Haleigh Dalke arrives at Gilroy High for zero period at 7 a.m. to start the laundry list of items she does each day.
After a full slate of classes, she gets home at 3:30 p.m. and, depending on the day, it’s either back to school for clubs duties — she’s the ASB vice president, Interact Club President, CSF Club president and in Link Crew — or she’s heading off to dance studio for three to seven hours of practice.
Senoritis isn’t an option for 17-year-old Dalke.
While dance eats up a good portion of her time, Dalke wouldn’t have it any other way. She has been dancing — not always willingly — since she was 3 years old. The daughter of a dance teacher, Traci Dalke, it was a natural course for Haleigh. But being the independent spirit that she is, Haleigh tried finding her niche in other places like soccer, swimming and gymnastics — basically anything but dance.
“I absolutely hated it,” Dalke laughed recalling her younger self. “I did not want to be in dance class. I have these pictures of me just at the (ballet) bar, absolutely miserable. …I tried all kinds of sports and in the end I didn’t want to do any of it.”
But resistance was futile for the youngest Dalke — dance is in her blood.
Being the dance teacher’s — and owner of Studio Three in Gilroy — daughter is just the tip of the iceberg. Haleigh’s sisters, great-aunts and great-grandmother were also dancers. In fact, she’s a fourth generation dancer on not only her mother’s, but both sides of the family tree.
“DNA gave her the body that she has, but she’s had to work (at dance) and sometimes it has not been easy,” Traci said of her daughter. “It’s been a struggle, but that’s how you get better. I’m naturally fairly flexible. Most of my family is fairly flexible, so I had to pick something she was naturally gifted at, I’d say it’s her flexibility. She’s had to work just as hard as everybody else.”
However up until about six years ago, Haleigh said, she was still just going through the motions. It wasn’t until Traci brought in a ballet teacher that Haleigh got inspired to keep dancing. A few years later, she got cast as Clara, the lead roll, in Gilroy High’s presentation of The Nutcracker and for the first time, she thought of dance as “cool.”
“That’s kind of when it just snowballed from there,” Haleigh said. “I started to kind of like it and got into competition and got into more serious dancing. This last summer I attended Alonzo King LINES Ballet summer program. That was a really good experience, it was a lot of fun. That was when I decided that I wanted to do dance as a career.
“It was like the best four weeks of my life. I found that I really loved to move and just express myself through dance. I decided that’s something I couldn’t live without and that’s something that I would want to do as a career.”
The already busy senior added additional dance practice hours to her workload this year in hopes it will play off with a spot in the dance program of elite schools like UCLA, UC Irvine, CSU-Long Beach, New York University or the University of Michigan as studying dance at the collegiate level would better prepare her for a career in the commercial dance industry.
While her heart is in dance, Dalke said her father has encouraged her to explore more practical avenues of study. Surprisingly, Haleigh said if ballet shoes aren’t in her future, she’ll study engineering.
No matter what her daughter’s future holds, however, Traci is still beaming with pride.
“I’m excited for her. I’m scared for her. I’m super proud,” Traci said. “I know she’s going to make good choices. I couldn’t be prouder. …I’m a little scared; It’s a big world. This particular industry could ugly fast. I’m hoping that she has enough knowledge behind her that she can make really great choices.”
Haleigh is currently traveling around the state and auditioning at different colleges. She’s awaiting word with baited breath that she lands a spot in the program of her dreams.
It’s been a long road — one she never even expected to take her this far — but perseverance has been key. And for others looking to pursue dance as a career, Haleigh has some words of advice:
“The sooner that you get yourself noticed, you’ll make a name in the industry and the better chances you’ll have. If you’re even trying to get into college, the fact that the instructor knows you or has seen you dance at a convention or something gives you a better chance because they know that you’re reliable. Work hard everyday.”
