From age 10 to 10th grade, Lauren Hasty has known that dancing would be a long-term passion for her. She describes being on stage as a moment where the music and the dance click together to connect with the audience.
“I think it’s a way that you can express yourself without words,” Hasty said. “I think it’s very relieving, and it’s just my happy place.”
For the past 14 years, Hasty has practiced and mastered the craft of dancing, and at 16 years old, she has aspirations to integrate it into her future.
At just 2 years old, Hasty’s mom, Jamie, recognized her daughter’s rhythmic talent and her tendency to put on a show, so she put her into classes at Tippy Toes School of Dance, learning
the basics of the styles of tap and ballet.
“She’s always been the life of the party,” Jamie said. “So I just thought dance class is where she needed to be, because she always was moving and always dancing.”
By age 6, Hasty decided she wanted to begin competing and transitioned to Style Dance Academy in Franklin. She now competes in an array of dance styles, including contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap, acrobatic, musical theater and lyrical. Contemporary is her favorite style to perform, and she frequently does this one the most.
Hasty practices over twelve hours a week, with each practice ranging from thirty minutes to six hours a night. Despite this already busy schedule, Hasty also participates in track, cheer and Cardinal Cadre, meaning that often the only time she can find to do schoolwork is during the fifteen-minute breaks provided by the studio during long practices or in iPass.
However, along with her love for the activity comes the pressure she puts on herself, and she does have her bad days. To deal with these times, she meditates every morning and participates in the yoga classes provided by her studio.
Another constant pillar of support during her dance journey has been the help and encouragement of her mom, Jamie, who has always driven her daughter to practices and out-of-state competitions, helped with hair and makeup and provided emotional support.
“She’s always my biggest fan (and) my biggest supporter,” Hasty said. “ She always tells me no matter what, she’s always going to be proud of me.”
Jamie says that her proudest memory from Hasty’s dance journey was watching her do her first solo at just 8 years old. During a competition in Chicago, she performed a lyrical performance to the song “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus.
“She just went up there with such elegance and grace and just was so beautiful,” Jamie said.
Hasty plans on finishing out her high school dance career at Style Dance Academy and eventually continue competing by joining a college team, where she will likely continue competing and explore the genre of pom dance, where pom-poms are the main focus.
Despite only having two years left in high school, Hasty doesn’t see herself letting go of dance anytime soon.
“When she’s up there, she forgets about everything else, and she just puts her whole heart out, and she dances, and that’s her life,” Jamie said. “That’s her passion.”
