Student Spotlight
Section 1
Thursday, March 12, 2020 • The Times Business & Industry Review
Shaw Media | Scott Anderson
Ottawa High School senior Alicia Graham practices her dance routine during Ottawa High School Pirate Poms practice at the high school. Graham started dance lessons at age 3 and most recently starred in The Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra’s “The Nutcracker” as the lead of Clara.
Alicia Graham
Giving her all onstage OHS student’s passion for dance began at age 3 BRENT BADER bbader@shawmedia.com 815-431-4045 When Alicia Graham steps onto the stage, she leaves fear and doubts behind. And some of herself as well. Alicia said when she’s in the moment, it’s about nothing more than giving her best performance. “When I go onstage, I don’t black out but ...” Alicia said before taking a pause. “It’s hard to explain. It takes over, and you just do it. You feel the music and you flow with it and you express your emotion through that music,” she said of her performances with Gray’s School of Dance. The 18-year-old Ottawa High School student dances with Ottawa High School Pirate Poms and has participated in The Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra’s “The Nutcracker” ballet five times. She’s passionate about dance, but it wasn’t always easy. And there was a long stretch of time where she didn’t want to be dancing at all. Alicia was first introduced to dance at age 3 by her mother, Laurie, who said she wanted to find an activity for Alicia. She was interested in a Barbie dancing movie as a toddler, which served
as some of the inspiration. Alicia started at Gray’s School of Dance, and it didn’t quite connect with her at first. “I didn’t like it, honestly,” Alicia said with a smile. “I didn’t. I begged my mom to quit until the third or fourth grade.” Alicia said part of it was watching the older girls perform more advanced moves while she was learning the basics as well as having more of an interest in sports. But she admits she lacked the talent. Alicia’s naturally arched feet make dancing easier for her, but still required a significant amount of practice to master. Laurie encouraged her to continue. “She always loved watching the older girls dance at basketball games,” Laurie said. “And it was a tough conversation to have with an 8-year-old that if you want to do this in high school, you have to stick with it.” Alicia did, and when she finally received her first pair of “point shoes,” which is when she began dancing on the tips of her toes, it all clicked for her. That’s when instructors such as Lisa Lemke at Gray’s School of Dance began to notice the “phenomenal” talent Alicia had. Lisa said Alicia was able to take
comments from instructors and quickly correct herself. “She’s an extremely hard worker and a perfectionist,” Lisa said. “We’ll teach stuff and then she will perfect it, tweak little things.” “Every dance teacher dreams of having a student like that,” she later added of Alicia’s skill. Alicia’s quick learning and work ethic had her dancing with high school students while still in the sixth grade and performed in “The Nutcracker” ballet with many of them. “I had never done a lot of those steps before, but it worked out. I got to be in the front,” Alicia said of her performance onstage. Still, it didn’t all come easy to Alicia. She recalled many stumbles and struggles before being able to fully dance on the tips of her toes within the first year of receiving her shoes, a rare feat. “It took a lot of work but I was very determined. I was like, ‘I really, really want this,’ ” Alicia recalled. Laurie also recalled her daughter’s hard work ethic. “I think, as a parent, you just want your child to find something that they love even on a day when it doesn’t go well,” Laurie said.
See GRAHAM, page A3
“
It’s hard to explain. It takes over, and you just do it. You feel the music and you flow with it and you express your emotion through that music.
”