Kaylee Quinn is only nine years old, which can be a little hard to believe when you see her dance in the video below. She has grace and technical skill far beyond her years, but she also does an incredible job of using her facial expressions to represent a depth of emotion that most nine-year-olds couldn’t even fathom. In this particular competition, she took first place in her division for this stunning, yet haunting, lyrical performance to Imogen Heap’s pared-down version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Much credit must also be given to the amazing choreographer Molly Long, who imagined this beautiful piece for Kaylee.
This particular type of dance, known as ‘lyrical,’ incorporates techniques from jazz, ballet, and contemporary styles. In lyrical dance, dancers aim to represent and interpret the music using very powerful expressions of their bodies. According to the dance studio Dance Connection Rochester, “lyrical dance gained its name…because of the meaning of the word lyrical: having a poetic, expressive quality; musical; characterized by or expressing spontaneous, direct feeling; expressing deep personal emotions or observation; highly rhapsodic or enthusiastic. Lyrical dance is expressive, subtle and dynamic, expressing emotions through movement. It is a combination of intricate, highly technical, and pedestrian/naturalistic moves.” We at Viral Tales were blown away by Kaylee’s ability to express emotion throughout this performance; lyrical dance is by no means an easy style to tackle at only nine years of age!
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