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Schools

Whiz Kid: Alex Hardy Lives to Dance

Rising GHS junior wins a scholarship to a two-week dance intensive in New York and places third in a national competition.

Last year, Alex Hardy spent seven hours every weekday at Geneva Community High School, just like any other student. But when the final bell rang, she didn't catch the bus or head down the street to Mike & Miguel's.  

She danced.   

For 20 to 25 hours a week, Hardy, now 16, trained with M&M Dance Company. "At school, you have to do the exact same thing every day, but you could do whatever you wanted when you went to dance class," Hardy said.

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And when it came to dance, there was nothing she didn't want to do.

"I do jazz, lyrical, ballet. I do a little tap, musical theater, hip hop, pointe—yeah, I do everything," she said, laughing graciously at her passion for all things dance.

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Her whole-hearted commitment has paid off. Hardy received a Triple Threat scholarship to the New York City Dance Alliance's two-week intensive in August, where she'll be one of 100 dancers selected from across the nation. There, she'll learn from top coaches and dance for up to 12 hours a day.

"That's a lot, but it's going to be fun," said Hardy, who will be in New York for the first time. "I don't know what to expect yet."

"You'll be fine," said her mother, Joan Hardy. "We've traveled across the country for dance."

"But not apart," Alex added. She's competed as far away as Las Vegas, and she won big at a competition closer to home in June. At MOVE Productions' national dance competition in Chicago, Alex's lyrical solo to Not Alone beat all other dancers her age. She was 15 at the time. 

She placed third in the overall senior category with the same routine, and she loved every second she spent alone onstage. "I know that everyone's watching me, and I can do my own thing and put my own spin to the dance," she said.

M&M Dance had become her home away from home, particularly because of owner Michelle Miller, whom she called an inspiration and a "second mom."  But being at the studio so often didn't allow Hardy much time to be a typical high school student. "She tried to do things here and there, even became part of a couple clubs," said Joan.

After trying to balance school and dance for years, Alex decided it was finally time to say goodbye to her dance company. She auditioned for the high school dance team and made varsity along with 15 other young women, most of whom she's danced with before.  

"She gets to reconnect with them," said Joan. "Being part of a team, you just can't change that. You can't supply the same thing at a private studio that you can at a school."

And Alex is already enjoying her new teammates. They just returned from a four-day dance camp where they focused on team bonding. "We got a lot closer than we were at the beginning of the summer," Alex said.

She hopes to stay on the team through senior year, giving her a taste of what it might be like to dance on a collegiate team someday.  

After college, Alex said she'd love to move to Los Angeles and find work on TV shows or a cruise ship, but she's careful not to get ahead of herself.

As Joan said, "we're going to just take it as it is and see how it goes."

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