Hailey Shryock is a smart, multi-talented junior with a lot of jazz and a big heart; she was born for the stage. Her grandmother introduced her to dance at the age of two and a half, and ever since then, Hailey has sparkled under every spotlight, whether it’s a dance recital, a marching band competition, or the theatre stage.

Hailey is a Broadway tap and musical theatre dancer. Since she’s been acting on stage through dance her whole life; last year, when she took an audition with the previous theatre teacher, she breezed through beginning and intermediate right into advanced theatre with her rendition of Draco Malfoy’s monologue from Harry Potter: The Musical.

Hailey is comfortable on stage, no matter where in the world or under what circumstances. “I’ve performed in front of many people from everywhere in the world. So it made it easier not to be nervous, and the stage was just comfortable for me. We also took acting lessons in musical theater (dance) a few times.”

Coming out of her first theatre production with Sahuaro, The Dream – a twist on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream – Hailey was pleasantly surprised with the experience. “The environment was so much better than other performance environments I’ve been in my entire life. Everybody was so nice, and nobody told me I did a bad job after. People only had nice things to say.”

Acting and dancing are not her only talents – she could probably take you in a fight too. Hailey has been in karate for 12 years and as is an adult orange belt; to get here, she had to get all of the junior black belts. Now, she is slowly working her way up the karate ladder to achieve an adult black belt.

Though it seems like it, she’s not the only talented one in her household. Her dad, John Shryock, is a magician who travels all over the world to perform his shows. Her mom, Mari Shryock, is a former dancer and magician who is now a lawyer and John’s assistant for shows. Hailey and her sister Jasmine often perform in magic shows with their mom and dad, some tricks even requiring them.

Hailey was born into a talent-filled household – and only contributes to that factor. Growing up in such a community inspired Hailey’s desire to go to the University of Arizona to double major in education and creative writing, hoping to become a teacher/author and join The Pride of Arizona Marching Band.

Even though she’s gotten 13 good years out of it, Hailey is not done with dance and may join Jasmine, who works at the dance school they attended, teaching a new generation of young dancers as a mini-dancer teacher or working in the dance store.

After spending so much time in the dance community, Hailey’s view on stress and having a full schedule differs greatly from others sitting in Sahuaro’s classes. Hailey was practically born into a busy life, having dance, karate, school, the National Honors Society, marching band, and theatre, as well as training to possibly become a magician, following in her parents’ footsteps.

Inside Sahuaro’s walls, Hailey is a part of our band program. She started on the flute in fifth grade and ended up being woodwind captain last year in our marching band. This year she is one of 3 flutes and hopes to possibly be drum major next year. She was also one of the special students to be inducted into the National Honors Society this year and takes AP Language and AP Chemistry.

Hailey is a shining star in everything she does and is a treasure in Sahuaro’s community. She takes everyday head-on with grace and kindness, never missing a beat. Hailey will do great and treasured things in her life and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for her. Who knows? You may be seeing her name up in lights anytime now.