photo by Shannon Richardson

The Dancer

more resources

Related Stories:

A Behind-the-scenes look at the million dollar show

Kids, Inc. Growing Strong

From Easel to Exhibition

Share This:

Haley Anderson wants her pointe shoes. Badly. At 13 years old, she is fiercely dedicated to dancing, and the pain of it is no matter to her.

“You have to take a year of pre-pointe, which gets your feet ready for it,” she says, wide-eyed and eager to talk dance. “My friends say it hurts, but they’re so pretty on their pointe shoes, even if they mess up.”

Haley started ballet and tap when she was five years old, when most little girls have energy to expend and enjoy a wardrobe of costumes. Born in Lubbock where her parents met, Haley moved to Amarillo briefly before relocating to Ft. Polk, Louisiana, where her father was stationed for several years. The Anderson family moved back to Amarillo in April 2008 – at the end of Haley’s sixth grade year - while Staff Sergeant Keith Anderson completes his 15-month deployment in Iraq.

“My husband is active duty Army, so when he got deployed last July, we moved back home to be around family,” says Regina, mother to Haley and two-year-old Will. “Our moves have been minimal compared to other military families, but we’ll be moving to San Antonio when he gets back.”

“Yeah, they have horses on the base there,” Haley interjects. “I’m so excited. Whenever Dad comes home, we ride horses in the canyon. That’s our thing we do before he leaves.”

It’s when we go from dancing to Dad that her expression changes. She’s a Daddy’s Girl, and you can see the anticipation in her eyes – only two more months until he comes home.

“This is the longest period of time that Keith’s been gone. It’s just been a difficult year,” says Regina, who has relied on help from her family to watch Will or tote Haley back and forth to dance class. “It’s hard to explain until you live it. You just try to push through. But we’re on the home stretch. The end is within site.”

Undoubtedly, dance has been a coping mechanism for Haley. After spending the summer in Germany last year, touring Nuremburg and Bamberg, soaking in the last few weeks they’d have with Keith before his deployment, the Anderson family – minus one – returned to Amarillo searching for something to pass the time.

That something turned out to be the Lone Star Ballet, where Haley started dancing a year ago.

“Haley is a strong young lady,” boasts Vicki McLean, Director of Dance at the LSB and Haley’s teacher. “She is so dedicated to her work and never complains. She has a lot of desire for it, and sometimes the desire outweighs the talent. It doesn’t in her case. I think this is something her dad can be proud of.”

Like any form of expression, dance is an outlet, giving Haley a means of controlling emotion and throwing her entire self into a performance.

“I know she worries about her dad, but she can come here and have a time that’s all her own,” says Vicki. “Escape to the ballet, as we say.”

Haley enjoyed participating in her first production, “Time Steps: Rock of the Ages,” with the LSB in April, which took ballet-goers on a time-traveling trip through 30 years of music.

“It was really neat because one minute we were in the 60s at a slumber party and then we were hippies in the 70s,” she says, on the edge of her seat, fidgety and excited. “For the 80s we danced to ‘Thriller.’ I loved my 70s costume because it was all colorful. And then at the end, everyone came out in their different costumes and we danced to ‘We Will Rock You.’”

She’s beaming, proud of herself and hungry for more. Her mother sits to the side smiling equally as wide. Not only has dance been a means of expression and building self-confidence, it’s been just the distraction Haley has needed.

“It’s definitely helped because it’s taken my mind off Dad being gone. I still think about him everyday and I miss him, but dance gives me something else to think about,” says Haley.

In fact, she has to think about it a lot since adding additional dance classes to her already busy schedule. Along with ballet, Haley takes tap and jazz, musical theater and hip hop classes at the LSB. You can find her in the studio six days a week.

“They find that the discipline and the structure in a dance class is similar to what they would get in athletics,” says Angela Knapp, LSB Director of Marketing and Development. “It’s a fabulous release. I can’t imagine what Haley’s going through. I’d find that if I was stressed or had a lot on my mind, I’d step into the studio and it’d be gone.”

Contact with SSG Anderson hasn’t been entirely void. In addition to seeing him at Christmas, the family keeps in contact via email, sending care packages and occasionally muddling through a poorly-connected webcam. In turn, he sent his family a “Day in the Life” video to enjoy during their separation. The family watches it often, as it allows little Will to see the father he barely knows.

“It’s heart-wrenching to see them watch him, but it’s nice that we have that ability through technology,” says Regina.

When Haley’s not dancing, she’s drawing, helping with her little brother, or reading her beloved Harry Potter books. She’s a dedicated student looking forward to being on the yearbook staff and participating in debate.

“It’s been really hard because he’s not getting to see everything we do. He was here for Christmas but for all of the other holidays he’s been over there. He didn’t get to see ‘Time Steps’ or my recital,” Haley says, adding, “He’s missed two birthdays.”

The sadness on her face doesn’t linger as it’s obvious she’s a girl who tries to stay positive. Haley just started the 8th grade, and while she hopes to finish the school year in Amarillo before moving to San Antonio, only one thing is for sure: She will keep dancing while she waits for her father to come home.

“We’ll take him to dinner when he comes home,” she smiles. “I’m gonna take him out to eat.”

Next: The Musician, Alex'Zander Armstrong

by Jennie Treadway-Miller

Jennie was a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press for eight years prior to moving to Amarillo in 2008. She is an avid reader, runner and writer.

blog comments powered by Disqus