Meet Sorrin Garcia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sorrin Garcia.

Sorrin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am from the small town of Miami, AZ. I have a very supportive and involved family. I started dancing when I was four years old. This is when my story began. I fell in love with dance (especially ballet) I quickly went from one class to two, then five, and soon six days a week commuting three of those days to Mesa.

During this time I was also participating in Girl Scouts I loved giving back to the community and learning all about leadership, communication, and business. I was a Girl Scout from kindergarten (Daisy) to 5th grade (Junior). During this time I volunteered as often as I could. I was a girl boss during cookie season; I was the top seller in my troop four out of six years.

When I was ten, my mother and I moved to Phoenix for me to pursue training in ballet to hopefully one day dance with a professional ballet company. This was a hard decision to make as we would be leaving behind my grandparents, friends, dance team and Girl Scout Troop. But I knew, the only way I would have a future in ballet was to get more training.

I started at The School of Ballet Arizona in the summer of 2016 in their Pre-Professional Program. This year I was moved up to Professional Program Level 1. I dance six days a week and perform throughout the year.

I began competing in pageants in 2014 and have continued doing one system each year leading me to the Miss America Outstanding Teen system. Last year I was appointed to the title of Miss Estrella Mountain’s Outstanding Teen and placed in the top ten in the 2019 Miss Arizona’s Outstanding Teen competition. I currently hold the local title of Miss Scottsdale’s Outstanding Teen 2020 which I won in October 2019 and will compete for Miss Arizona’s Outstanding Teen in June of 2020.

I currently attend a high school in the Phoenix Union School District as a sophomore. I attend one of the small specialty schools. I currently have a weighted GPA of 4.5 and have plans to graduate in May of 2021. After graduating from high school I plan to take a year to train full time in preparation for auditioning for a place in a professional ballet company and to start working on my degree in education.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The sacrifices I have made and continue to make while learning ballet have had a huge impact on my life. I was schooled at home, so I could commute 140 miles, to dance and back, four days a week I also danced another two days at home. I missed out on making friends and building school memories. I missed family and friend’s special and tragic days, which puts a strain on all relationships. Because the window for ballet dancers is so small, my family has had to put their own goals and dream on hold to help me pursue mine. This weighs on me to know my dreams coming true could mean theirs don’t.

In 2015, my mom and I moved from our small town of Miami, AZ to Phoenix for me to pursue my dream, leaving behind my elderly grandparents and the only home I have ever known. I have had a few medical conditions I have had to overcome to pursue my goals. When I was very young I had chronic ear infections which led to some hearing loss as a dancer I have to learn to work through this issue. I still struggle with this if my ears are flaring up or if it is loud. When I was eleven it was found I have a heart murmur. When I was given the news I was not sure if it would end my dream of dancing professionally. I had to wear a heart monitor for a month for doctors to be able to see what was happening with my heart in day to day life and dance. I wore the monitor for 23 hours a day and it was a constant reminder that I might not be able to pursue my dream. However, I was fortunate that doctors found I didn’t have to stop dancing.

Please tell us about your work.
My work is service, ballet, and studying not always in that order. I am a full time high school student taking all honors courses and planning to graduate early. I also train at The School of Ballet Arizona as part of the Professional Program Level 1, 20-25 hours a week. Last but not least I give back to my community as often as possible whether that be through road clean up, collecting food for my school’s food bank, donating to the local group home and child services, or volunteering with Ballet Arizona. I find that helping others keeps your grateful and being grateful is necessary to be happy. I also work with public education groups to gain support for public education. I think a few things set me apart from my small town background, my drive to succeed, and my commitment to service.

Is there something we can do as a city to improve the outlook for businesses like yours?
I moved from a small town because the opportunities were in the city. I couldn’t continue to work towards being a professional dancer if I wasn’t located in the Phoenix area. The Miss America Outstanding Teen program was not located in the area where I grew up. However, service was a large part of my life before moving here. I was involved in Girl Scouts and we participated in community service projects every month.

Contact Info:

• Website: msa.ke/missscottsdaleot
• Email: missscottsdaleot2020@gmail.com
• Instagram: @sorrin_garcia and @missscottsdaleot
• Facebook: Sorrin Garcia and Miss Scottsdale’s Outstanding Teen
• Twitter: @GarciaSorrin and @Miss Scottsdale’s OT

Image Credit:
Illuminate AZ
Mako Photography
The Nicole Justine Co.

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