Carson teen dances way onto international stage

Jessica Shull looks forward to the day when she can "eat what I want, veg out - and relax."

But if things continue to go as they are, that day is a ways away.

Jessica, 16, a sophomore at Carson High School, walks the halls in relative anonymity.

She does what most teenagers do. She worries about her grades. She gossips.

She also looks forward to her career.

Actually, that part is taken care of.

Jessica is a dancer.

And within five years, she hopes to be able to tack the word "professional" in front of it.

"That's the goal," she said. "I know a lot of people my age are still thinking about what they want to be, what they want to do.

"But for me. This is more than a passion, more than a commitment. It's who I am."

So, five to seven days a week, Jessica carpools with her mother, Sandy, and younger sister, Amanda, 12, up to South Lake Tahoe's Dance Visions Performing Arts Centre to hone her technique.

The commitment is paying off.

Jessica, who has been dancing since she was 4, will accompany three dancers from the same studio to an international dance competition in March.

The event, called the Barcelona Costa Brava International Dance Competition, will feature 1,200 dancers from five continents, including only 50 from the U.S.

Dance Visions had five dancers (four will travel to Barcelona) qualify for the competition this year. Instructor Joan Elias said such a prolific number competing from a single locale is something "just sort of a miracle."

"We're just a little studio from Zephyr Cove," she said. "To have five chosen out of 50 in the U.S. is just outstanding. Yeah, I guess you could say we're excited."

Accompanying Jessica to Spain will be South Lake Tahoe, Calif., -based teens Ali Daucher, 15, Kevin Novotny, 15, and Joan's son, Dino Elias, 16.

The group's newcomer is Jessica, who first came to Dance Visions two years ago. Described as "part hard work, part raw talent and all dedication" by her instructor, Jessica said being able to compete on an international stage is the pay-off for 15 to 20 hours a week of instruction.

The festival, which takes place March 20-24, will feature dancers in individual and group competitions. Dancers will present one or more pieces of a performance or review, competing for prizes in the various categories.

There are also group routines to be learned. Rehearsal will take the quartet of area dancers to New York the weekend before competition for a quick run-through of group dances they've been rehearsing since earlier this month.

"I'm excited to see New York and Broadway for the first time," Jessica said.

But the trip to Manhattan won't be her last. Jessica plans to go straight to Broadway after graduation to see if she can make it on the big stage.

"I'm going to go to college, but I've got to try dancing first," she said.

As for her chances?

"She's got a good shot to be a professional," Elias said. "Competition's tough. But the thing dancers have to remember most on that level is to keep taking classes on technique. Jessica works tirelessly on her technique. That's not to say she doesn't have fun. She just does what a dancer needs to do."

But enough about the future.

As for now, Jessica said she's looking forward to going to Spain and taking a little time after the competition to indulge in her favorite, but most elusive activity.

"Sleep," she said. "Yeah, that's not something I get to do a lot of."

dedication

With shows like "Dancing with the Stars," "Dance Wars" and "So, You Think You Can Dance?" crowding the prime-time airwaves, it's no wonder the sport of dance and dance competition has taken mainstream America by storm, said South Lake Tahoe Dance Visions instructor Joan Elias.

In the decade she's taught, Elias said the baseline knowledge and "acceptance" of dance has grown - for both sexes.

"My partnering class has just boomed with high school students over this last year," she said. "We have the quarterback, the running back, the wide receiver ... the linebackers.

"Now everyone's got their jazz shoes on."

But dancing as a sport, as a commitment and career is still foreign to many in Northern Nevada, said Carson City dancer Jessica Shull.

"I still get questions from my friends, they say 'You're still doing that?'" she said. "But a lot of people appreciate the time it takes."

Jessica's mother, Sandy Shull, said having children train to dance is a "family affair - just like any other sport."

"The people that are close to us realize the (commitment)," she said. "It's just like anything else, the traveling, the uniforms, or costumes - the toll it takes. I think more people are starting to respect and appreciate dance. Especially when they try it out. It's a lot of effort.

"A lot of effort."

Case in point, when Elias had a bunch of South Lake Tahoe's own varsity gridders take dance lessons, she heard lots of grumblings on the physical aspect of dance.

"One of them came up to me recently and said, 'it's a lot harder lifting a girl, than lifting weights,'" she said.