Emily Enlivens Every Environment
by Cate Murway
Emily Elizabeth Demshick discovers something that peaks her interest, and then she stirs things up a notch with unstoppable energy that keeps her highly motivated, and her environment enlivened.
Em is the middle child of the three born to Ruth Elizabeth [Thornton] and G. Frederick “Fred” Demshick. She truly possesses a keen artist’s eye and she has proven herself a quite determined young lady, smart as a whip! Emily is a 2020 graduate of Pennsbury H.S., her father’s alma mater, and she will be attending Temple University, just like her JEM mother did, right after her graduation from Villa Joseph Marie in Bucks County. And, she will be rooming with her mom’s TU roommate’s daughter at Temple U!
Emily has been dancing since she was a toddler. Her parents enrolled her in both gymnastics and dance, both until the second grade when she chose just dance. “Jazz was my favorite but contemporary is my favorite now,” she explained. “I have been dancing competitively since the 5th grade.”
She had been training at the Bucks County Dance Center in Bensalem before continuing to hone her lyrically rhythmic, imaginative dance skills at the Amanda Page Dance Company. She is fully involved at APDC including assistant teaching and helping with administrative work, along with being a valued member of the Elite Competition Team.
At the APDC studio, Emily is well known for her talents and her uncanny ability to brighten and enliven any room. She has proven herself to be quite fearless with her bold, unconventional style of flips, tricks, turns, and jumps. Her incredible talent, her innate ability to make choreography come to life, her hi-test performance quality, and her total dedication to dance inspires others to step it up!
She admits, “I am outgoing and I speak my mind. I am pretty enthusiastic and have high energy.”
Emily unabashedly exudes confidence, pushing herself to do something even if she is just a wee bit afraid, because, ultimately she just knows she’s going to rock it.
Dancing may be one of her strongest talents, but she possesses many others, too. Dance is a thread.
“I was always drawing or making something. I had notebooks filled with art. My dad can draw very well. He would draw a car and I would color it in using my markers,” she shared.
Graphite art began to interest Emily and she started working with fine quality Ticonderoga pencils.
“No special art classes; I am more self- taught. I made random realistic pictures and really got into the details.”
The post-Impressionist Vincent Willem van Gogh [1853-1890], a most influential artist, intrigued her as color was the chief symbol of his expression. She liked his story and is grateful to have visited the Dutch Art Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Emily was a 4-year Honor Roll student and she also earned academic excellence awards in Art at Pennsbury. “The teachers gave us the freedom to create and a lot of time to work. Their doors were always open and we were able to see displays of others’ artworks”, she commented.
Retired PHS Art teacher Anthony Andrew “Tony” Napoli taught the Art Major classes including 2-D design, painting, and drawing. Mr. “Nap” confirmed, “Emily is very talented and she has a real thirst for artistic knowledge so I challenged her to create something never seen before. She produced some of the best work in the class! My favorite piece that she created was a portrait using objects. She chose to paint seashells and waves in oil paints.”
Emily had just started using oil paints that year. “Mr. Nap just believed in me a lot!”
She very modestly stated, “My painting was of a bunch of seashells.”
Her “SeaShell Face”, a Giuseppe Arcimboldo style work [an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish and books], was selected by the jurors for exhibition in the 31st juried PSEA “Touch the Future” High School Art Show that took place at Arcadia University from February 24-March 15, 2018. This is one of the most prestigious shows held every year featuring entries from high schools in both Bucks and Montgomery counties.
“Paint a wall, learn to dance…"
Emily’s most recent masterpiece, transforming the white backyard walls of Cindy’s Café to an awe-inspiring, intriguing setting that is chock-full of palm tree motifs, fishing nets, and fish decorations. This mural is a true heARTwork endeavor in honor of her late grandmother and for her grandfather, Steve Demshick, the proprietor of Cindy’s Café.
Her paternal grandparents, Cynthia Ann and Stephen Charles Demshick had been lovingly dubbed “Abby & Gak Gak”. They wanted to be called “Grammy and PapPap” but those names were interpreted quite differently by their very young grandchildren. They had planned to spend half of their time in the Key West before “Abby” became so very ill. Emily’s whole family loves the beach and warm weather.
“always give love the upper hand….”
“Emily did this painting out of her heart and her wanting to do this for her grandmother who passed away, and also for me. She felt it was important. People coming are recognizing her talents. She did it freehand with no template and from her heart for this family business. She took the time out and invested her heart and soul,” commented “Gak Gak”, Emily’s grandfather.
Because you’re a dancer, you just don’t do sloppy!
Her Aunt Kelly had asked her to do it. It was a team effort design and Emily just went with her gut.
“I was totally excited. It was fun and I had the hugest canvas I ever got to paint on.”
As each version progressed, she liked to dab short brushstrokes to add touches of something new.
Her stylish Key West hued mural space is also a venue for the current popular and advised outdoor eating events. It is quite a creatively enhanced “place-making” area in this cool town of Bristol Borough.
Everyone is invited to come to check it out!
Cindy’s Café Serving Breakfast & Brunch/Lunch Island Style is located in beautiful Historic Bristol Borough, 307 Mill Street. Open Wednesday thru Sunday 7:30am - 3:00pm.
The Café’s Key West theme in both décor and cuisine is most fully expressed in its rave review nine-item lunch menu. Traditional options of eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles and omelets are served for breakfast.
The Café’s biggest seller is their sloppy joe sandwich made with ingredients one can only get from the Key West. Emily thinks those sandwiches are the best. Kudos to cook Tom from Emily!
As for family meals at home, Emily’s favorite food is steak. “My dad makes the best steak on the grill and my mom makes delicious orange chicken with sour cream. It’s a paternal family recipe. And me? I’m the worst cooker in my family!”
“Call your mom, buy a boat….”
Emily and her family are currently residing on the sailboat her dad purchased last summer. So, the former Yardley residents are calling the Silver Cloud Marina in Lacey Twp., NJ “home” for now.
“get along, on down the road…. we've got a long long way to go….”
Emily will soon be headed to college sharing an apartment near the campus. She will be a frosh Biology major at TU with medical school firmly etched in her future plans.
“My goal is oncologist. Temple is a good school and I wanted close for the first 4 years.”
Seeing through the lens of medicine can only enrich one’s understanding of dance!
It was in her PHS sophomore year that this very artistic, proficient dancer began taking biology.
“Abby”, her beloved grandmother was still so very ill and it was her poor health that influenced Em’s subject choice. This experience apparently left a mark on her genes.
She is excited now to dance into this next phase of her life.
Emily thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Ryan Boylan’s class and his Boylan Biology.
His banter was just as interesting as the education. “You are probably here because you're ready to study the baddest science in all the land, Biology!”
"all you're really given is the sunshine and your name….."
So, dance on Emily D. You are free to explore an intersection of your interests.
Choreograph your own most crucial combination performances.
One thing is certain.
The future Dr. Emily will continue to enliven every environment in which she is involved.
italicized lyrics from one of Emily’s favorite feel-good country songs, “Get Along” written by Kenneth Arnold Chesney
Recommend a “Spotlight. E-mail vjmrun@yahoo.com
top row from left: Emily’s parents, Ruth & Fred Demshick , brother, Erik
bottom from left: Emily & brother- Ethan with their dog, Tony
click on thumbnails to enlarge
