Seventh-grader, Jalen Hagans, has been nurturing his passion for dance since he was a toddler. His love for dance flows as naturally as his love for music and stage performance. When he was seven, he discovered a dancer named Kida while watching So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. Jalen decided to follow Kida and learn from him and other dancers: he is entirely self-taught!
Jalen also developed a passion for acting in third grade when he auditioned for a production of The Lion King. Although he did not get cast, he did not allow this temporary setback to put out his flame. In fourth grade, he was cast as Pinocchio in a production of Shrek the Musical Jr. and he was a hit! In fifth grade he was cast as Tin Man in The Wiz, and this year he returned to the stage in his first lead role as Oliver Rivers in the Middle School production of Puffs. He is so excited to perform for the Mount Vernon community!
Jalen enjoys all the performance arts and wishes he could sing so that he could audition for the Disney Channel, but regardless, we think we will be seeing him on the big screen in the future!
Five Fun Facts about Jalen:
- Jalen is an anime junky. His favorite character is Kakashi Hatake.
- Jalen is an avid reader. He always carries a book with him- in the car, at a basketball game, in a restaurant- he literally reads anywhere!
- Jalen created an app that won him 1st place in the district and 3rd in the state.
- Jalen plays the Alto Sax. He almost chose Trombone, until his mom told him how much the ladies love a saxophonist!
- Jalen loves God. He treats everyone with kindness and compassion because he sees God in them, plus he says it’s the reason why he’s able to be so nice to everyone he encounters.