Dancing on - Dallas ISD hosts summer dance intensive

A lifelong dancer who bounced back from an injury, Riah H. understands what it’s like to start over. 

“I never really got back out there, so I had to start from the beginner level,” she said. “That was very humbling for me, and I learned a lot. I exceeded so much in my journey, and I had to come back down and start over.”

“Jazz is fun. It makes me happy,” she said. “Sometimes when I do contemporary, it connects with me, and I like that feeling.”

In fact, the shared connection with her peers is Camila’s takeaway from her experience at the dance intensive.

“My favorite part of the camp is meeting people and connecting with them about how much we love dance,” Camila said.

A member of the North Dallas High School dance team, Riah’s advice to dancers younger than her is to just go for it.

“Don’t be in your head. A lot of the work is you just doing it. Believe in yourself and keep trying,” Riah said. “You’re going to mess up because that’s a part of it. But you have to know when to get up and keep going.”

It’s a sentiment Camila shares.

“Even though it’s a lot of hard work and there’s a lot of movement, don’t give up. Keep moving forward,” she said.