Metro Roundup: Homewood native earns spot on Dance Magazine’s annual Top 25 to Watch list

Every year, Homewood native Annie Morgan looks forward to reading Dance Magazine’s annual list of top 25 dancers, choreographers and companies to watch.

This year, she saw her own name on the list.

“I don’t think any dancer does it for fame, money or anything like that,” Annie said. “But it’s nice to get recognition every once in a while for a job that can be a little bit daunting.”

Annie started dancing when she was 3 three years old. Now 24, she has 21 years of experience under her belt. Annie’s mother, Mary Morgan, put Annie in lessons because it was always something Mary wanted to do when she was a little girl.

“She was one of six kids,” Annie said. “She was a baby boomer, so there was not a lot of money in the family. My grandmother said it was ridiculous. So she wasn’t able to take dance classes.”

So when Mary had a daughter, she put Annie in ballet and tap classes.

“I was really shy as a kid, so I think it stuck because obviously you don’t have to talk a lot in dance,” she said.

When Annie was 5, she started taking lessons with Kelly Holt at Backstage Dance Centre on Oxmoor Road.

“I knew from the very beginning she was something special,” Holt said. “She was the dream student — respectful, hard working, never missing class, and she understood the discipline it takes to make it in the dance world.”

Annie attended Alabama School of Fine Arts from seventh grade through graduation while still taking classes with Holt up to four days a week.

“I was dancing all day every day,” she said. “All of my friends were dancers. The community was kind of why I stuck with it and why I still do.”

Annie received her bachelor’s degree in dance at Pittsburgh’s Point Park University. Now, she works five days a week for GroundWorks Dance Theatre in Ohio.

“It’s cool to know I can make a full salary 52 weeks out of the year doing what I love every day,” she said.

Her favorite moments, she said, are when she’s on stage with her five-person dance company.

“It’s really intimate,” she said. “It’s really awesome to look up in the thick of a performance and know that your peers are there supporting you. They’re really some of my closest friends.”

Annie learns more about dancing every day, she said.

“I still feel like a student,” she said. “We’re constantly learning new information from people around us, like mentors and teachers.”

Those living in Homewood who want to make a career out of dancing should stick with it and seek as much outside information as they can get, Annie said.

“I think I learned the most when I would go away for the summer,” she said. “I know that’s not financially possible for everyone … Even just go on YouTube and watch videos. Or on Instagram, follow your favorite ballet dancer. I think it’s just important to keep seeking outside information.”

Even though she lives states away now, Annie still returns to her hometown every once in a while. Holt said Annie visited her at the studio recently to share the news of Dance Magazine naming her one of the top 25 to watch.

“I am beaming with pride, and it couldn’t have happened to a better person,” Holt said. “I always knew she would make an impact on the dance world.”