Love of Dance
Jenna Goss Pursues Her Passion in Los Angeles
“Hold me closer, tiny dancer, count the headlights on the highway, lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today.”
The words of Elton John’s song “Tiny Dancer” ring true for Edmond Memorial graduate Jenna Goss. She has probably counted the headlights on the highway, she has been the tiny dancer, and she has many busy days.
Jenna was one of 20 recipients of the Edge Performing Arts Scholarship. To earn the scholarship, she traveled to Hollywood, Calif., to audition, competing against 150 other dancers from all over North America. After winning, she packed up her belongings and moved to Los Angeles, her new home for the next year.
She started dancing at the young age of 2 1/2. A San Antonio native, her first dance studio was Dorothy Keck Dance. In 1991, she and her family moved to Edmond, where she took dance at two studios around town until about seventh grade. Then, she started at Amy Reynolds-Reed’s Dance Unlimited, located at Second and Bryant. This is the studio where Jenna received her core dance classes.
“Jenna wanted to receive training at the next level,” said Jenna’s dad, Alan Goss. “At that time we found a new dance studio that was in its infancy stage. Dance Unlimited, with owner/director Amy Reynolds-Reed, changed the course of Jenna’s dance career. Up until that time, Jenna just danced. It was through Amy’s direction and her own experience and love of dance that brought out the passion of dance in Jenna. Amy was not only a mentor to Jenna, teaching her the value of commitment and discipline, but became a true friend to her.”
The studio was Jenna’s home away from home for six years. In those years, she studied and perfected ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, and even took on voice and acting. She was a member of the studio’s Vibe Dance Company for all six years. The Vibe Dance Company is Dance Unlimited’s special group of dancers who attend workshops, conventions and competitions across the country. To be a part of the company, the dancer must go through auditions.
Jenna is still adjusting to the fast-paced life that is Los Angeles. According to her mom, Barbara Goss, she is doing well, but she misses home, the studio and all the comfort of Edmond.
She left for Los Angeles in August, and classes started the first of September. Jenna is getting the opportunity to study under the top dancers and entertainers in the business. She is taking about 35-40 hours of dance class a week.
“She loves every minute of it. It’s very intense, but the harder the better,” her mom said.
Sometimes, the Edge studio receives celebrity students like Kirsten Dunst and members from the reality TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Jenna is taking many of the same classes that she took here, but on a higher level. According to her mother, jazz has always been her favorite type of dance. When she was taking dance here, her least favorite was ballet. In LA, her ballet class is one of her favorite classes. Her parents were amazed.
The sky’s the limit for Jenna when her year in California is up. She may pursue dancing in music videos, touring with a professional dance company or teaching dance. At the end of her year, she will go through another audition process. This time, she will audition for agents.
“She’s already won an agent award, so that door is already open for her,” her mother said.
That’s just one award on the list of many that Jenna has received. Amy Reynolds-Reed, her teacher at Dance Unlimited in Edmond, commends Jenna for her work ethic.
“Jenna has a passion and gift for dance and performing that you cannot teach,” Reynolds-Reed said. “She was always a very willing participant and went above and beyond to perfect her craft. She never questions what her teachers give her, she would come up to the studio after school every day to work on ‘troubling’ steps. She is self-motivated and encouraging to others around her.”
