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His Dream: To Be a Dancer

Why does Zach, 17, spend six hours a day traveling to and from school? He loves to dance—and has found a special place that makes him feel at home.

October 2018

By Zach Jepsen, as told to Jessica Press

Lou Foglia/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images

Daily Journey
Zach lives in a small town in Wisconsin. Each day, he travels to school in Chicago to study dance.

My alarm goes off at 5 in the morning. The sky is still dark. I scramble to shower, get dressed, and make eggs. Then I climb into the car with my mom or dad—and my long journey begins.

We drive from our farm in Wisconsin over the Illinois border. After 45 minutes, we arrive at the train. I climb aboard, sit down, and close my eyes to catch up on sleep.

An hour and 50 minutes later, the train reaches Chicago. That’s where I get off and wait for my school bus.

Yes, that’s right. I make this journey every day—just to go to school.

But it isn’t just any school. The Chicago Academy for the Arts is a special school for the arts, like dancing, singing, and painting. It’s where I get to work on my biggest passion: ballet.

My alarm goes off at 5 in the morning. The sky is still dark. I shower, get dressed, and make eggs. Then I get into the car with my mom or dad, and my long trip begins.

We drive from our farm in Wisconsin over the Illinois border. After 45 minutes, we arrive at the train. I climb aboard, sit down, and close my eyes to catch up on sleep.

An hour and a half later, the train reaches Chicago. That’s where I get off and wait for my school bus.

Yes, that’s right. I make this trip every day, just to go to school.

But it isn’t just any school. It’s the Chicago Academy for the Arts. It’s a special school for the arts, like dancing, singing, and painting. It’s where I work on my biggest passion: ballet.

My alarm goes off at 5 a.m., while the sky is still dark. I scramble to shower, get dressed, and make eggs. Then I climb into the car with my mom or dad—and my long journey begins.

We drive from our farm in Wisconsin over the Illinois border. After 45 minutes, we arrive at the train. I climb aboard, sit down, and close my eyes to catch up on sleep.

An hour and a half later, the train reaches downtown Chicago. That’s where I get off and wait for my school bus.

Yes, that’s right: I make this journey every day, just to go to school.

But it isn’t just any school. The Chicago Academy for the Arts is a special school for the arts, like dancing, singing, and painting. It’s where I get to work on my greatest passion: ballet.

Finding Strength

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to dance. I started out just dancing around my house, like many kids do. When I was 4, my mom signed me up for tap-dancing and jazz classes. After two years, I started ballet.

By eighth grade, I was dancing six hours a week. I already knew that I wanted to make dancing my job someday. When I dance, nothing else matters. I forget about homework and anything that may be stressing me out.

My parents and three older brothers have always been supportive of my dancing. But many kids at my school thought it was strange for a boy to love dance. Some of those kids even bullied me.

To them, playing sports like football, soccer, and track is what boys are supposed to do. I always wanted them to understand that dance requires just as much physical strength as sports!

Male dancers like me do push-ups and sit-ups every day to make sure we can lift our female dance partners. It’s frustrating that most people don’t understand that side of dance.

I’ve always loved to dance. When I was 4, I started taking tap-dancing and jazz classes. After two years, I started ballet.

By eighth grade, I was dancing six hours a week. I knew that I wanted to make dancing my job someday. When I dance, nothing else matters. I forget about anything that may be stressing me out.

My parents and three older brothers were supportive of my dancing. But many kids at my school thought it was strange for a boy to love dance. Some of those kids bullied me.

To them, playing sports is what boys are supposed to do. But dance requires just as much strength as sports!

Male dancers like me do push-ups and sit-ups to make sure we can lift our female dance partners. I wish more people understood that side of dance.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to dance. I started out just dancing around my house, like many kids do. My mother enrolled me in tap-dancing and jazz classes when I was 4, and I started ballet two years later.

By eighth grade, I was dancing six hours a week. I already knew that I wanted a career in dance someday. When I dance, nothing else matters: I forget about homework and anything that may be stressing me out.

My parents and three older brothers have always been supportive of my dancing. But many students at my school thought it was unnatural for a boy to love dance—and some of those kids even bullied me.

To them, the appropriate activities for boys are sports like football, soccer, and track. I always wanted them to understand that dance requires just as much physical strength as sports!

Male dancers like me do push-ups and sit-ups every day to ensure that we can lift our female dance partners. It’s frustrating that most people don’t understand that aspect of dance.

Working Hard

Lou Foglia/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images

A Special School
1. Zach’s classmates share his love of dance.
2. He usually spends four hours dancing each day.

Eighth grade was a really hard year because of the bullying. But it’s also when I heard about the Chicago Academy for the Arts. I told my dad that I wanted to apply, and he was so encouraging. He said, “OK, let’s figure out how we can make this happen.”

