Sophomore Kyra Jacobs is involved in a multitude of fine arts, including the school’s choir and theatre programs as well as a dance group after school.
At a Glance:
Favorite instrument/musician: Cello
Number of siblings: One, graduated last year
Least favorite movie: “The Emoji Movie”
Favorite food: Spaghetti
Favorite actor: Ben Platt
Dance Studio: Chamberlain School of Ballet in Plano
Looking Deeper:
The Red Ledger: What hobbies do you have?
Kyra Jacobs: Dancing, singing, and acting. I have dance classes from 6:30 to 9:30 at night, so time to do a lot of stuff is really hard, but I guess spending time with my family, [too].
TRL: Why do you enjoy the fine arts program so much?
KJ: I personally just love the fine arts, and being a part of it is just a wonderful experience, especially at the school because you meet so many people who enjoy it as much as you do. The instructors that we have, like Mrs. Kozi and Mrs. Brewster and Mr. Doyle, are very focused on helping us grow as people as well as fine arts students, and it’s just a wonderful place to be.
TRL: When did you start being a part of these groups?
KJ: School-wise, I’ve always loved our music classes since elementary school. Mrs. Noble, who was my choir director at Hart Elementary, said to me in fourth grade, “Hey, we’re starting this thing called Lovejoy’s Children’s Choir. We were wondering if you would like to audition?” And of course I auditioned, and I was part of that for three years, so that led into sixth grade. I chose choir [in sixth grade] because I had watched the high school choir for years and I was like, “I want to do that.” And theatre, we had to wait until seventh grade because they split the schools the year before I went to middle school. I was really excited to join that because I had done some community theatre outside of [the Lovejoy program]. Outside of school, I started dancing [when] I was 3. It’s been a long journey, coming on 12 years now. That makes me feel so old. I started pre-professional voice training when I was 9.
TRL: How do you think being in so many fine arts will apply to your life outside of high school?
KJ: My goal in life is to at least use this at some point, whether it’s just in community theatre or in anywhere from L.A. to Broadway. I hope it’s Broadway or touring shows–I’ll take anything. But I really like performing, so if I could carry that onto an actual paying job, that would be awesome.
TRL: Have you won any awards or participated in any competitions?
KJ: I’ve [participated] as a soloist with my voice teacher in various festivals and things like that, where they kind of rank you individually and score you. So I’ve gotten what is called I think a superior plus, which is the highest level, for I think four or five years straight. I was much younger at the beginning of [the competing] so it was a little bit easier, but now it’s getting a little bit stressful every time I do one of those. But generally speaking, a lot of dance and singing is very much collaborative, so there aren’t many opportunities for [individual competing], because we work more on the general picture and working together. My dance studio is not a competition dance school; it’s a classical ballet school.
TRL: Do you plan on participating in fine arts in college? Which college do you think would be the best fit for that?
KJ: Definitely. There’s always the big schools like Carnegie Hall and Carnegie Mellon and Michigan, but there’s Texas State, it’s really good, it’s got a great program. Elon has a great program, so I’m really starting to stress about that, because junior year is next year, and I kind of need to start deciding. But I definitely do want to do fine arts in college.
TRL: Do you think you might move on to do one of your hobbies professionally?
KJ: That is the hope, that is the dream. Generally speaking, I would like to do something with it. Hopefully all three and musical theatre. I mean, if a dance company wants me, I’m OK with that too, you know.
