Dancing—in almost every style and form—has been a part of senior Cynthia Zheng’s life for nearly seven years now. Zheng has focused her talents mostly on Chinese dance, which she participates in outside of school in addition to her role on the dance team. “Dancing has become ingrained in my life. If I don’t dance for a long period of time—like a month or so—I feel uncomfortable.”

For Zheng, dancing has become more than a hobby; dancing has become a necessity. “I continue to dance because it’s become an essential part of who I am. Not only that, but dancing is a way to meditate. When you’re dancing, you have to focus on the moves and the music.  You have to convey the emotion and story of the dance to the audience. You’re forced to stop thinking about the outside world and instead, just think about the dance,” Zheng said.