Page 5 - April-May HER

5 APRIL HER
HER Feature
Local dancer leaps to new heights
Story by Felisha Butler, photography by
Grace Brown
Chicago is the next stop for 18-year-old Hayley Mitchell as she packs her bags and takes
her passion for dance to the next level at Columbia College this fall. With 16 years of experience under her feet, the art of dance has contin- ually played a significant role in the Hot Springs senior’s life.
“It’s something where if I have any issues going on in life and I’m stressed out, I’ll just go and dance,” she said. “It’ll clear my mind, and it’s something I really enjoy. It really helps me get through things and relaxes me. It helps me open up — especially if I’m performing in front of a crowd that hasn’t really been exposed to dance as much.
“There are different ways you can portray stories through dance. When we’re doing something that’s pretty meaningful — in school, we’ll do student choreography — and we’ll try to interpret a poem or a piece of artwork through our dance. It’s really cool to try to portray that to an audience that hasn’t been ex- posed to something like that.”
Even before enrolling dance classes at the age of 3, Mitchell cred- its her grandmother as the source that kick-started her love as she tagged along to her clogging group.
“I started when I was about 2 years old, dancing with my grand- ma,” she said. “She used to clog. She got me into that so I started clogging and then as I got older, I was just more interested in different styles of dance. From there, I did jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop, modern.”
Mitchell started “pointe” at 9 years old, a technique where danc- ers stand on the tips of their toes in soft ballet shoes. Attending dance studios around town from a young age, she joined the Hot Springs Children’s Dance Theatre Company at 11 years old and participated in multiple productions. Soon enough, Mitchell reached a turning point as dance became prestigious and time-consuming activity.
“‘Cinderella,’ ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘(The) Nutcracker’ — multiple times — ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’” she said. “We worked with professional dancers that come from all over the U.S. ... They would teach master classes and we could see how they
HER MAGAZINE ¯ APRIL/MAY 2020 5