Junior Victoria Wiggins has been dancing all her life. For her, it is a source of energy, making it hard to keep herself from making a move when she hears music.

Wiggins, who moved to Marin last school year, primarily dances hip-hop. Her skills don’t just come from the studio—as of now, she isn’t taking lessons.

“I do it for fun. It’s always been for fun, but I caught myself getting good at it,” she said.

Wiggins said she dances almost every day, despite not being involved in a studio. Wiggins isn’t afraid to express herself, and said that she doesn’t involve herself with negative judgements, so she is comfortable dancing in settings outside of a studio. According to Wiggins, dance is her way of expression, so she dances anywhere from her home to school.

“Whether she’s known it or not, I think she’s always loved to dance,” said her sister, Kenisha. “We would be at the grocery store and she would be dancing. When she comes to my house all she does is dance. She’s always dancing.”

Between her job at Starbucks and her schoolwork, she hasn’t had the time to commit to a company like she was able to when she was younger, but hopes to attend dance classes over the summer when her schedule is freed up.

“It’s just all the things that I can’t say; dance says it for me,” Wiggins said. “All the hyperness, all the [excitement] and the energy for me, I can just do it all in one move and it just simplifies everything. It just says it for you, it’s just there.”

Freshman Nava Kohn, a friend of Wiggins who also dances, said that she dances to express her emotions, and said that she thinks Victoria dances for the same reasons.

“Music makes you feel really alive, so when you find a beat or something that you really like, it fills you up. It kind of becomes a way to express yourself,” Kohn said.

According to Wiggins, Kenisha, who is ten years older than her, was a source of inspiration for her dance career. Kenisha also said that she set an example for her younger sister as she danced through high school.

“Anything you do, your younger siblings just do it too,” Kenisha said. “Every time I would dance she would dance. She was always in my shoes, my clothes, my cheerleading outfit.”

Wiggins said that she and a friend may be planning a dance group for Redwood, inspired by Wiggins’ experiences in her past schools and dance groups.

“I was on my dance team at my school [in Phoenix] and then I lived in Salton Sea, California, and I was the main choreographer for that dance team,” Wiggins said.

Kohn said that she has seen Wiggins’s passion for dance growin the year they have been friends.

“At the start of the year I watched her dancing at the rally, she was really hyper. And then later this year she actually talked to me about starting a dance team. And so I can see that now she is getting motivated,” Kohn said.

Kenisha said that Wiggins’ improvement has come with age, but that she’s always had a natural talent for dance.

“[She has] become more coordinated, she has more rhythm, she may be more flexible now. She comes up with her own dances now instead of imitating what she sees. She can kind of do her own thing,” Kenisha said.

Wiggins said that she enjoys dancing with others, but emphasized the importance of individual work, which she learned through her experience in past dance groups.

“One thing about dancing is that you have to know your moves. It’s a group thing when you come on together, but as far as knowing the steps it’s more on the person,” Wiggins said.

Wiggins emphasized that she expresses a lot of optimism not only through dance, but also through her outgoing and friendly personality.

“I feel like my personality with dancing just brings out how I’m one of those people who’s bubbly and happy all the time,” Wiggins said.  “I don’t feel like anything should ever bring you down enough so that you can’t feel that way anymore. Nothing should do that, you should always have that uplifting spirit, and I bring that out through dance.”

According to Wiggins, she has maintained this positive outlook throughout the past few years. Even through a series of moves, Wiggins has sustained her confident mindset and used this to feel comfortable dancing in her new settings.

“I’ve always been experiencing different cultures. I’m just an open person, I just don’t judge. Because I feel like if you are who you are, then you express that,” Wiggins said.

However, Wiggins admits she hasn’t always held this positive attitude.

“When I was younger I think I cared too much of what people thought, and so coming into 10th grade I was just like ‘screw everyone else, I’m just gonna do me’ and I did that and it actually really worked out, and I think it makes me better as a person. I just evolved,” Wiggins said.

But no matter where she is, Wiggins said it doesn’t take a dance class to motivate her to do what she is passionate about.

“All of the music and the dance put together makes a beautiful outcome. Everything just fits with each other, nothing is out of place,” Wiggins said. “So whenever I’m feeling down I just turn up the volume and make a move.”