Elsa Wirth ’11

Hometown: Zurich, Switzerland

Elsa Wirth grew up in Switzerland, speaking mostly English at home and Swiss German in school. Since her mother is American and her father is Swiss German, Elsa always entertained the idea of coming to study in the U.S. “The U.S. also seemed a good choice since double-majoring is not possible in Switzerland, and I plan to double-major in dance and neuroscience.”

Elsa’s passion for dance started when she was about eight. She has practiced several forms over the years—ballet, flamenco, hip-hop—and for the past two years has been belly dancing. Elsa hopes to focus her dance studies at Mount Holyoke on choreography. “My dream is to combine different forms of dance and create a new whole,” she said. “The important thing to me is movement because I think it is necessary to find a balance between intellect—working with your head—and physicality—working with your body.” She also is interested in neuroscience. “I am a person who feels a need to know how things work,” she said. “I feel that neuroscience is a growing art; it’s something that’s alive.”