Behind every dance, she tells her story. And with every graceful leap and every small step, a truly skilled dancer tells her story to anyone who will listen. She loves every sensation that dancing lets her feel. The feeling of her skirts rustling around her legs; the feeling of her feet moving rhythmically across the floor; the feeling of power through every movement.

Since she was two and a half years old, freshman Dena’h Gregory has pursued her passion every day on the dance floor hoping that her story and love for dance will be told through her dedication. Spending over 40 hours in the studio a week, Gregory reaches for greatness every day by training through intense workouts in the studio and conventions.

“I have a goal I want to reach, and I am very dedicated to reaching that goal,” Gregory said. “It’s not easy but I am incredibly fortunate to have my parents that support my goal and dance teachers that continue to push me to strive to be better.”

Gregory plans on trying out for a professional contemporary ballet company such as Complexions in New York, Lines in San Francisco or Netherlands Dance Theatre, when she turns 18. Gregory says she will be focusing on her ballet technique for the next four years until she is able to audition and begin her future.

Dancing for a total of four companies, two pre-professional and two professional, Gregory continues to dance at The American Dance Center, Devotion Dance Company, Artists Simply Human, and TOKYOtheCOMPANY. Gregory also assists at these companies and trains to reach her dream. While training to be the best, Gregory has traveled to over 29 U.S. states and other countries such as France, Australia, England, Germany, Finland, Poland, Canada and Mexico. With all the traveling that occurs for Gregory to reach her dream, she also has to make sacrifices of being a teenager in high school.

For the last five years, Gregory has been training and competing, which doesn’t leave her with much free time or even time to go to school. Gregory is home-schooled by her mother and only attends Southwest in the mornings for Honors Biology and French 1.

“I definitely haven’t had much time for my friends since I travel so much,” Gregory said. “I do meet a lot of wonderful people while traveling and keep in touch with most of them.”

Currently Gregory is not traveling for dance but training right in the Kansas City area. Gregory says she has been enjoying her time off to spend time with her friends, family, boyfriend Dylan Pandjaris and being a part of the crowd at Timberwolf football games.

“There are definitely a lot of things that other kids my age do that I just don’t have time for,” Gregory said. “Sometimes I wish I had more time to be a teenager but I am determined to make it to the next level in my dancing career.”

Gregory says she could not make it to her dream without the help of her parents, dance teachers, grandmother and godfather.

Gregory’s mother, Debi Gregory, has been a great impact on Gregory’s career and giving her the education she needs. A sacrifice for Debi was that she had to quit her teaching job at Blue Valley High School in order to homeschool her daughter during the day before she had to rush off to the studio. Debi not only teaches her daughter in school-related courses but also trains Gregory in dance as well. Debi says that she wouldn’t change a thing but some family sacrifices were difficult to get used to.

“We don’t have much time together as a family, but we make the most of what we do have,” Debi said. “ Our philosophy is that quality is better than quantity.”

Dena’h’s father, Mike Gregory, has also had to make some sacrifices in order to keep his daughter’s dream alive. He says the hardest part is having to go towork every day in order to keep up with the financial side of Dena’h’s dream.

“We just want Dena’h to be happy,” Mike said. “She has her own dance goals and we try to do our best to help support her in reaching those goals.”

All of Gregory’s family and teachers contribute to her goal of being a professional dancer after she graduates high school. One dance teacher of Gregory’s, Tokyo, says Gregory’s hard work and 100 percent dedication will make Gregory’s dream to be a professional dancer a reality.

“Dena’h attends every class and every rehearsal in addition to every extra class that is available in her schedule plus understanding multiple roles for the shows,” Tokyo said. “She even took class sitting on the ground while she was healing from a stress fracture in her knee last spring.”

Tokyo is pleased to be able to work with Gregory and to help her make it to the next level in her dance career. Tokyo always helps put Gregory’s interests in perspective when helping her choose working for other dance companies. Tokyo believes that Gregory can make it anywhere she wants with the amount of talent and passion she has for dance.

“Dena’h is a very gifted dance student as well as a wonderful person, and she is extremely motivated,” Tokyo said. “She tries to make every correction that she is given because she is driven to succeed.”