Madison Ernstes started taking dance lessons at age 3 and never looked back.

“I’ve always loved it. I was a super active kid and used to like running around and dancing in my house. My mom figured, sign me up for lessons,” Ernstes said, sitting in the courtyard of the Modlin Center for the Arts. She had just finished physical therapy with her last client of the day.

The arts center holds many fond memories for Ernstes, who graduated from the University of Richmond with dual degrees in biology and dance in 2020. She recently made her professional debut in Richmond with Starr Foster Dance. Her two passions came together at UR.

“It was my dream school since the sixth grade,” she said with a smile. “I’m local. I used to come here with my mom for basketball games because her boss has a season pass. And ever since then I thought, 'This place looks like Hogwarts.'”

While that sounded like everything the middle school Harry Potter fan could ever want in a college, the news kept getting better.

“As I went into high school, I found out 'Oh, it's also academically rigorous, it has dance, it has bio. It has everything I want to do,'” she said.

At UR, she joined the University Dancers, and fell especially in love with modern dance. Growing up, she took part in both a competitive and high school dance team but had not delved much into this genre. 

“I love the way that it can tell a story,” she said. “Not that other dance styles can't, but I feel like modern is grounded and can express so much without having to say anything at all. It really adventures out, and there's no limit to what you can create.”

At UR, she enjoyed master classes with artists like the accomplished modern dance choreographer Mark Morris. One of her professors was choreographer Starrene Foster, who would later invite Ernstes to join her dance company. Anne Norman Van Gelder, director of dance and artistic director of University Dancers, remains one of her closest friends.

Ernstes choreographed two pieces while at UR and served as captain of the University Dancers her senior year. Her favorite memories are those of dance show week.

“It's hectic, you're exhausted,” she said. “It's a lot of work. But just there's no feeling quite like doing those bows on stage knowing that you have put in the work, knowing that everything came together as it should have.”

After her sophomore year, funding from a Richmond Guarantee fellowship provided her the chance to work in a local physical therapy clinic.

“And that's where I just fell in love with it,” she said. “I was in a clinic Monday through Friday, from opening to close. And I felt like I was making a big difference.” She went on to attain her doctorate in physical therapy. Now, she works with geriatric patients in their homes, and can set her own schedule.

Ernstes has seen the benefits of her own physical therapy treatments in the past. “I would say dancers are just like any athlete,” she said. “You put your body through a lot. Sometimes the body isn't ready to do it, and injuries happen. Finding that balance between flexibility and strength can be difficult, so the body can be a little bit more prone to injury.”

She was looking forward to performing in an upcoming show featuring three dances, "Swallow," “Proof," and "In Rest and Sleep."

“They each tell such beautiful and unique stories through movement. I’m so excited!”

All photos by Doug Hayes