At age three, Lauren Jenkins, junior, was expressing herself through dance. Thirteen years later, Jenkins is grand jeté-ing her way to perform in the finals for the esteemed St Louis Teen Talent Competition.
Jenkins has been dancing at St Louis Ballet School since the age of 9.

“I really like dancing because I’m really into different art forms,” Jenkins said. “In ballet, there’s always stuff you can improve on and get better at.”

Currently, Jenkins is a part of the annual St Louis Teen Talent Competition. Her ensemble of five choreographed a ballet routine which they chose to perform as their act in the show.

Her dance teacher initiated the process by asking her if she’d like to be apart of the ensemble, and when Jenkins agreed to participate, the preparations began.

Two months later, Jenkins’ ballet troupe, performing the Bach piece “Little Fugue,” is now 1 of 12 acts to make it to the final round.

“I was really surprised and didn’t expect to make it to the finals, honestly,” Jenkins said.

CiCi Houston, dance teacher at St Louis Ballet School, was the one to push Jenkins to be apart of the act. The deciding factor was Jenkins strong work ethic while in class, Houston said.

Houston chose Little Fugue as their piece for the show because of its complex rhythms and patterns, which she thought fit the ensemble of girls.

Houston has seen the girls develop a larger sense of camaraderie, accountability and poise throughout their time in the competition.

“This has been an experience through which they’ve grown and acquired more self-esteem through their accomplishments,” Houston said.

The competition started in 2011 and is coordinated by the nonprofit organization Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation (FPACF), as well as the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

“The purpose to do the event is to provide an opportunity for students in performing arts to compete for scholarships and to let art professionals judge and give professional feedback to the students,” Kathryn Ballard, executive director at FPACF and coordinator of the event, said.

High school students across the metropolitan area involved in various performing arts acts like dancing or singing register for an audition in the preliminary rounds. This year, 200 teens auditioned during the two-day auditioning event.

At the preliminary round, judges watch the performances and then rate the acts on a point scale. The 39 acts that received the highest number of points moved on to the semifinal round at Meramec Community College.

From there, the teams were cut down to only the 12 acts who will go on to compete at the Fabulous Fox theatre for first place.

“It’s really wonderful to see local high school students performing on the Fabulous Fox stage when you think about all the other performers throughout all the rest of the year there,” Ballard said.

The first place act will receive $7,000 worth of scholarship money toward any kind of higher education along with second place receiving $5,000 and third place $3,000.

Not only can scholarship money be given, but the other acts can be awarded special prizes such as a recording opportunity at Ex’treme Institute by Nelly or other cash prizes. However, all of the 12 acts will be given many different opportunities to perform at public appearances.

The final show will be at the Fabulous Fox theatre April 23 at 8 p.m. Tickets are free, but must be obtained beforehand starting March 6, online at metrotix.com or in person at the Fox Box Office or at the Activities Office at MHS.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to dance on the Fox stage, and I hope we do well and represent ourselves well when we perform,” Jenkins said.