RIVERTON — The night before the final gala performance, Garrett Smith didn't think he was going to be able to finish the New York City Dance Alliance Competition.
After being selected as one of the regional winners from Los Angeles, the 16-year-old Riverton High School student had come to New York City for the national competition. The night preceding the gala, it seemed his worst fear had come to pass: He cut a deep gash into his foot when he hit it on a railing. A medic came to his room to help tend to the wound.
For some of the next day's events, he had to dance in bare feet and thought he wouldn't even be able to compete. However, things turned out much differently than he thought, and only 24 hours later he was awarded the Teen Male Outstanding Dancer for the New York City Dance Alliance.
The competition involved various types of dance, including tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, funk, lyrical and musical theater. After being chosen as regional winner in Los Angeles, Garrett and the winners from the other 22 regional competitions around the United States came to New York to compete for the national title. He spent eight hours a day for three days in dance workshops with the judges watching every move.
After the third day he had to perform a solo in front of a panel of judges, which gave him 50 percent of his total score. The other 50 percent came from his performance in the workshops. From the judges' scores, the top five dancers in his division had to perform as backup dancers for performers at the gala. The selection was cut down to the top three performers, who had to perform a solo in front of 12 judges and the crowd. At the end of the evening, Garrett was awarded the national title.
"I couldn't believe it. I started crying because I was so happy," Garrett said. "Throughout the competition, with all the work I put forth, I really wanted it so bad . . . I knew I had a good chance, and then I made it into the final five. You never know what's going to happen."
Garrett had come a long way on his road to the title, especially since he only started dancing at 9 years old. Dancing came naturally to him, and he quickly rose to the top of his jazz class at Dance Concepts studio in Sandy. He started taking ballet classes, realizing it would help improve his technique.
Choreography was another skill he caught onto quickly. He started choreographing at the age of 10 and found it came almost easier than dancing. The solo he performed to win the New York City Dance Alliance competition was one he choreographed himself.
Garrett's mother, Tamara Smith, describes her son as very focused and mature. She said many "stage moms" have to push their children to succeed, but she never had to because Garrett always did it on his own. She tries to make sure he stays balanced and offers to let him have opportunities for fulfilling other interests he may have, such as sports.
He became an Eagle Scout by the time he was 13. One time when he was 11 and working on his Arrow of Light, a preliminary award to getting his Eagle, his mother told his dance teacher that he was going to miss a class for it. His teacher got very upset and told Tamara Smith that a child with Garrett's talent needed to be in class. She replied, "I am raising a young man who dances, not a dancer."
Tamara Smith has also tried to keep Garrett from becoming arrogant about his abilities, threatening to pull him out of dance if he became so.
"Because of that insistence on my part that he realize that he has a gift and it's exquisite and God-given and he needs to use it and develop it the best he can, he always makes sure he recognizes whom to thank for it," she said.
One of Garrett's favorite types of dances is improvisation, when he gets to put on music and make up the steps as he goes along.
"Whenever I have the chance to improv, it would be my favorite because you get to dance the way you feel. It's so fun and you can really get into it. It's just a way of getting away from everyday life," he said. "It's the funnest way that you can be an artist because you are an artist yourself."
Along with the title of Teen Male Outstanding Dancer, Garrett was also awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Steps on Broadway and was invited to stay at the School of American Ballet. Garrett spent six weeks this summer participating in the ballet school's summer intensive program, being trained by principle and professional dancers. Because of Garrett's talent, Tamara Smith said many professional companies want him to join their company, but he wants to finish high school first.
Even though Garrett is only 16, he is doing all the work for both his junior and senior years in high school. In addition to his full load of classes, he will have to complete online classes and six additional credits to be able to graduate this year. He will also be traveling to perform and help teach other dancers, as a result of winning his title.
"It will be pretty hard because I will be flying every weekend, but I have confidence within myself," he said.
Even though Garrett's schedule will be very busy, his mother intends to see that he takes care of himself.
"My goal as a parent is to make sure he sleeps," Tamara Smith said, with a chuckle.
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com