At Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, students are used to stepping into the spotlight, but for junior dance student Sofia Torres, that's something new.
"My dance teachers are so excited; they're like, you're the first dancer in the school to ever do this," Torres said of getting the lead in a theater production. "A lot of what I've been learning is that I can sing, that I CAN SING! I didn't know that."
Torres, who is in Booker T's dance conservatory, was cast in the leading role in the school's upcoming theater production of 'Get On Your Feet.' The musical is based on the life and career of Cuban-American, Grammy Award-winning artist Gloria Estefan.
"I feel very honored to be playing this role. She's a big part of who I am and how I was raised," Torres said. "I'm Cuban. My great-grandma came here when she was eight months pregnant with my grandma. They came on one of the last freedom flights."
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Torres' proud connection to her Cuban roots helped her stand out in auditions.
"She has a beautiful quality of movement, and that's just really who Gloria is," Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Musical Theater Director Jeffery Miller said. "We teach kids that you have to be your authentic self. So being able to be authentic and represent the culture. It just brings a whole new level of believability."
"Every time I read it, there's something else, and I'm like, 'Oh, this is my story too,'" Torres said of the musical script, noting it sounds like some of the stories her grandmother and great-grandmother shared. "I have learned everything I can about Cuba from them and their stories. Like every day, there's a new story! I'm like, oh my gosh! When do the stories end? And I don't think they ever will because there's just so much rich culture. So I really embrace that."
The Scene
'Get On Your Feet' opens Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Booker T. Washington's Montgomery Arts Theatre and runs through Sunday, Sept. 15. For tickets, click here.
