Bryn Wertz was a light, radiating every room. Now, even after her passing, that light continues to spread, igniting a legacy of kindness and passion in those who never met her. “Bryn’s smile is something that always stayed with me,” Holly Horton, Bryn’s teacher, recalled. Bryn was a passionate dancer with a bright personality. She radiated kindness at school, greeting everyone with a genuine smile and making all feel welcome. “In short, she made us better,” wrote Suzanne Eicholtz, Heritage’s head counselor. The talent she had as a ballerina was undeniable, and her passing in 2020 left a hole in her community. In response, her friends and their mothers founded a foundation to honor her cherished memory.
To commemorate Bryn as a dancer within the dance community, the foundation’s initial mission was to grant scholarships for annual summer dancing intensives. However, as time passed, the foundation created more campaigns and scholarships to honor Wertz, initiating the Legacy Award and Bee the Light campaign at Heritage. “We want to honor her as a Heritage student and just an amazing woman of character,” exclaimed Kimberly Poole, a founder of the foundation.
Thriving and improving her talent, Bryn often spent her summers dancing at different prestigious ballet intensives. She was always so excited to go and meet new people and dance. With a very specific focus, Poole and others started the annual summer intensive scholarship to represent Bryn as a ballerina. Designed to give back to the dance community, it provided dancers like Bryn with opportunities to strengthen their talent. The scholarships allow dancers to participate in approved summer ballet intensives, much like the ones Bryn had attended, by awarding $500-$1000 to passionate and extraordinary dancers.
Choosing the scholarship recipients were women who were very close to Bryn. Over the years, the Scholarship Review Panel has included Karla Garcia, Taryn Smithson, Cameron Nugent, Cassidy (Burk) Stout, Ariana Schott, and Courtney Collier all of whom are accomplished women who had the pleasure of teaching Bryn during her time at the Dance Academy of Loudoun. Taryn Smithson, particularly, danced alongside Bryn’s older sister since she was young and grew close to Bryn as a sister, nicknaming her “Lil Bit”, and even though she was older, looked up to her as a dancer. “It is beautiful getting to give back to the dance community we both grew up in,” Smithson said, allowing dancers the opportunity to “enhance” their training by going to world-renowned programs where they can be enriched and further improve their dancing.
As a panel board member, Smithson aims to pick dancers that best represent Bryn as a dancer and a person. Someone with beautiful lines and toes pointed to the floor; as well as, a dancer who does it because they love dance and not just for the victory.
Smithson said, “I always look for dancers who have that selfless, humble, quality that Bryn did.” By continuing this foundation and scholarship, Smithson and others can continue spreading her legacy in the dance world by awarding other talented dancers.
The annual summer intensive scholarships not only honor Bryn as a dancer but also help them improve their skills. By winning the scholarship, winners can afford and attend prestigious ballet programs that otherwise would be extremely expensive; in addition to having the opportunity to experience the dance world for themselves, they are given the chance to dance alongside other talented dancers and train with remarkable teachers.
Current Professional Division student at the School of Nashville Ballet, Hailey Goodwin was a scholarship recipient and is an example of this impact. She has done incredible things, like dancing alongside the second company of Nashville Ballet in the 2024 Nashville Dance Festival and performing in two pieces: “Bronze” by Maria Konrad and “Beyond” by Adji Cissoko. Winning the scholarship three times, she had the opportunity to attend the Rock School for Dance 2021, Philadelphia Ballet 2022, and Sarasota Ballet 2023. Goodwin remarked how each school improved her dancing and allowed her to make incredible friendships and shape the extraordinary dancer she is today, explaining that, “receiving training from world-renowned teachers was incredible and such an amazing opportunity.” Dancing alongside Bryn, Goodwin experienced the joy that radiated off of her. Receiving the scholarship, Goodwin was able to show her appreciation for having the opportunity to dance at many prestigious schools by spreading Bryn’s legacy. “I will forever be grateful for knowing Bryn and all of her joy, and especially grateful for the Bryn Wertz Ballet Foundation for always supporting my dancing dreams.”
Similarly to Goodwin, Emma Millar has also won the Bryn Wertz Ballet Foundation in 2023 and 2024 and was just announced as the 2025 scholarship winner. She used this opportunity to dance at the Rock School of Dance and Cincinnati Ballet. Being able to grow as a dancer and continue pursuing her passion made Millar extremely grateful to receive the scholarship.
Bryn’s impact wasn’t just felt in the studio but to all those around her. She was more than a dancer, she was a student, a sister, a daughter, a friend, and an outstanding woman. After starting the foundation, the board members wanted to create a scholarship that would represent Bryn’s legacy at Heritage High School. This is where a couple of staff members, who knew Bryn personally, choose one senior each year that best displays or exemplifies Bryn’s qualities. Funded by the foundation, the chosen senior can use the money for college and the future.
Heritage High School’s head counselor, Suzanne Eicholtz, shared that the staff committee chooses seniors who reflect Bryn’s bright spirit. The awardee is someone kind, compassionate, respectful, inclusive, and who also brings the same light and positivity to people around them as Bryn did. All of which past winners Emma Beal, Addie Beene, and Jamie Kaine perfectly represented. “By awarding this scholarship, Bryn’s impact not only remains but grows as it is remembered through the character and legacy of the honoree as well,” Eicholtz wrote.
