Chasing Her Dream to Dance

By Leslie Cranford, section manager

The Rio Grande Valley is at the southernmost tip of Texas. Sixth-grader Joy-Elyse Hernandez and her family live approximately 15 miles from the Mexican border. Although the city has its benefits, it’s not exactly a hub – or even near one – for elite dance training.

But Joy, who started dancing at age 2 and competitively at 3, was going to need more resources and more time to pursue her dance dreams as she got older. She attended a charter school from pre-K through fourth grade, but her mom, Alma, knew some things would need to change for the young dancer if she was going to be one of the best of the best.

“McAllen is right at the heart of the Rio Grande Valley. Our blended culture gives us great access to Mexican cuisine and great family gatherings,” Alma said. “While we do love our community, we also feel the lack of resources for dancers. We have no access to management companies or talent recruiters.”

When she started looking for education options, a friend told Alma her nephews attended Texas Tech K-12 at the time. Alma looked into different schools, and Texas Tech K-12 was the best option, especially because it is accredited and Texas Education Agency-approved. 

Alma added that most auditions require a full day of travel, with the closest city large enough to facilitate those a full five hours away. Texas Tech K-12’s flexibility gives Joy and her family the opportunity to travel for days or weeks at a time without falling behind on academics. And that is something Joy is excited about.

“With school at my own pace, I get to finish whenever I want, basically. And then I get to train in dance, which has improved my dancing abilities very much,” Joy said with a confident grin spreading across her face.

Having started her studies with Texas Tech K-12 in fifth grade, the self-paced program has given her time to engage in online dance classes. The dance studio she attends locally, Paloma Limas & Company, has a fulfillment program for homeschooled children that facilitates classes with various instructors from places like Los Angeles and New York City. She is training with a master ballet teacher from Cork, Ireland.

She has competed with her dance team in places like Orlando and Miami. In the new year, Joy has auditioned for several dance workshops and intensives, not the least of which is the prestigious Ellison Ballet summer intensive in New York in June.

“Being from South Texas, the quality of dance education is not up to par, which is why we have to look for online training during the day,” Alma said. “We also know there are children who have been training their entire lives in elite schools. We are fairly new to the elite world, so we'll see how it goes.”

Joy’s favorite academic classes are social studies and science; and, in the latter, her mom says they’ve seen a huge improvement.

“In the charter school, we didn’t really do science labs; the time did not allow us to. And through this program she's done so many labs. It's truly fantastic.”

But all is not just dancing and schooling for the 12-year-old. Joy is involved in Girl Scouts, her church youth group and youth political organizations. She has also worked in community outreach, like helping to host events of support for local law enforcement and border patrol families, and giving hospitality to National Guardsmen who were serving at the border a few years ago. Additionally, Joy has had the opportunity to attend many political events, learning about state representatives, the legislative process and more.

Joy makes friends through all of those connections but particularly looks forward to church and her youth group Sundays and Wednesdays – the only days she takes off from dance, her mom says.

Her family is tight-knit and includes her dad, Joacim, and her younger sister, Sol, who is 9. Sol is in public school for now, but Alma plans on transferring her to Texas Tech K-12 starting in middle school.

And even as a middle-schooler herself, Joy is looking toward her future education. She names Texas Tech, Baylor and Louisiana State as possible college destinations with phenomenal dance teams.

“We are well aware of the number of championships held by Texas Tech’s pom and cheer teams,” Alma notes.

But Joy articulates clearly her goals are well-thought-out – and don’t necessarily involve dancing professionally.

“I want to get accepted into my Ellison ballet audition, the summer intensive,” Joy says assertively. “And then I want to get accepted to all the colleges I apply to. And then after that, I want to do marketing in business.”

Getting from where they are now to where Joy wants to be, Alma knows they have a solid schooling option she would recommend to other families looking for something less traditional.

“I think it's a rigorous curriculum. I think it’s a great option for those wanting to pull out of public schools,” Alma says. “But it is very demanding. And it does take a lot of time to get to know the program and the software. But we got the hang of it, and it's been a breeze. It is a lot on the students, too, but it does teach them discipline, and as Joy said, a lot of time management and commitment overall – definitely preparing them for college.”