Freshman Wymbs continues to strive toward dream career as a professional dancer

By Jojo Hoffman
Staff Writer

Costa Freshman Olivia Wymbs is on track to fulfill her dream of becoming a professional dancer by training, competing and performing with some of the most elite instructors and dancers in Southern California.

Practicing seven days a week at multiple studios, Wymbs has qualified for numerous competitions and has been showcased in prominent entertainment events.

“Dancing at various studios keeps me motivated and excited to work as hard as I can and with as many new instructors as possible,” Wymbs said. “I try to be diverse so that I can learn different styles and ways to dance each type of dance.”

Locally, Wymbs practices about four days a week at Fifth Row Center Performing Arts Studio for her competition team. Rushing from one studio to the next, Wymbs also devotes five days a week traveling to Los Angeles to practice with the prestigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy, as well as one day at the Millennium Dance Complex.

“Olivia is successful first because dance comes very naturally to her,” Wymbs mother, Lori Wymbs said. “After that, it’s all about the effort she puts into practicing. She practices 30 to 40 hours a week, 7 days a week.”

Olivia Wymbs was three when she first started dancing. However, over last few years, Wymbs has really committed herself to the art. She takes relatively no breaks and often misses out on social opportunities and family vacations to compete and practice.

“Dancing inspires me to be the best person I can be in and outside of dance,” Olivia Wymbs said . “ It keeps me open minded, curious and thankful for the world around me. It just feels good to dance. It’s my passion and it lets me express my artistry.”

Currently, Wymbs trains and competes in over fifthteen dance styles including ballet on point, modern, graham, dunham, tap, african, latin salsa, hip hop, jazz, broadway jazz and contemporary. In the past, she has also trained in bollywood, flamenco, lyrical and ballroom dance. She claims that HipHop is her favorite style of dance as she finds the community and power behind it inspiring.

“I believe that Olivia is a successful hip hop dancer because she has been given amazing and extraordinary gifts of swag, style, groove, rhythm and blues,” dance teacher Shamicka Benn said. “It’s in her heart and it oozes out of her heart into every part of her body. Plus, what makes her successful in all types of dance, including hip hop, is that she is one of the most determined and focused dancers and artists that I know.”

Throughout Olivia’s dancing career, she has competed in many competitions such as KAR, Spotligh and Jump where studios showcase their pieces and compete against other studios. Each dance is entered into its own category according to its style and age group.

“Just in the past year, at Jump, with 5th Row Center, we placed 2nd for Bollywood and 3rd for HipHop and at KAR we placed 1st for HipHop, and 2nd for Bollywood,” Olivia Wymbs said.
Olivia has done many on stage performances including being part of the cast in Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 2015, where the company showcased ballet, hip hop, bollywood, modern and multiple other styles. The biggest audience in which Wymbs has ever performed was at the 2015 Special Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where about 90,000 people attended.

“When I’m dancing on stage I feel really grateful to be able to do what I love, especially at a very young age,” Olivia Wymbs said. “ Lots of people don’t find out what they are passionate about until they are much older or some never do. When I’m performing I remember that and I don’t take it for granted.”

Through dance, Olivia is able to express herself, be creative and push herself to dance freely with no insecurities. Dancing is Wymbs true passion because it lets her be true to herself.

“Her father and I are most proud of her perseverance, work ethic and undying dedication to excel,” Lori Wymbs said. “ We see Olivia working hard taking on new challenges to achieve the goals she has set for herself.”

In the future, Olivia hopes to dance professionally and either travel on tour with an artist or a company or perform in music videos, movies and television shows. Soon, she will be deciding whether she wants to study dance in college or go straight to furthering her dance career right out of high school.

“If Olivia continues to work the way she is working right now she can go anywhere she wants in the future,” Benn said.