Embracing the Arts
Carly Thinfen BK ’28 has found a thriving arts community at Yale, inside and outside of the classroom.
Carly Thinfen BK ’28 first started dancing when she was three years old. As a high school student in California, she was immersed in pre-professional dance and planned to attend a conservatory after graduation. But at the suggestion of an adviser who was familiar with Thinfen’s academic talents, she applied to Yale, too, and was accepted.
“Choosing between Juilliard and Yale was a big decision. I was dedicated to dance, but I also wanted to continue my academic studies. I didn’t want to lose one to the other. At Yale, I’ve realized I can pursue both—and so much else.”
Now entering her junior year, Thinfen remains as passionate about dance as ever. She is a member of Yaledancers, Yale College’s first and oldest open-style student dance company, and the hip-hop group Rhythmic Blue. “I think it’s important to train in every style you’re presented with, because they all inform each other,” she says. “A versatile dancer can connect with so many kinds of artists and find creative fulfillment in a variety of settings.”
“Choosing between Juilliard and Yale was a big decision. I was dedicated to dance, but I also wanted to continue my academic studies. I didn’t want to lose one to the other. At Yale, I’ve realized I can pursue both—and so much else.”
Recently, she has also found inspiration on a new stage, as a theater choreographer.
“It was a welcome challenge to focus on how movement conveys feelings within a story. I was working with actors who don’t usually dance, and it was my responsibility to set the tone for them. Their willingness to dive into the choreography I came up with encouraged me to embrace this leadership role,” she says. “Surrounded by musicians, lighting designers, set designers, the director, and the actors, I loved the feeling of being a member of an artistic community.”
As for academics, Thinfen is majoring in economics, with minors in statistics and Chinese. “Econ and stats are the rational side that balances my extreme artistic side,” she jokes. “I’ve always been drawn to math and understanding systems. Economics offers a broad sense of how the world works and how money impacts decision making.” Thinfen, whose father was born on the Micronesian island of Yap and whose mother is from Taipei, is especially interested in learning about financial crises and how they impact economies around the world.
Outside of her major and minor classes, she is taking advantage of opportunities to explore other areas of interest through electives. Not surprisingly, she has gravitated toward the arts, from a writing class focused on dance criticism taught by New York Times dance critic Brian Seibert ’97, to a history seminar on the intersection of dance and politics throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
With two years left at Yale to discover new interests and continue following her passions, Thinfen is still figuring out where life will take her post-college. But she is sure of a few things: “I know I want to be in New York City, because there are so many artistic opportunities there. I would love to always keep dancing in my life somehow.”