Complementing the Legacy Award, the foundation started another campaign to honor her vibrant spirit. Bryn’s birthday was in October and instead of celebrating one day, the whole month was a celebration. Poole said, “She was just fun and funny that way.” Inspired by this, the foundation decided to make the entire month a Bryn Campaign to honor her character. Radiating a positive energy, always smiling, and greeting everyone, inspired the foundation’s campaign, ‘Be the Light,’ is a perfect reflection of her character. Given her beloved nickname, ‘Bee,’ the phrase transformed into ‘Bee the Light.’ As Poole noted, “It’s like everything
came together.” Commemorative shirts featuring a bee, drawn by Bryn’s sister and mirroring the etching on her headstone, were created to support the campaign.
Beyond shirt sales, which support the scholarship fund, the ‘Bee the Light’ campaign sought to engage Bryn’s high school, Heritage. This initiative, now in its third year, has been enthusiastically embraced by the school. Every year, teachers nominate students who embody Bryn’s kindness and compassion. The award isn’t about grades or accomplishments; it’s about recognizing students who share Bryn’s inner light. They stand out for their consistent acts of kindness and genuine benevolence towards everyone they encounter. Eicholtz expresses it’s simply incredible to celebrate students who embody Bryn’s qualities: her radiant compassion, unwavering kindness, and overall luminous spirit. “We are grateful for this special way to show our appreciation for their character and the positive impact that they make each day.”
The campaign itself is very unique: from the shirts they give to the message it spreads. Choosing to be an amazing human by spreading positivity and motivating all those around her to be positive is what Bryn was about. Poole explained how as a foundation, they wanted to make sure the campaign and shirts were very true to who Bryn was. “We always try to make sure the integrity of the foundation is strong and also just have that fidelity to who she is.”
By gifting and selling these shirts, the foundation actively keeps Bryn’s memory alive, showcasing the essence of who she was and choosing to celebrate her legacy. Students and dancers who never even knew Bryn wear these shirts and feel excited to have something that connects them to her. Many of Bryn’s friends who are now in college can wear a piece of who she was even as they get older. For Poole, the greatest joy stems from witnessing the happiness these shirts bring, continuing to spread Bryn’s legacy and positivity. “This is an opportunity to continue her legacy and let us warm our hearts and bring comfort through that.” It encourages people to brighten others’ day, and by giving shirts out, her memory and warmth will constantly remind others to be like her.
Bryn’s influence extends to places outside Loudoun County, like the New York City Dance Alliance (NYCDA), a place that held special meaning for her. Poole’s daughter and Bryn spent many summers attending the New York City Dance Alliance, a prestigious dance organization in New York, where they danced and made many memories. This past year, in honor of Bryn, the NYCDA awarded scholarships which the Bryn Wertz Ballet Foundation funds.
Her spirit now lives on through these scholarships, resonating within the dance community and beyond. As time passes, fewer of those who are chosen for the scholarships and campaigns know Bryn and know the impact she made on people’s lives. Fewer scholarship recipients personally know Bryn, and while that is inevitable, the hope is that those who may not know her are still able to relate to who she was and spread the same warmth she did. That in the future, Bryn’s character will continue to inspire and create a positive impact, even if she becomes less widely known.
While it is hard not to grieve over a loved one, this shouldn’t and doesn’t halt life’s progression; instead, it strengthens community bonds. Loudoun County fosters a unique support network, a support group of family members and friends of those who have lost someone; giving closure to those navigating loss. When Bryn passed, her mother, Poole, friends, and family became intertwined in that group, where they can reach out for support or inspiration and vice versa. For instance, La Villa Roma, a pizza place, has hosted an event called “Pointe me to the Pizza” which contributes to the funds for the scholarships.
The Bryn Wertz Ballet Foundation embodies this spirit, turning grief into a celebration of Bryn’s life: to support one another. The goal is to create a momentum of remembrance that unites people, helping them find joy amidst sorrow. As Poole expresses, “It’s a pain, but it’s a joy because you can choose to find joy, and that’s helping to keep their legacy there.” To be thankful for getting to make those memories and having that person in your life, the Bryn Wertz Ballet Foundation is a reminder to take advantage of moments with peers to go out of your way to talk to someone, to compliment them, and to take every chance to make a memory.
Even though Bryn is not here, she is still making an impact on her teachers, friends, and those who have won her award. Her dancing was angelic and ethereal, Smithson remarked, adding how Bryn never failed to make every room better with her presence and her joy. “When I was on Cats, her picture was always at my dressing room table to remind me that she was always not only dancing alongside me but cheering so loudly from the front row.” Even as a teacher, Smithson carries Bryn’s values with her: empowering students to embrace hard work, finding joy in their pursuits, and to strive to better themselves.
Scholarship recipients and friends Hailey Goodwin and Emma Millar, both of whom danced alongside her, were also heavily impacted by Bryn. Specifically, Goodwin said she continues Bryn’s legacy through her dancing, doing her best and always being grateful for every time she is in the studio. She also tries to be the person who Bryn was to her: a ray of light. Goodwin spreads positivity to all those in the studio just the way Bryn had.
Similarly with Millar, who said she wears a special ribbon on her dance team jacket representing Bryn, carrying her spirit and dancing in her honor at every competition.
Even her teachers at school felt her warmth. “You never know how many people you can impact,” Horton said. “Something as simple as a smile and a friendly comment can change a person’s day.” Wertz’s positivity was felt by all. She affected everyone she interacted with and was the biggest cheerleader.
The light that Bryn exuded made everyone feel cared about. She took the extra time to make eye contact and smile. She was a welcoming person, and through the foundation’s unwavering dedication, Bryn’s radiant spirit continues to inspire, reminding us that even the smallest acts of kindness can leave an enduring legacy.
All photos provided by Kimberly Poole
