Bullied Teen Excels In Dance At Chicago Academy For The Arts

CHICAGO, IL - Isaiah Day remembers having a rough time growing up and attending traditional schools as a young male dancer in the city of Chicago. Through eighth grade, he was often called hurtful names and treated with disrespect.

“It was rough,” Day, now 15 and a sophomore at The Chicago Academy for the Arts, said in a profile of him on the school website. “Every other boy played sports, and I knew as a dancer that I was an outcast.”

Many times Day, of Hyde Park, would find himself as the only male dancer in a group. But that's not the case now that he attends The Academy, located on the Near North Side. He's among many male peers as part of the school's Repertory Dance Company.

"The best part is to be around people who are so hungry to be great and focused on the craft, especially the dancers," he told Patch. "I'm inspired to be good around them."

Day said that he first started dancing while in sixth grade, and that it was when he became an eighth grader when he realized it was his passion. He will be part of upcoming performances on Dec. 2 at the Youth Dance Exhibition at Ridgewood High School in Norridge and Jan. 20 at the Senior-Choreographed Dance Concert at Athenaeum Theatre.

From local dancing teams to the spotlight at The Academy, Day speaks highly of the "professional environment" there.

"It's geared toward college and the professional world," he said. "The dancing here is not like it is at a regular high school."

Day's dream of dancing professionally is aided by a full scholarship he received to the Academy, which provides some type of financial assistance to about 60 percent of its student body.

But before the scholarship was awarded, it was Day's persistence to continue doing something he loved that made it possible.

"I have a big passion for what I like, and I'm not going to give that up because of what someone else says," he said. "I love dancing and nothing can change that."

Photo by Thomas Mohr Photography