Fire and Ice: Pursuing a Passion for Excellence

FIRE ICE&

PURSUING A Passion FOR Excellence

By Jennifer Turner, Editor & Director of Content

Day by day, the commitment is made: the pre-dawn practice at the ice rink before school, the evening rehearsal at the dance studio after a full day of classes. For two Ashley Hall students, the choice to pursue their passions at the highest levels means keeping a rigorous after-hours schedule that demands time, sacrifice, endurance, and most of all, a personal drive for excellence.

Tallulah Tanner ’28

t is nearly 6:00 a.m. on a Monday morning, and Tallulah Tanner ’28 waits patiently outside the Carolina Ice Palace in North Charleston. As soon as the doors open, she heads straight to a training room to warm up and practice lifts with her pairs skating partner Sam Herbert before lacing up her skates and stepping onto the ice. For the next two hours, she practices spins, jumps, and spirals, first skating singles and then pairs with Herbert.

After a high energy morning on the cold ice, she packs up and heads downtown to start her day as a fifth grader at Ashley Hall. She will repeat the same rigorous schedule for the rest of the school week, but for Tanner, the sacrifice is worth it. “Skating is my passion because my mom is a coach, and I want to follow her steps,” Tanner smiles. “Skating is my life, and that is why I like it so much!”

Skating since she was three years old and often making the podium in singles competitions, Tanner made the decision last January to try pairs skating with Herbert, whom she had known for years and who was coached by her mother. The challenge of attempting something new was also tantalizing; a pairs team had never represented the Figure Skating Club of Charleston. “We started skating pairs in January, and I loved it so much that we kept practicing and eventually found out we were going to a competition,” said Tanner.

The progress they made was astounding, and by early March exciting possibilities seemed to be on the horizon. Then the pandemic struck. Around the world, competitions were cancelled, rinks closed, and the precious ice time Tanner and Herbert needed to practice was lost. However, they were determined to press forward and sought out new ways to practice: virtual strength and agility training with coaches around the nation, backyard jump and lift sessions, and special inline Pic skates that allowed them to replicate the experience of ice skating in driveways and parking lots while baking in the summer heat. The team even traveled to regional rinks that reopened before the Carolina Ice Palace— anything to get back on the ice.

In late summer, their perseverance and hard work were paying off, but then another disaster struck: Tanner broke her foot. Even then, the team would not be stopped, with Tanner wearing an orthopedic boot for their training sessions. “My strength helped me to overcome a lot of things,” she shared. “When I broke my foot, I was afraid, but little by little I was able to skate. I had to re-learn every jump I knew.” Even with a routine limited by Tanner’s healing foot, their talent was on full display during one of the first post-lockdown events, where they garnered rave reviews from U.S. Figure Skating judges. The team earned a spot in the juvenile pairs competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series scheduled to be held in Boston in November 2020, an honor that would make them the first skaters from Charleston to hold a qualifying national rank when the season was over. For a pairs team together less than a year, it was validation of the months of practices, workarounds, healing, and deferred dreams.

Then, less than a week before the competition, Tanner and Herbert received devastating news: the Championship Series was canceled due to a COVID-19 surge. For a team that had given and overcome so much, it was a difficult blow. However, at 6:00 a.m. the next day, they were back on the ice and preparing for the next opportunity to knock. “The good news is that despite the canceled competition, they will be offered the opportunity to participate in high-level competitive programming to be considered for U.S. Figure Skating’s National High Performance Development Team,” said Tiffaney Tanner, Tallulah’s mother. “This is huge. Earning a spot on that team has been one of Sam and Tallulah’s big goals, and they are thankful that this opportunity still exists.”

