Out of school, out of sight

“It’d be kind of cool (to get more recognition at South) because no one really knows (about fencing), but I feel like for the best sports players in the school, everyone knows who they are,” Freedman said. “Not very many people know about me and my brother, so (recognition) would be cool, but I also like how it’s kind of a secret and I don’t have to talk about it all the time.”

Due to her high ranking, Freedman has been able to travel to international tournaments in places such as Hungary and England. Freedman said she’s travelling to Austria and France next week for a competition.

“You get to make a bunch of friends from all over. My best friend was born in Spain and lives in Virginia, and I get to see her every month at these big competitions,” Freedman said. “I have friends from Germany, from California, from Canada, and just everywhere, and without fencing I don’t think I’d be able to have those connections.”

Irish dancing, although uncommon among many students, has posed to be an intriguing activity to some.

One such student, Kelly Gavagan ’23, has been dancing at Ardan Academy on Mack Avenue since she was ten.

“I went to elementary school at Kerby and every year on St. Patrick’s day they would bring in Irish dancers,” Gavagan said. “These performances were the first time I had ever been introduced to Irish dancing and I was immediately intrigued. After that, I kept asking my mom if I could try it and she finally gave in.”

According to Gavagan, her practice schedule is pretty intense but she genuinely has loved Irish dancing since she started.

Gavagan says that she competes at a pretty high level but the way that competitions work, means that your level can continually change.

“The way that competitions work is that there are different levels: novice beginner, advanced beginner, novice, prizewinner, preliminary championship and open championship,” Gavagan said. “The level I compete in really depends on the competition. If I start in novice and win, then I’ll move on to prizewinner for the second part.”

An actual competition is unlike what many people imagine but they are very interesting to watch Gavagan believes. She has competed in the Detroit Feis, Academy Feis, and Glass City Feis winning several medals from each.

“During the competitions I compete in, twenty people will go up to the stage at once,” Gavagan said. “Then two people at a time, will go to the front together. You then are competing for the judge’s attention and are scored out of 100.”

Starting high school forced Gavagan into taking a little bit of a step back due to the increase in schoolwork. However, she says her passion for the art is truly what keeps her going.

When Alex Reed ’20 moved to Grosse Pointe from her boarding school in Utah, there was one activity she knew for certain she was going to keep doing: lyra.

Reed said lyra, also known as aerial hoop, is one of three main apparati that are part of a circus demographic, the other two being silks and hammocks.

“They’re all different things that are suspended from the ceiling that you can dance on, and lyra is like a steel hoop,” Reed said. “It’s one of the more painful ones, but it’s my favorite anyway.”

Reed practices about three times a week at the Detroit Flyhouse, a circus school in metro-Detroit. She started doing lyra two and a half years ago when she lived in Utah.

Reed said she is the youngest person who does lyra at Detroit Flyhouse but added it’s an activity that is open to all ages and genders.

“They have a children’s club that some of the teacher’s kids do,” Reed said. “But for all the actual lyra and choreography, it’s less of an age thing and more that you have to do prerequisite stuff.”

Reed said their version of concerts are called “showcases” and some have specific themes, whereas other times they will be more student led.

“There’s a couple student showcases that don’t have a theme and it’s just an open show, whenever students want to do it,” Reed said. “But then a lot of times there is a theme, like we had one for Halloween, and we had one for Valentine’s day.”

What Reed most likes about lyra is how it is a strength-based danced rather than a precision-based one.

“I really have no rhythm and I cannot dance for the life of me, so this is more strength-based and I’m pretty good at that,” Reed said. “In Utah, it’s harder because everyone does it, but here there’s not much to compare yourself to since everyone is newer to it.”

Reed added that she will never forget her first showcase she did back when she was living in Utah.

“There was no theme and I got to pick my own song and I basically did my own choreography,” Reed said. “I brought all the girls from my dorm at boarding school. It was a super small showcase; literally no lighting in a warehouse in the middle of Utah.”

Reed said that birthdays are a big thing in the circus community that she has become a part of.

“On my birthday, my family forgot it, but everyone at my circus school brought me something.” Reed said. “Everyone cares about everyone’s birthdays; there’s a calendar and we make sure to do something for everyone.”

Reed said it’s a very rewarding activity to do and urges others to try it if they want to.

“You don’t have to commit to a series of lessons, you can just do one lesson and go with a group of friends,” Reed said.

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