Daniela Rybarczyk is a senior at Pleasant Valley High School who is very involved in the arts. She played violin for six years, then moved onto viola and has been playing viola for four years. She has also been competing in competitive dance for 11 years.
Rybarczyk is an incredibly accomplished viola player. She has been first chair viola at PV since her sophomore year. Her viola accomplishments stretch far beyond the high school orchestra. She is the first chair viola in the Quad City Youth Symphony and has been since her freshman year in high school.
Rybarczyk has been accepted into All-State orchestra for the last three years. She was 9th chair her sophomore year, 3rd chair her junior year and All-State orchestra has not happened yet this year. She is anxiously awaiting to discover her chair this year. All of these accomplishments come with a lot of hard work. “I practice everyday usually one to two hours depending on how busy I am with school and dance,” Rybarczyk stated.
Rybarczyk also enjoys using her talent to benefit members of the community. During the holiday season, Rybarczyk and her mother accompany Christmas carolers in nursing homes.
While she has a long list of accomplishments in music, those do not outshine her achievements in dance. She dances at Studio A Dance Company and has received the highest adjudication for many of her routines. Rybarczyk has also competed in the Youth American Grand Prix, an international ballet competition, for the last two years.
Ballet is an intense dance style and Rybarczyk has dedicated countless hours to perfecting her technique. “I dance almost everyday of the week which adds up to about 17-20 hours a week depending on rehearsals.”
Balancing dance, viola and challenging classes is not easy. Rybarczyk has been on the honors track in multiple subjects throughout her high school career and maintains good grades. Rybarczyk said “I take advantage of any time I have which means practicing viola before school, during lunch and sometimes late at night. I try to utilize class time and study hall to finish homework.”
