With one look at new dance team coach Haven Barrett, you can tell that she is a free spirit. Her long, jet-black, blonde streaked hair, her hiphop-influenced outfits, and her unique makeup make her easy to pick out in a crowd. She is tall, bold, and only 22 years old. This year, she is taking over as coach of the Hi-Steppers dance team.
Barrett spends her whole day dancing. After coaching in the morning, she and Rachel Fine teach studio dance classes from around 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. every weekday, and two classes on Saturdays. The Albany studio, called “Haven’s Urban Movement,” opened July 7. It’s in Periwinkle Plaza, next to Arby’s.
“I’ve wanted to own a studio since I was a little kid. This has always been a dream of mine, so it’s still really surreal,” said Barrett. “When I was a kid and I had to start traveling to go get good instruction, it bothered me because I would have to go hours away and then drive hours home. I felt like it was really my time to go for it…to open a studio in Albany where dancers who wanted take it more seriously, on an industry level, don‘t have to travel. “
Barrett has been dancing since she was six. Under the direction of Lori DeBord, she danced at Albany Dance Academy until she was 11.
“I decided to go to Portland, dance, and travel around to different drop-ins and masterclasses. I went to Seattle…and I did a lot of different conventions alone because I felt like I needed to keep growing, and I wasn’t growing where I was at. I went off on my own with my mother in her minivan. That’s what we did.”
Barrett danced for the Hi-Steppers all four years of high school, becoming a captain her senior year. After she graduated, she was asked back several times to choreograph dances and help coach. When dance teacher and former Hi-Steppers coach Lisa Bacus left at the end of the 2017-2018 season, Barrett says Bacus offered the position to her.
“I feel like I’ve always coached West. I was always connected with it, I never left it. Every year I was doing something in it, so I was always there. I just wanted to take the next step. My coach said, ‘Hey, I think you’d be great at doing this because you know the program,’ and she was the one who brought it up to me first.”
Barrett prefers an industry style approach to dance, meaning she teaches her choreography at a fast pace. She teaches just a bit above the listed difficulty, so that dancers are always growing and learning something new. She keeps her focus on technical ability and corrects dancers as soon as she sees something wrong.
“I want them to grow right at that moment. Even if they’re young, I don’t just let it slide. I try to enforce good habits before it gets too late.”
When it comes to creativity, Barrett is laid-back. She wants her dancers to start thinking about being creative for themselves and to tap into their own creative side. This season, she say
s, will be about building confidence in the girls.
“I like to let them lead with their own mind a little bit…so it’s not just me all the time. I want to help them reach their goals as a team and earn something out of dance team instead of just going to competitions. I want them to feel like they did a really, really good job and walk away from it with confidence.”
