Whether it’s swaying to jazz or pirouetting on the tips of her toes, expect to find freshman Kylie Chen, one of Oxford’s many exemplary resident dancers, stealing the spotlight with the rhythmic tap of her feet.
Chen began her athletic journey at age four with cheerleading, but after exploring various sports, she discovered her true passion in dance. With an affinity for tap, Chen has been performing and competing in events such as jazz, pointe ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop for 8 years.
“I just like tap. I took classes and got better, so I think that’s one of my best styles out of all of them, so I decided to compete in it. My solo [performance] is tap, and then my group dances are lyrical and jazz,” said Chen.
With a plethora of titles under her belt, such as Dancer of the Year for the Rainbow National Dance Competition, first at Nationals (for her studio) at Las Vegas and performer at OC Fair, Chen has developed a rigorous schedule to keep up with her performances and practices at the Kick It Up dance studio.
For her, a typical week requires around five to six practices, each ranging from two to four hours a day. During the first quarter of the season, she completed over 200 hours of practice. With such a diligent schedule to follow, Chen often has to find a balance between school and dance.
“Sometimes, I’ll [go to practice] immediately after school and end up staying there till nine. Since my studio is pretty chill, I usually do my homework during my breaks in the lobby. Or I’ll go home first.”
Despite the hours of practice she puts in, Chen enjoys every moment of it—some of her favorite memories range from the team’s post-class grocery store runs and picnics and pre-competition joint stretches.
Before competitions, Chen likes to down a Pixie stick, lace up her shoes in a complicated, yet specific, way, and hype herself up. As her competitions occasionally take place at unorthodox timings, such as a 10 pm recital, she chooses to trust the preparation she’s done and the advice from the judges to instead bond with her teammates, often playing mobile games with them before the curtain falls.
As dance is such an important part of her life, Chen wants to continue it in the future.
“I want to [join] a collegiate team. I want to be on, like, some sort of dance team or minor in it some way. But I definitely do want to do tap. I hope to go to a school that has dance.”
