Lizette Rivera knows how it feels to be lifted by her community.
As a student at Sunset High School, dance gave her a stage, her teachers gave her guidance, and her classmates gave her encouragement. Now, as a first-year dance teacher at Robert T. Hill Middle School, she is returning to the district that helped shape her, teaching dance and career prep classes.
“My high school dance teachers inspired me to continue doing dance as an educator,” she said. “I hope to be that person for my students. I hope to inspire them to try new things and to see the possibilities that exist for their careers.”
Rivera’s love for performing didn’t start on a traditional stage. It began on game days under her school’s stadium floodlights. As a freshman, she joined Sunset’s cheer team before moving to the dance team.
“I joined dance my first year, but it wasn’t until senior year that everything clicked,” she said. “It was hard in the beginning, but improvement came with hard work. I kept going because I knew I loved performing and showing school spirit.”
Her time on the dance team and in other school activities introduced her to lasting friendships and teachers who became mentors. Many of those teachers also built relationships with her family, creating what Rivera describes as a safe space to grow.
“I’ve always kept in touch with my high school teachers,” she said. “They were my mentors in dance and supported me in anything I wanted to do. At Sunset, I met my true friends, and I still return as an alumna to volunteer and share my experiences.”
After graduating high school, Rivera continued her training with a scholarship to Trinity Valley Community College, where she was a part of the Cardettes, a competitive drill team in Texas. She transferred to Texas Woman’s University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in dance in 2025 with minors in psychology and education.
As a student teacher in Dallas ISD, she gained hands-on experience at W.H. Adamson High School and W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy. These experiences gave her the confidence to step into her own classroom immediately after college.
She is now helping to build legacies by shaping the next generation of dancers, just as her teachers shaped her. Beyond technique and performance, she hopes to show her students that dance can be an outlet for an active and healthy lifestyle.
“It feels good coming back to Dallas ISD,” Rivera said. “Because I actually never left.”
