By Keith Taylor

Sun Senior Correspondent

Haley Snell has always wanted to perform on the dance team at Eastern Kentucky University.

The George Rogers Clark High School senior will get her chance next year after making the squad earlier this week.

“Trying out for the EKU dance team was a huge challenge that I knew would take a lot of work to prepare for, but it was always something I had wanted to do ever since middle school,” Snell said. “I first started dancing on my middle school’s dance team and it was originally something I just did for fun with my friends.”

From there, the fun turned into competition and one thing led to another.

“When I joined the dance team in high school I realized I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to be on a nationally ranked college dance team,” she said. “Most girls on such high level teams started dancing when they were 4 and 5-years-old.”

To enhance her skills, Snell joined The Air Force Dance Academy in Richmond and split time between the studio and her part-time job. Her part-time job helped pay for her expenses at the studio.

“I worked extremely hard because I knew I had to in order to catch up with the girls who had been training since they were 5-years-old,” she said. “My hard work paid clearly paid off, but I couldn’t have done it all by myself.”

Snell credits her instructors at the studio, dance team coaches and

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parents for their support during her pursuit of dancing at the collegiate level. The EKU Dance Team currently is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the Division I Pom and Division I team category and holds double bronze titles.

“My Mom and Dad all provided me with a tremendous amount of support,” she said. “My dance team coaches first sparked my passion for dance, my studio instructors pushed me with challenging choreography, and shoutout to my mom for driving me to Richmond for practices.”

Snell hopes her example helps lead more dance team members to greater heights in the future.

“I would love nothing more than to see the dance team programs at both the middle and the high school rise to new levels,” she said. “No matter what skill level you start at, a little drive and motivation can take you anywhere.”