By Renae Brown

   “It’s really amazing how people can … express (themselves) without using their words,” said Anna DeLany, competitive dancer and Tempe Preparatory Academy freshman.

   Anna attends the Chandler Dance Studio, where she spends five hours a day attending 13 different classes throughout the weekdays and rehearsing for performances on the weekends. Competitions every two to three weeks can result in even longer days. 

   While her favorite style of dance is contemporary, a modern style with few regulations, and her second favorite is jazz, where tricks involving leg work and tumbling are incorporated, Anna participates in every kind of dance from ballroom to hip hop. 

   For the short term, Anna works on flexibility, but she has her sights set on a dancing career. Ideally, she wants to attend the Juilliard School, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the world, or perform in the Rockettes, a New York dance company. 

    Her dance competitions often take place at Higley High School, where she and her team compete with choreographed dances and, at the end of the contest, receive awards based on their production.

   Presently, Anna’s dances include topics such as depression, mental health and control or lack thereof. 

   Choreographers for Anna include the owner of the studio and some who are hired, one of whom, Mark Villaver, is a previous backup dancer for Taylor Swift. Anna, among three teams of 12-15 people, participates in his dance titled “Somebody to Love.”

   Anna’s mother attends her contests, watching all day. Her sister and father also watch.

   Meanwhile, “the love and the passion for (dance)” motivates Anna to continue her time-consuming, yet loved combination of sport and art, dance.