Elly Paradis (9) was just another four-year-old with infinite energy whose parents signed her up for a dance class. Her parents tried putting her in every sport from soccer to softball, but none seemed to hold her attention like dance.

For her first six years of dance, Elly didn’t take the classes very seriously. She just saw it as a fun activity to do after school and on the weekends with some of her best friends.

“Dance was more of a hobby than a potential career path or something I wanted to pursue,” Elly said.

But one performance when she was ten years old changed her view of dance and of her future.

The year was 2020. Dancing on a silent stage to an empty auditorium and an imaginary crowd, Elly performed solely for the blinking red light on the side of a video camera. This showcase concert in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for Elly to believe in her capability to pursue dance at a higher level.

“There was no audience, there was no judging, but that was the best I had danced, and I just felt so good coming off stage,” Elly said. “That was the first experience that I’d had a pleasant reaction to how I’d done, because I’m really hard on myself. That was really a turning moment.”

Having found her passion, Elly began to cultivate new dreams of being a professional dancer in the future. To do that, she had to work much harder than many of her peers to make up for the years she had spent dancing just for fun.

“I had to start pushing myself,” Elly said. “Playing catch-up is difficult, and I don’t really get breaks. I realized that the longer I wait, the more I’m going to have to work.”

Elly’s dedication and her willingness to “dig deeper” are pillars of who she is as a dancer and as a person.

“As she’s gotten older, she is more driven by the actual dance,” Rachel Paradis, Elly’s mom, said. “She just works really hard. She’s really driven.”

Her goals, her dreams, and how she spends almost every day after school all revolve around dance.

Elly spends 20-30 hours a week building up the skill and experience it takes to achieve her ambitions.

“I would like to hopefully go to a college in the New York area and audition for Broadway, and then get some experience before doing LA work,” Elly said.

In a highly competitive field, it takes a lot to be successful as a professional dancer. Commitment, grit, and perseverance are critical. Elly’s dedication allows her to rise above the obstacles in the present and sets her up for success in the future.

“Being able to find out your capacity as a person and a performer really does help you learn how to grow,” Reagan Hoeft, owner and director of Dance Space Performance Company, said. “It helps you figure out what you’re actually made of, and that you can do hard things, even when you’re not at 100%.”

Elly’s hard work has paid off, providing her with opportunities like a program this summer at Joffrey Ballet, a prestigious dance school in New York City. However, Elly is still looking out for more opportunities.

“I can go and dance with a pop star in Vegas or the New York City Dance Alliance. Those ones are really fun, because they’re through Juilliard and Steps On Broadway,” Elly said. “I get different opportunities everywhere.”

Her dance journey hasn’t been without obstacles. Her outlook on dance changed when she was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disease, in third grade.

“Her immune system attacks her hair follicles,” Rachel said. “By the middle of fourth grade, her hair was gone.”

The combination of both her positivity and dedication to the sport has allowed her to accept and fully embrace her alopecia. Elly’s condition didn’t hold her back. Instead, she turned it into an opportunity for her to excel in the dance world.

“It’s great for dancing because it sets you apart,” Elly said. “The problem these days is that you get a job and you’re too similar to everybody else. So it helps to stand out.”

Diversity and acceptance in the dance community have allowed Elly to freely express herself. While she faced judgment in her life outside of dance, she found open-mindedness and inclusivity within it.

“Dance was always a place for her that was safe,” Rachel said. “There are a lot of people in that world who look different. There’s more acceptance in the dance world. She’s had a number of people who have just called her out in that world, told her she’s beautiful, and given her encouragement for being courageous to be up on stage.”

Encouragement from others and her own strong sense of self have allowed Elly to make strides within her life and build her self-confidence.

“The obstacles that Elly was forced to face at a very young and formative age allowed her to create a kind of armor of understanding,” Hoefst said. “What she brings to the table, even some adults still don’t have. It created a maturity far beyond her years, and as difficult as it was, it allowed her to grow and mature.”

Today, Elly sets an example of how hard work and a positive attitude are the driving forces behind skill and success.

Since her early days in dance as an energetic four-year-old, her growth as an athlete and as a person have opened doors that she had hardly imagined she would reach.

“Someone like Elly, who is positive and doesn’t always let negativity permeate her person, someone like that can really go far,” Hoefst said. “Everyone is better for being a part of her journey and for being a part of her life.”