As the music begins, she waits for her cue to start. Counting the steps, she focuses on what part is coming up. 

Junior Rhyonna Robinette moves through the steps with ease, remembering exactly what to do for every beat.

Throughout the intricate choreography, she continuously reminds herself why she lives to dance.

“Dance is kind of like my escape,” Robinette said. “I just go there, and I know that I can come in a bad mood, but then leave in a good mood.”

As a toddler, Robinette’s mother, Heather Robinette, noticed how she enjoyed dancing, even when it was just for fun. Seeing this, she decided to put her in dance classes. 

Once she began her first studio class, Robinette clung to her mother’s side, as it was all new to her. However, with the help of others, she quickly warmed up to what would eventually become what she treasures in life.

Robinette finds joy in dance each day, expressing her feelings through movement. She uses dance as an escape, allowing her to display her passion in each performance.

She spends time every day in a studio, whether it’s practicing with SHS’s dance team or at an outside studio, where she eventually met one of her closest friends, Tenny Hopkins. 

Immediately bonding once they met, Robinette and Hopkins have shared a close friendship

 for nearly 12 years. Hopkins has noticed her growth throughout their time together. 

“We’ve helped each other grow and become stronger and have more confidence in dance and just life in general,” Hopkins said. “I’m really proud of her commitment with the

 dance team and competition dance.”

The friendship she’s had with Hopkins is another factor of what makes each day a good day. They both love the friendship because it isn’t a simple ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye,’ it’s a close bond.

Both Hopkins and Robinette’s mother find dedication to be one of Robinette’s strongest features when it comes to dance. Both of them admire her performance as a dancer and a person.

“You are only as good as your weakest person, so you build that person up so that they’re just as good and perform just as well,” Heather said. “The care, the dedication, the time and the effort that it takes, I’m super proud of her for all of that.”

Aside from spending time with her friends and dancing, Robinette’s favorite part of being in the studio is having the opportunity to teach others.

She teaches a gymnastics class on her own, and as she watches the growth in her group, she’s drawn to eventually teaching choreography for her own studio.  

Whether assisting or filling in for an adult, she is always eager to teach younger classes. With knowing a variety of dance styles, teaching comes easier for her.

But despite the benefits of learning different dance forms, there can still be some challenges. 

Last season, Robinette was put on pain medication for an unexpected back injury. Knowing others needed surgery or had to put an end to their sport, she was worried for the future of her dance career.

“It was really scary because I knew somebody that also had the same kind of injury, and they had to get surgery, and they could never play their sport again,” Robinette said.

Now, after a summer of healing and rest, she has returned to dancing.

Robinette says that while she loves dancing, it can still be frustrating. But she reminds herself of how hard she’s worked to get to where she is today.

“After long rehearsals and frustrating choreography, it sometimes seems pointless because it is too tiring or hard,” Robinette said. “But when I perform, I remember why I love and live to dance and why it was all worth it.”