Amy Yakima

Short Biography

Amy started training at Noretta Dunworth School of Dance in Dearborn, MI, at age 3, studying ballet, tap and jazz. As time went on, she added contemporary, hip hop, gymnastics and more to her roster of styles. “I discovered that dance is how I like to communicate, ” Amy says. “It became my passion. I was at the studio every day, and I loved it.”Longtime teacher Loni Lane Padesky remembers Amy having something special from the very beginning. “She sparkled onstage, ” Padesky says. That performance quality, combined with steadily improving technique, helped Amy find success at competitions including West Coast Dance Explosion and L.A. DanceMagic, where she started winning titles as early as age 9. Stellar stage presence also helped 9-year-old Amy land the role of Clara in the Detroit production of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Amy performed as Clara in Detroit for three years, and at 12 she danced the same part in the NYC production.Middle school and high school brought more competition titles, including Miss West Coast at WCDE and 2nd runner-up Teen Outstanding Dancer at New York City Dance Alliance Nationals. But she was never in it for the trophies. “I remember dancing onstage more than what awards I was given, ” she explains. “For me, it was always about being able to touch someone’s heart with my performance.”The summer before her senior year, Amy won a scholarship to Marymount Manhattan College through NYCDA. She spent her freshman year in NYC, and then realized she wanted to take a different path. “I’m the person I am today because of Marymount, ” she says. “I needed that year of training to see where I wanted to go with dance. I decided I wanted to start auditioning and working.”She moved home to Michigan and took a position as an assistant on WCDE’s convention tour, traveling to a different city each weekend. “Assisting taught me about work ethic in an actual job setting—being ready for rehearsal, being on time, acting professionally, ” she says. During her year with WCDE, the “SYTYCD” audition tour passed through Detroit. Amy auditioned on a whim—and the rest is history.