Wednesday’s Child: Young dancer has dreams of traveling the world and a forever family

SALT LAKE CITY — At Ballroom Utah Dance Studio in Salt Lake City, every step has a purpose.

For 15-year-old Audriana, the steps being counted out by owner and instructor Martin Skupinski are new.

Audriana is learning the waltz.

“It’s something I’ve never done before,” Audriana said.

Audriana started dancing when she was just 2-years-old. Over the years she’s learned ballet, hip hop, and jazz. Her favorite dance to perform is ballet folklorico.

“You have a large skirt, and you pick it up, it has really nice colors and you can make pretty patterns with the dress as it turns,” Audriana said.

Gliding across the dance floor is something that is therapeutic for Audriana, who has lived in foster care for the past seven months.

“With dance, I feel like it just helps me regulate my emotions, I guess, it’s really special for me,” she said.

Audriana is planning to try out for her high school ballroom dance team, but dance isn’t the only thing that makes her who she is today; she loves playing games and being with her friends. She also loves cats.

“I did have a cat and she was just the cutest cat ever, so yeah, I do really love cats,” she laughed.

Love of learning and traveling

Audriana said she loves learning, and she enjoys being at school. She takes an interest in health and animal sciences and is considering a career as a nurse or a vet.

“I think I am very caring, and I like making sure other people are okay,” Audriana said. “I have been looking into animal sciences just a little, they have a vet internship program that I can do my senior year.”

Setting and achieving goals is important to Audriana, she is very motivated when she sets her mind on something. One of her goals is to travel more, she would like to see London and Japan.

“I actually have traveled a lot,” she said. “I’ve been almost everywhere, I’ve been to South America, Europe, I was 200 miles away from the North Pole once.”

Traveling the world is something Audriana would like to do with people she can call family. That kind of connection is important to her.

“I think family means something you can fall back on, people you can go home to and talk to, people who won’t judge you,” she said.

Audriana’s hopes and dreams are big, and she’s determined to go after them. But having people to love and guide her as she works towards those dreams is what’s missing right now.

“I just need school, and dance, and a support system that can support me in stuff that I need, but also to help me stay realistic,” she said.

To learn more about Audriana please visit contact Raise the Future at 801-265-0444.