When Ryan Ramirez dances, it’s hard to look away. Her
choreography is dynamic, even risky, she moves her body with great
power, passion and intent.
When Ryan Ramirez dances, it’s hard to look away.
Her choreography is dynamic, even risky, she moves her body with great power, passion and intent.
The list of scholarships, contests and projects Ramirez has worked on is too long for print. She’s only 18 and has taught master series classes, choreographed professional performances in New York and Los Angeles and traveled the country at the request of some of the most accomplished in the business.
As other teenagers work summer jobs at the community pool or shopping mall, Ramirez was hired to perform in Los Angeles, though she was unable to disclose the name.
Her rise to fame began at 16 when she caught the eye of Mia Michaels, a renown choreographer and judge this season on “So You Think You Can Dance.” She is considered the best of the best.
“You are just amazing. Will you assist for me?” Ramirez’s mother Paige Day remembers Michaels reaction to her routine. Ramirez choreographed it herself – it is her gift and been her life’s work.
“She asked me ‘was she serious?’ I said ‘No, honey. She was probably just being nice,’ ” Day recalled while sitting on her front patio at her home in Morgan Hill. A moment later Michaels’ manager gave Ramirez her business card and asked if she had a passport, there was a workshop in Canada coming up.
Ramirez, born and raised in Morgan Hill, was until Wednesday night, starring on “So You Think You Can Dance,” a Fox TV show that operates much like “American Idol” but finds rising dancers and choreographers. Ramirez made the Top 24 Wednesday night and was the last girl dancer cut on the show, barely missing the Top 10. Fox’s cameras filmed a 12-minute hometown segment on Ramirez in Morgan Hill, which for many of her supporters suggested she might be in for the long haul.
Tears were to be expected when a judge from “So You Think You Can Dance” traveled to the Bay Area to tell Ramirez the bad news. True to her personality and humble disposition, she was grateful for the opportunity and experience – the disappointment had dissipated almost immediately.
“It was exciting that she made the top 10 girls in the country. She knows she did her best and she’s learned a lot,” Day said.
Ramirez was unavailable for comment through Wednesday due to confidentiality agreements with Fox. Thursday, Ramirez was already busy in Los Angeles rehearsing for an upcoming dance performance. Her mother said she is leaving the option open to try out again next year.
“I’m proud of her and her hard work is paying off. And even though I miss her, I’m happy she’s doing what she loves,” her brother Rhett, 17, said Tuesday.
Laura Neylan, 18, has known Ramirez since their days at Oakwood Country School. Obviously it’s cool to see your friend on TV, Neylan said, and disappointing to see her leave. Ramirez’s Facebook fan page reveals how much support she has from family, friends and even strangers in Morgan Hill who loved cheering for a local on TV.
“I’ve had people come up to me and say ‘We’re so excited to see Morgan Hill’ … The town has been great,” Day said.
Ramirez would never be caught bragging about her accomplishments. Many of her friends and teachers did not know she even danced until they saw her on TV.
“She is so unassuming you would never know all of her accomplishments or how amazing of a dancer she is,” said Heather Washington, Ramirez’s freshman history teacher at Saint Francis.
Washington said her young daughters love Ramirez and they have been following her on the show. “My 4-year-old asks ‘Where’s Ryan? Where’s Ryan?’ at the TV. They’re very sad about last night …. but she did phenomenal. I’m sure she will do fabulous things regardless,” she said.
“It makes me happy that she’s so good at it. That’s inspiring to me. She’s been working at it her whole life and to see all of her dreams come to fruition, it’s great,” Neylan said. She, Ramirez and Alyssa Barsanti make up the “three amigos” and Oakwood alums. The teens like to hang out at Target and eat at Super Taqueria when Ramirez returns home.
Watching her dance, the though she might be shy probably wouldn’t cross your mind.
But as a child, she was painfully shy – “not like, oh that’s cute you’re shy, she was very, very shy,” Day said – but she did light up at home dancing around to “Barney” songs. It was off to dance class she went at age 4. By age 12, the eight years of local training in jazz and tap was too restrictive for Ramirez, she wanted to choreograph and move beyond kicks and twirls. Ramirez is an artist and her body is her instrument.
“She’s an interesting kid. She’s always had a really strong sense of self and confidence in her movement. She believes she has something to say as a choreographer,” Day said.
Dancing is in her gene pool – Day was a dance major in college – but as a young girl Day felt frustrated and self-conscience when she was met with more seasoned dancers her own age. When Ramirez told her mom she needed better training, Day decided they would do as much as they could to provide her with the training she needed.
“That was really poignant. I would have wanted to say that to my mother. Once I saw she was so focused. We really wanted to support her – it’s a gift,” she said.
For many young dancers, it’s the eye candy of frilly sequined dresses and the social perks of weekend competitions that draw them in. Ramirez wanted to be a professional. Dance had become her life and she loved it.
Rameriz’s contemporary and interpretive style was honed at a pre-professional dance company in Mountain View where she was the youngest to join at age 12. Her natural ability and sophistication as a dancer blossomed after just six months with the company.
The commitment was a tremendous sacrifice for her family. Her parents still lived and worked in Morgan Hill, but five days a week, Day would drive Ramirez to dance class in Mountain View. They decided to enroll her at Saint Francis High School – near the dance company – where she excelled in school with a 4.0 GPA and became captain of the cheerleading squad. But the cost of dance training was weighing on her family, especially as the economy plummeted just before Ramirez’s chance meeting with Michaels.
Ramirez cried on a segment in “So You Think You Can Dance” when she described how Michaels gave her the biggest opportunity of her life. “If it weren’t for her. I wouldn’t have been able to dance a lot,” she said through a few pauses and sniffles.
Hundreds of miles of driving and hours upon hours of dance training later, Ramirez left Morgan Hill to travel with Michaels for a year teaching and choreographing across the country. She is finishing her senior year online; her last day is Tuesday. She has assisted Michaels on Season 4 “So You Think You Can Dance” the year Michaels won an Emmy for a dance segment – and at 17 she was hired for her first major performance job to dance in a routine on “Dancing With the Stars.”
With “So You Think You Can Dance” in the rearview mirror, Ramirez will continue working professionally in Los Angeles. In the fall, she will head to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on an academic scholarship to study dance. Freshmen aren’t eligible for dance scholarships.
“I can’t believe we did all that driving and spent all that money,” Day said. “It was the best thing we ever did.”
