Hayden Hopkins

Hayden Hopkins having just turned 17, has developed a cult following online. With more than 13,000 Facebook followers & an overwhelming number of fan pages she is fast becoming a house-hold name. She is incredibly bendy and oh-so talented.Alongside fellow dance superstar friend, 11 year old Sophia Lucia, there are countless, beautiful dance images of her all over the internet.“People see pictures of me and think I have this perfect life,” Hayden says. Despite the pretty pictures, though, Hayden hasn’t always had it easy, and the past few years have proven especially difficult.Hayden started dancing at the age of 2 in her home state of Washington, US. She was a regular in the competition scene early, but by age 13 she decided it wasn’t for her. “I wanted to get away and work on my training,” she says. Plus, things at home were taking a turn for the worse:  family finances became a struggle, especially with Hayden’s sister, Lennox, pursuing a competitive rhythmic gymnastic career. So Hayden, who is home-schooled & lives with her sister & their mum in Puyallup, WA, took her training into her own hands. She takes classes at local studios when possible (mostly Westlake Dance Center in Seattle), travels with conventions when she’s awarded scholarships & watches YouTube videos in her living room to learn barre & centre-work exercises. She attends 10 to 12 conventions each year independently (including JUMP, NUVO and West Coast Dance Explosion) in an effort to meet as many choreographers as she can. The relentless networking has paid off.  At WCDE’s Las Vegas Nationals in 2010, Hayden met the owners of an Australian studio. They had seen her on YouTube first, and offered to fly her to Australia to act as a guest teacher and choreographer. Hayden has since been back for another visit to work with the Perth-based studio & also won the Dance Spirit Cover Model Search competition in 2013. “I love meeting people who recognize me from the internet,” she says. “I don’t know why people started to follow me, but hopefully it’s because they see something positive I’m putting out there”Things you didn’t know about Hayden……..Birthday: July 5, 1997Most-played on her iPod: Lana Del ReyWho would play her in a movie: Troian Bellisario, who plays Spencer on “Pretty Little Liars.” “I think she looks like me!”

Favorite actor: Leonardo DiCaprio Dance goals: “I just want to be the person who’s always travelling. I always want to be in a different state or a different country.” Favorite dancers of all time: Stacey Tookey, Nick Lazzarini, Travis Wall and Jason Parsons Strangest thing in her dance bag: “A rotten orange I keep forgetting to take out”Favorite meal: Spaghetti and garlic breadFavorite movie: Garden State Must-see TV shows: “Pretty Little Liars” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” “Kourtney’s my favorite.” Here is one of her performances from earlier this year… 

 

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