On New Year’s Eve, ELHS senior Jazmin Hall performed an extravagant show at Mohegan Sun for an audience of thousands. Her talent has been noticed by Broadway scouts, and she’s been requested to audition on numerous occasions. These tremendous opportunities have helped Hall realize recently that dance is a passion she can turn into a livable career. According to mistysdance.com only 3 percent of dancers can make it to the professional level.
As intimidating as this number is for Hall, the fact that she has a shot at being a part of this 3 percent is more than she could ever have dreamt of.
In the mesmerizing world of dance, brilliant spins and intricate moves can invoke a childlike wonder. Dance connects an audience to the performer; the beats that echo in each movement reflect and unfold a personal journey on the stage. Painting a picture of experience with movement through her rhythmic footsteps, Hall uses dance as a form of expression, watering her family’s deep roots in the art form.
“My family loves to dance and always has. My grandma danced, my grandpa danced, my dad danced, and everyone in our family has a connection to dance and music,” Hall said.
With the help of this family influence, Hall began taking dance classes at the early age of 2. Her inevitable dance career began at the Kickstand Center, a small independent dance studio located here in East Lyme.
At Kickstand Center, Hall took lessons in all styles, everything from Jazz to hip-hop.
This early exposure to different styles has translated to an immense amount of versatility in Hall’s dance.
“My versatility has helped me now with getting jobs because being more versatile makes you more valuable as a dancer,” Hall said.
Having a diverse background means the difference between having to learn a new move versus already knowing it. This difference can save weeks of time in the performance industry. This is why, when looking back, Hall is forever grateful for her experiences at Kickstand Center. For Hall, the studio represents a time when dance was fun and non-competitive for her. It was a community of individuals with the same passion as her, dancing simply because they enjoyed it. Kickstand Center was a nostalgic time when dance was just a hobby, where a wrong step garnered an innocent laugh rather than now, where a misplaced foot could cost a future opportunity.
At an early age, Hall displayed a unique kind of disciplined creativity in her dance. None of her peers possessed the same mastery of tempo, rhythm, time, and expression. She was an outlier among a relatively clumsy crowd from the start.
“As a kid, I was definitely getting a lot more awards than other kids,” Hall said.
At the age of just 10, Hall won one of the largest local open talent shows with her own choreography. Her list of achievements has grown since then and now encompasses gigs 10-year-old Jazmin would only dream of.
“When I think about my future and what I want to do with my life, I think dance can be a part of that. I’m very fortunate, not every person can make dance a career, and the fact that I have that chance makes me very happy,” Hall said.
But the number of dancers who make it professional is low for a reason. Dance is one of the most mentally and physically draining sports. Stress is at an all-time high, knowing that one wrong step could cost you all your dreams is a simply terrifying thought. But as Hall said previously, in order to make it big, staying in the moment is key. Being proud of each achievement, whether that’s winning a local talent show or securing a Broadway audition. Each step is progress towards a bigger dream of continuing dance as a career.
For Jazmin Hall that dream has been in her heart since the first day she stepped foot into Kickstand Center.
