Right, left, right, pivot. Right, left, right, step out. Now turn.

Freshman Lexie Roten begins dance class for the third time, after stopping three years ago. Roten has been dancing since she was four, modeled for a dance magazine when she was five, and did ballet and tap for two years, but eventually quit.

“I hated ballet and tap,” Roten said, “They were actually kind of boring to me.”

Now, she decided to attempt dancing again, but in a different style. In her freshman year she decided to enroll in the beginner’s Dance I class where all aspects and styles of dance are taught. And there Roten found her new love.

“I really like hip hop,” Roten said. “It’s really fun, and it’s not boring. Yesterday, I practiced a hip hop routine for five hours. It took me about thirty minutes to learn it, but I had to get it perfect so I kept on going.”

Roten excelled in the first two hip hop routines in class, despite not being in dance for the last couple of years. The key is to practice.

“I practice dancing all day,” Roten said. “Whenever I’m bored I’ll just start dancing for fun. When I was a baby my mom would put music on in the car and I would always dance.”

With Roten’s new found interest in hip hop, she constantly learns hip hop routines on Youtube, and sends her dancing videos to close friends. Despite her interest in dance, Roten has been suffering from major stage fright since she was young.

“I have stage fright, so I don’t really like going on stages,” Roten said. “Once when I was at cheer camp, we performed for 500-700 people. I was a flyer, and I only did one stunt, but I was still really scared.”

Now Roten is hoping to get over her stage fright. Currently her goal as a dancer is to get over her fear and perform for an audience again. Her inspiration comes from her neighbor, Hannah Faubion.

“None of my family members dance, but my neighbor, Hannah Faubion, is a really good dancer, and she made me want to dance,” Roten said.

When Roten is not dancing she enjoys teaching her younger sister, Bailie, new choreography that she has learned. Her sister is currently a cheerleader, and does a lot of cheer stunts. Roten was a former cheerleader and has trouble dancing at times. She was also previously involved in gymnastics and tumbling.

“I’m too sharp sometimes, and that’s not what you do for dance,” Roten said. “But I warmed up to dance again, and I haven’t been cheering lately.”

Roten hopes to become a better dancer in the future, and is going to tryout for the school dance team. The freshman says that she is confident that she will make it, but is still unsure whether or not she wants to join yet. Right now, she is also interested in the cosmetology program and hopes to enroll her junior year of high school. She currently has an interest in cosmetology, modeling, and dancing.

This year, Roten hopes to learn more routines, polish her dance skills, and dance on stage once again. She will continue to dance in the future whether at home, school, or at a studio.

“I like everything about dance,” Roten said. “If you want to do dance, then just do it.”