I had to take several tests to apply to the school. I was tested in school subjects and also in dance. For one of the tests, I had to take a really hard class taught by one of the school’s dance teachers. I was so intimidated! Everyone there was an amazing dancer.

But in February of eighth grade, I got the most exciting letter of my life. It said I was accepted to the school! I started that fall and have never looked back.

At my school, we do academic classes until 1:30 p.m. Dance comes next, until about 6 o’clock. Those classes can be grueling. Ballet is all about making sure our movements are exactly right. That means we have to practice the same thing over and over again.

I’m always exhausted by the time I start my commute home. As the sun sets outside the train, I do my homework or daydream. I look forward to getting back to the farm to see the stars. The night sky doesn’t look the same in Chicago!

Eighth grade was a hard year because of the bullying. But it’s also when I heard about the Chicago Academy for the Arts. I told my dad that I wanted to apply. He was supportive. He said, “OK, let’s figure out how we can make this happen.”

I had to take several tests to apply to the school. I was tested in school subjects and in dance. For one test, I had to take a really hard class taught by one of the school’s dance teachers. I was so intimidated! Everyone there was a great dancer.

But in February of eighth grade, I got the most exciting letter of my life. It said I was accepted to the school! I started that fall.

I’m always tired by the time I start my commute home. As the sun sets outside the train, I do my homework or daydream. I look forward to getting back to the farm to see the stars. The night sky doesn’t look the same in Chicago!

Eighth grade was a really difficult year for me because of the bullying—but it’s also when I learned about the Chicago Academy for the Arts. I told my dad that I was interested in applying, and his response was encouraging: He said, “OK, let’s figure out how we can make this happen.”

Applying to the school involved taking several tests, both in school subjects and in dance. For one of the tests, I had to take an extremely challenging class taught by one of the school’s dance instructors. I was incredibly intimidated when I saw how skilled the other students were.

But in February of eighth grade, I received the most exciting letter of my life: It said I was accepted to the Academy! I started that fall, and I have no regrets.

At my school, we attend academic classes until 1:30 p.m., followed by dance until about 6 o’clock. The dance classes can be grueling. Ballet is all about making sure our movements are precise and perfect, which means we have to practice the same thing over and over again.

Dreaming Big

I know my schedule sounds crazy. But it’s definitely worth it to me. At my school, I get to do what I love surrounded by people who understand me.

There are dancers and artists of all kinds who love their art. We all support each other. When I am feeling frustrated or nervous, my classmates encourage me.

At the end of the year, I’ll finally graduate. My dream is to dance for a major dance group in New York, Boston, Chicago, or London.

I am working toward a really big goal for my future. That can feel overwhelming sometimes! But I just try to think about getting through each class, one by one.

It also helps me to remember that not every day will be perfect. Sometimes I may sleep through my alarm or struggle with a dance move. But I know I can always start over again—at 5 a.m. the next morning.

I know my schedule sounds crazy. But it’s worth it to me. I get to do what I love. At my school, there are people who understand me.

There are artists of all kinds who love their art. We all support each other.

At the end of the year, I’ll graduate. My dream is to dance for a major dance group in New York, Boston, Chicago, or London.

I am working toward a big goal for my future. That can feel overwhelming sometimes! But I just try to get through each class.

I also try to remember that not every day will be perfect. I may sleep through my alarm. I may struggle with a dance move. But I know I can always start over again—at 5 a.m. the next morning.

I know my schedule seems crazy, but it’s definitely worth it to me. At my school, I get to do what I love surrounded by people who understand me.

There are dancers and artists of all kinds who are devoted to their art. We all support each other: When I’m feeling frustrated or anxious, my classmates encourage me.

After I graduate at the end of this year, I hope to dance for a major dance company in New York, Boston, Chicago, or London.

I’m working toward a really ambitious goal for my future, and that can feel overwhelming sometimes. But I try to focus on simply getting through each class, one by one.

It’s also helpful to remember that not every day will be perfect. Sometimes I may oversleep in the morning or struggle with a difficult dance move. But I know I can always start over again—at 5 a.m. the next morning.

ACTIVITY:
Cause and Effect

You’ve just read “His Dream: To Be a Dancer” It’s time to try this activity!

What to do: A cause is what makes an event happen. An effect is what happens as a result. In the chart below, fill in the missing causes and effects.

You’ve just read “His Dream: To Be a Dancer” It’s time to try this activity!

What to do: A cause is what makes an event happen. An effect is what happens as a result. In the chart below, fill in the missing causes and effects.

You’ve just read “His Dream: To Be a Dancer” It’s time to try this activity!

What to do: A cause is what makes an event happen. An effect is what happens as a result. In the chart below, fill in the missing causes and effects.