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Ava Jacobs<\/strong> says ballroom dance has made her taller. \u201cI\u2019m used to looking down,\u201d says the 14-year-old 8th-grader at The Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills. \u201cNow, I look much more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n And she says it\u2019s all because of ballroom dance.<\/p>\n After being inspired by a friend\u2019s Snapchat video of himself and his girlfriend swing-dancing<\/a>, Ava told her mother, \u201cI want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n A fan of the movie Hairspray<\/a>, she already admired the ease and grace of partner-dancing, but her friend\u2019s social post pushed her to want to take action. She and her mom started searching for ballroom dance studios in the area, and they landed here at Fred Astaire Dance Studio.<\/p>\n An ambitious teen, when Ava isn\u2019t maintaining her grades, her life is focused on the arts.<\/p>\n \u201cI love performing,\u201d says Ava Jacobs, who dances ballet, sings and plays piano. She also participates in musical theater, currently preparing to play Anna in the musical Frozen.<\/p>\n She studied classical singing for four years. She\u2019s played piano since age 7. Recently, she\u2019s discovered a love for fine arts \u2013 watercolor painting. She won artist of the year at her school, and took Top 50 in the state.<\/p>\n Clearly, Ava is a kid who not only tries new things, but excels when she does. Which is why it\u2019s no surprise that she brought gusto and style to ballroom dancing and eagerly competed in the Michigan Dance Challenge alongside many adult students from our studio earlier this spring<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her first competition, though, was an in-studio event in December of last year. Nervous, she admits it was a little daunting, but she came out on the other side more confident about her abilities and her comfort with competitions.<\/p>\n Ava attends two private lessons a week at FADS, practicing with Tamerlan Gadirov and Yuliya Lukina<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn ballet, you have to stay in between the lines and focus on your bubble,\u201d she says. \u201cBallroom dance is much more collaborative. You have to focus on what your partner is doing and how you can incorporate yourself into it. It\u2019s self-discipline with a social aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n Ava\u2019s favorite dances include rhythm<\/a>, mood and swing. She loves cha cha<\/a>, rumba<\/a>, waltz<\/a>, tango<\/a>, and foxtrot<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI really like the cha cha at the moment,\u201d Ava says. \u201cIt makes me think of ballet, which makes it easier to remember the steps.\u201d<\/p>\n She loves all fast dances. \u201cBecause ballet is more fluid, I find it fun to switch it up. I don\u2019t always want to do the same thing over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n But while she\u2019s a brave and talented teen, Ava Jacobs admits it isn\u2019t easy to try something new \u2013 especially walking into a dance studio where you know no one. Still, she encourages all people to give it a try.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started at FADS, I was really nervous,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t know if there would be anyone my age. But everyone was so welcoming and warm. I\u2019ve grown to love all the adults in the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n And we love her.<\/p>\nBallroom Dance Competitions<\/h4>\n
![\"Ava](\"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/bloomfield-hills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2019\/05\/IMG-5877-e1555984306153-225x300.jpg\")
It was an easy leap to compete at the MDC<\/a>, then. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel nervous at the MDC because I knew what was going on,\u201d she says. Ava took home two first place championships in the Junior division, dancing Waltz and Tango with partner Tamerlan Gadirov<\/a>, a FADS dance instructor.<\/p>\n![\"Ava](\"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/bloomfield-hills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2019\/05\/IMG-4526-e1555984583619-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Importance of Community<\/h4>\n