The Sky Meets the Stage

Picture this: you’re in the studio, mid-rehearsal, trying to nail that triple pirouette—and suddenly someone starts talking about sandhill cranes. At first you’re like, “Uh, birds?” But then you find out there's this dancer at the University of Montana who's turning wildlife into choreography, and suddenly birds seem... kind of awesome?

Enter Taylor Ferguson: ballerina, wildlife biology major, and all-around powerhouse. She’s out here blending passions and proving that yes, you can perform greatness on stage and in the field with a pair of binoculars.

“I didn’t want to give either one up,” Taylor says, and she didn’t have to. She’s juggling both majors, plus a dance wellness certificate, and somehow staying on track to graduate on time.

Her favorite project? A dance called The Sedge, inspired by sandhill cranes — birds she studied during a summer course. She even taught her dancers about crane behavior before rehearsals. “Art is such a universal communicator,” she says. “It helps people connect to science in a new way.”

The dance got great reviews at a regional conference, with one judge saying it gave her “the sense of soaring.” For Taylor, that was huge.

And when it comes to choosing between dance and wildlife biology? “You can’t make me choose,” she laughs. And honestly, why should she?

Want to see how she moves like a crane? Check out the full story at the University of Montana’s site.https://www.umt.edu/news/2025/06/060525sand.php