern contemporary dance company and perform around the world.
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Moriello had a message for people just starting in dance: “Dance is a very good outlet for everyone no matter how you use it, and I think it’s very important to pursue it if it’s a passion of yours for as long as you want— it doesn’t have to be [at the] professional level, but enjoy it while you do.”
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Moriello will perform at the Duomo Dance Festival, taking place in Brooklyn from June 27 through June 30.