You can say the happy marriage of dancing on a stage and a love of theater is in Sofia Aniceto’s blood.
Her parents met as cast members in a rendition of “West Side Story.” Her mom was a Jet and her dad was a Shark.
At the age of 3, Aniceto landed a role as a little princess in another Broadway classic, “The King and I.”
The desire that earned her the honor of being named Artist of the Year was already strong in her.
The princess role called for Aniceto to stand still on stage but, she recalled, all she wanted to do was dance. She’s never stopped.
Aniceto ended up focusing on ballet. But singing and acting remain part of her repertoire.
Her ballet training — contemporary and neoclassical — has been extensive, including seven years at Long Beach Ballet and her current study at the Colburn School dance program in downtown Los Angeles that began in 2021.
Aniceto told the Artist of the Year judges that she aimed for Colburn once she got “really serious” about ballet.
How serious?
Aniceto, 17, rides a Metrolink train to Colburn weekdays from her home in Cerritos, undaunted by sketchy moments that can happen aboard public transportation.
“It’s a little bit scary sometimes,” she explained, “but I have pepper spray.”
And when her day ends at Colburn, she rides the train back to participate in the theater program at Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts on the Huntington Beach High campus. (When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way, right?)
Aniceto presented both a self-choreographed ballet dance and a musical theater number in her Artist of the Year performance, describing herself as primarily a ballet dancer but with the bigger goal of being well-rounded.
Aniceto’s focus and drive, coupled with the flair she brought to her self-choreographed ballet combined to make her stand out.
“I really love adding flavor to the ballet,” she said, noting that the movement she creates is influenced by her Hispanic background and folklorico dance.
Ballet training can be so structured and monotonous that the sense of joy inherent in dancing can be lost, said Aniceto, a high school senior who aims for a career as a dancer and a choreographer.
She wanted to express a childlike wonder in her ballet number, to “get that little glimmer, that spark in your eye when you perform.”
Her joy in performing, the quality of her movements, and her self-assured personality delighted the judges.
Said Judy Scialpi, who teaches dance at Northwood High in Irvine, “She’s the real deal.”
Dance finalists
In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges selected finalists from among the 16 semifinalists whose dance genres included ballet, contemporary, flamenco, folklorico, hip hop, jazz, and musical theater.
Cristopher Arredondo, Division 2: The senior at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton always loved dance but didn’t start any dance program until his freshman year. And that was a year marked by COVID pandemic restrictions. For someone who doesn’t like sharing his feelings, dance is a sort of therapy, he said. The judges declared his choreography natural storytelling. Arredondo, 18, plans to audition for dance at Mount San Antonio College and continue training at his dance studio in Whittier.
Mackenzie Couch, Division 1: She’s had her ups and downs with dance — love it, hate it, and always going back to it — because “I don’t know what life would be without it.” That tension partly stems from a sibling rivalry with her younger twin sisters. All three are in the dance conservatory at Orange County School of the Arts, where Couch is a senior. Couch, 18, plans to earn a BFA and teach dance or start her own company: “When I have my mind set on something, you best believe I’m going to get it.”
Piper Rovsek, Division 1: Simply put, “Piper is an artist,” said UCI dance professor Ariyan Johnson. Rovsek, 17, revealed that she didn’t know where to start with her self-choreographed jazz number to “Sweet Dreams” but felt free as the music took her over. “I was letting my bones do what they wanted to do.” Dancing since she was 6, the junior at Orange County School of the Arts co-founded a youth organization, Wired4Dance, that provides adaptive therapeutic dance classes to underprivileged youth. She hopes to hold a summer camp this year.
