When 16-year-old Miyah LaGrant of Sumter High School talks about dance, her entire face lights up. To Miyah, dance isn't just a passion - it's her second language, one she's been speaking fluently since she was 6 years old.
Her aunt and cousin, who are both deeply involved in the dance world, asked if a young Miyah wanted to give the art a try. She was an active child by nature, and her casual response of "Sure" would be her key to a world of creativity, discipline and discovery. For the past decade, Miyah has trained at Miss Libby's School of Dance, a small studio in Sumter where she's honed her craft across various styles of dance. While she has flexed her talents in various styles, contemporary dance is where she feels most at home.
"It's like ballet, but you kind of break the rules," Miyah explained. "It's not like traditional, and it's free in movement and expression."
Her signature style of dancing features a combination of modern techniques from Martha Graham and José Limón and relevant aspects of contemporary dance across countries, competitions and dance companies. Though most of her competition pieces are choreographed to lyrical music, Miyah enjoys the elegant stylings of classical music, allowing her to get lost in its rhythm. But her passion comes with its fair share of pain. Like a true athlete - despite the common misconception that dance isn't a sport - Miyah conditions and pushes her body to its limit to be able to tell her story in fluid motions.
Recently, her love for storytelling through movement took her to Miami, Florida, for YoungArts, one of the largest student art competitions highlighting promising young artists from ages 15-18 in classical music, dance, design, film, jazz, photography, theater, visual arts, voice and writing from across the country. This year, 14 of South Carolina's talented youth were selected from an applicant pool of nearly 11,000 nationally. Miyah was one of the 14, taking home the dance/modern/contemporary award with distinction.
"It was a great experience, and I really enjoyed it," Miyah beamed. "I'm just very grateful for all the people who have supported me to be able to do what I do, and I always make sure I take away key points and things to help me further this because I want to do this as a career in the future."
Miyah is no stranger to dazzling national stages, and each experience affords her gems to better her as a dancer and person. From learning how other passionate pupils express themselves through their chosen outlet to rubbing shoulders with some of the greatest in their given discipline - just as she did in Miami with renowned American ballet dancer Misty Copeland - Miyah's devotion to learning more about her craft is just as strong as her desire to share it.
Yet, despite being a rising star, Miyah remains deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunities she's been afforded and recognition she's received. It all works in tandem to fuel her dream of being fully immersed in the dancing world - and, once she graduates, she has perfect place to start.
"I want to go to college for dance, and my dream school is Juilliard School in New York. I would love to do that, and then afterwards, I would like to explore. After [going] through so many different intensives, I've realized that there's a lot more out there, but I do want to still dance in a company and then eventually become a dance teacher and pass on what I know."
And what she knows now is that any dancer in the making should just take that first leap.
"Just do it because like you never know," she expressed. "Some people think it's based on age, but if you try hard enough, at any age, you could really become something."
More Articles to Read