At three years old, most kids are still working on walking and running. However, for sophomore Raquel Rossi, three was the perfect age to start dance, and dance has been a huge part of her life ever since. She now dances competitively at Allegro Performing Arts Academy as part of the pre-professional dance program.
“It’s a huge time commitment,” Rossi said. “I dance ten to 15 hours a week and oftentimes I get home at ten pm.”
Rossi also spreads her talent to many different styles of dance because she loves the music and variety in style.
“I dance all kinds of styles,” she said, “like tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, ballet, and musical theatre. I also teach dance as well which is really fun!”
Additionally, Rossi’s high skill level has given her lots of opportunities for the future.
“This year, I’ve placed first in three dance competitions,” Rossi said, “and I’ve been offered college scholarships at a lot of conventions, which is super nice.”
Rossi attends many competitions throughout the year to showcase her skill.
“Competing is super tough, but rewarding as well, because we train the same three minute dance every week and perfect it just for a judge to see it once and give us a score,” she said. “Dance is also super subjective, so you have to learn to take scoring seriously but also understand that everyone has a different definition of a winning dance.”