For Tanner, the postponement was just one more obstacle to pursuing her dreams in the sport she loves. The competitions are only one part of her passion; she has a personal goal of landing a double Lutz and recently got a solo in the local ice show. She is especially thankful for the backing of her friends, family, and teachers, who help make the sacrifices worthwhile. “The best thing about Ashley Hall is that everyone supports me with kindness!” she enthused.

| Ice skates in tow, Tallulah Tanner ’28 heads out Ashley Hall’s Smith Street Gate | Opposite: Callie Cox ’21 visits Ashley Hall’s Gordon Dance Studio, where she took many memorable dance classes. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography | Page 17, L-R: Callie Cox ’21 dances the Cha Cha with Maks Sidak during the Heritage Classic in North Carolina. Photo courtesy the Cox family | Tallulah Tanner ’28 strikes a pose during practice with Sam Herbert. Photo courtesy the Tanner family

Callie Cox ’21

t the age of two, Callie Cox ’21 embarked on dual journeys that have shaped the course of her life: beginning formal dance training and becoming an Ashley Hall girl. Together, they have nurtured her relentless drive to grow as a dancer and pursue a passion that has deepened with age. “Dance is a form of expression, a place to be whomever you want to be with no judgment from anyone,” Cox shared. “It’s a safe place to land after a challenging time, a place to celebrate during the highs of your life, and a place to let out anger and sadness during the lows. My passion for dance comes from the feeling I get with each dance step and piece I choreograph or perform.”

Starting with ballet, Cox quickly knew that she also wanted to study ballroom dancing; as a three year old, she became the youngest student ever at the Charleston branch of the Arthur Murray Dance Studio before moving to International Ballroom Dance Studios, where she has danced for the past twelve years. At age six, she entered her first competition and never looked back; competing on a national level, she has won first place in over one hundred dance heats, second overall in the young adult national rhythm scholarship in New Orleans, and first place in the couple’s solo round at the North Carolina Classic competition. “Currently, I have graduated from both the full bronze and silver categories of American rhythm and standard dances, as well as international dances,” said Cox. “At this point in my life, I am working to finalize my proficiency in gold (top-level) for both American and international ballroom dance styles.”

For sixteen years, Cox concurrently studied ballet and ballroom dance. Even with her indisputable talent and competitive fire, the rigorous schedule of long dance classes most weeknights was highly demanding. Through it all, Ashley Hall has been an important part of her support system. “The community of Ashley Hall is indescribable,” emphasized Cox. “I have grown up with many of my classmates and teachers and truly feel as if they are a part of my family. The School has also always been extremely supportive of my dance career by allowing me the opportunity to bring my dances onto campus and teaching me that I had the strength to do whatever I put my mind to.”

In particular, Performing Arts faculty member Stephanie Christensen was a defining influence. “Ms. Christensen’s dance class was definitely one of the most impactful dance classes I have ever taken,” Cox declared. “Not only did she teach technique but also dance etiquette and what the meaning of being a ‘dancer’ truly is. Through her teaching and guidance, I was able to go to competitions with an understanding of how to interact with other dancers and know during shows how to prepare myself for the best performance possible. Her constant support and training helped me grow not only as a dancer but also as a student and person as a whole.”

Now focused on ballroom dancing, Cox relishes opportunities to stretch her abilities both as a dancer and as a choreographer, including presenting one of her own dances during Ashley Hall’s 2019 Fall Concert. “When I have choreographed a dance and am able to share it with an audience, I am overwhelmed with excitement and happiness because I can share my love for dance with so many different people,” revealed Cox. “Through each dance, I allow myself to be vulnerable and share what I might be experiencing or feeling with each move. If someone relates to me and has a sense of peace and joy while watching my dance, that is truly the greatest prize I could ever receive.”

As a senior, Cox has faced the additional challenges of COVID-19 along with her usual balancing of academics and dance. Because of pandemic restrictions, she was unable to train at her dance studio from late March until early August yet still maintained her own training schedule at home. Next fall, she plans to take with her that same commitment to her lifelong passion to Baylor University, where she hopes to major in education with a focus in English as a second language and eventually teach abroad after graduation. While she will not be majoring in a dancerelated field, Cox looks forward to the opportunity to compete for a Texas dance company throughout college. “In college, I feel dance will continue to be my outlet and a constant support system for me,” she affirmed. “I want to continue dancing throughout my life because it brings me joy, peace, and happiness. It has shaped me into the person I am today and has opened up so many doors that would have remained closed. On the dance floor, you are a part of a special community unlike any other, and through each competition and dance, I am able to experience and meet new people from all over the world and form relationships that I never would have been able to have, had it not been for ballroom dancing.”