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03/26/2014 12:00 AMMost dancers start their careers not long after they can walk in order to get their skills at a high level by the time they dance in competitions. However, Sophia Sabaten, a junior on East Haven's pom-pom squad and also a ballroom dancer, took a different approach to the norm, starting to dance at age 11 after receiving inspiration from a TV show.
"I started watching Dancing with the Stars and it was Julianne Hough that inspired me to do ballroom dancing," says Sophia. "I was watching her and knew that I wanted to do that."
Although she hadn't done formal dancing prior to that, Sophia gave ballroom dancing a shot and quickly became hooked. She has elevated her dancing levels at a rapid pace and is winning competition after competition in the ballroom format.
"I just dance and compete and I've been doing well," says Sophia, whose dance partner is her ballroom instructor. "At first I wasn't very good, but I've been working really hard and it's been paying off."
While in middle school, Sophia was a part of the cheerleading squad. Upon entering the high school, she discovered that the pom-pom squad would be her home thanks in part to its style of dance.
"When I saw the pom-pom squad perform, I knew that I could do it. It involved dancing and that's what I like," says Sophia. "I did cheerleading in 8th grade, but I didn't know how to tumble so it really wasn't my forte."
That's not to say that Sophia was graceful right off the bat with Yellowjackets' pom-pom. Since she had only been dancing for three years prior to joining, there were plenty of techniques that were totally new to her.
"I wasn't formally taught how to do turns because I never took jazz or ballet classes, so in pom-pom I finally learned how to do double pirouettes and flautas and stuff," says Sophia, who was eager to learn. "I like the dancing and the motions and I like having a challenge."
Even though learning unfamiliar dance techniques was challenging at the beginning, Sophia did whatever it took to become a quick learner on the dance floor. One way she has improved her skills has been by attending the ACES Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven. Sophia's a part of the dance department, where she's taught movement analysis, which helps her better gauge how a routine will go.
"She's one of my quietest girls on the squad, but any questions about a count or a step on our routine, Sophia always knows the answer. If we learn a new part of the dance and a couple of the girls wonder how it went, Sophia will say, 'It went this way,'" says pom-pom Head Coach Kim Oca. "She's a pleasure to watch while she's dancing because her performance is always graceful. She has that energy and spirit. Even though she's quiet, she stands out."
Sophia's skills helped the squad win the Dancin' in the Woods competition recently, a meet that has gotten the best of the girls in recent years.
"It was big," says Sophia. "We kept improving from my freshman year so it was a really nice win. It was a great moment to have happened now."