By Reeva Askar, Jenna Baker, and Samantha Rupnik
Sophomore Diana Davtyan’s love of dance started at the young age of three years old. Since her first dance class, she has been at the same dance studio her entire career.
“I like to dance because it is a way for me to be myself and have fun. It allows me to be confident and push myself in positive ways which leads me to happiness. Dancing brings people together and creates creativity and joy amongst them. Dance is something that I will always be passionate about and will constantly be a part of my life,” Davtyan said.
New to the school this year, Davtyan is taking the dance class on campus along with her academic classes. She is currently enrolled in all honors classes with a strong GPA on top of practicing dance outside of school as well.
Academics as well as art are particularly important to Davtyan.
Davtyan was captain of the JV dance team and on the frosh/soph volleyball team at Kennedy High School, but is focusing on her outside dance program now that she is at Granada Hills Charter (GHC).
“I believe I earned my spot as team captain last year at my old school because I helped my teammates and peers whenever I had the chance. It was a significant time for me to partake in such a role and have the knowledge of how to be a team captain,” Davtyan said.
Dancing is about the art of movement as much as it is about the people Davtyan dances with.
Davtyan enjoys the dance class as well as the environment that comes with it. She feels the girls in her class are very strong and get along great.
“The school dance class is relaxing compared to my outside dancing which is more stressful with concerts. In beginner dance, I can relax and truly enjoy dancing. The class is both comforting and delightful,” Davtyan said.
Davtyan feels she stands out as a dancer due to her positive mindset. Even when she is dancing with a team or a group, she is the one who makes sure to encourage the others to help them perform their best.
“I feel like I’m very positive and when something bad happens I keep a positive mindset. I’ve seen other dancers that get negative, but I keep a positive attitude with myself and towards others,” Davtyan said.
Although Davtyan performs several styles of dance including international dances, jazz, hiphop, and more, she is most confident in her hip hop skills. She finds that it’s easier to freestyle in this genre of dance than any other.
“While pursuing dance as a career is an option for me, I would rather it be a side job. In the future, I would like to have my own job and studies but still dance. If that doesn’t work out I will always keep dance as a hobby because it is something I love to do,” Davtyan said.
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