06/02/2026
Describe her in one word? STRONG. There a lot of people that can memorize steps, but a dancer makes you feel something. Ms. Payton came to studio22mspa looking to grow for opportunities that were being offered to her. That and she came knowing exactly what she wanted to work for her dancing. As a choreographer I work with each dancers talents, interests, and energy. It’s important that I get to know someone to understand what they would be able to convey. With Ms. Payton, she came to me this year with a song. I hadn’t heard it yet, even though it was becoming quite popular. It was an instant YES. The songs vibe was right in the pocket of my style. It wasn’t just a song. She literally told me how she was feeling. The mood. The vibe. The style. She was feeling this song for a reason. It spoke to her. She’s been doing jazz previously and this year she was challenging us with a lyrical. Heavily counting on the mixtures of ballet and jazz. Ballet wasn’t our teams favorite. So she was going to have to work hard. That’s the thing about Payton. You don’t really have to tell her to work hard. She pushes herself to a fault. She demands herself to be as good as she believes she can be. That’s the spirit she promotes and reminds our team to be. It’s not about comparison. It’s about ourselves being better than yesterday. When it comes to hard work, and Payton’s relationship with her emotions, she brought her solo to life. This year wasn’t exactly what she thought it was going to be, and she used every feeling in her dancing. The judges at competitions complimented her on her beautiful story telling and true emotions. You only know emotions like that when you’ve lived through them. Payton gives you authenticity on and off stage. I see so many proud of her. Including her mom, her dad, her team, her friends and those that have seen her grow. There was a time last year where I had to have a talk with ms. Payton about being frustrated. She felt stuck. Seeing her today, dancing the way she does, makes me so proud of her. Congratulations Ms. Payton. You are so strong. You’ve overcome so much, in so many ways. I’m proud of you.