In high school, everyone has their niche. You know, the choir kids have their recitals. Cheerleaders have their football games. Members of Academic League meet to prepare for matches.

For senior Mojalé Arnold, her niche is contemporary dance.

It’s an activity that has become quite routine for her, considering Arnold has been dancing for 14 years. “I have been dancing since I was 3 years old,” Arnold said. “It was more like your hobby you do, your little sport.” As a young girl, she practiced modern dance for a period of time, although she would eventually discover that her heart lay within the means of contemporary dance’s technique. Her love for the style began while watching the ever-popular dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance? “I remember all of my favorite routines were always contemporary on So You Think You Can Dance? because they were so beautiful and it had a story,” Arnold said. Fortunately for her, after dancing in modern style, she had the opportunity to start training in contemporary. “I started training in modern dance and then we had the opportunity to do contemporary with some of the younger teachers and I realized that it was my favorite thing to do.”

For Arnold, her dedication to dance has not just been for fitness reasons; it has also acted as an aid to alleviate emotional stress. “[Dance is] actually really therapeutic in a way because it’s helped me process some really deep emotions that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do without opening it up and making a dance to it. It’s also my form of working out too because there’s a lot of work that goes into it.”

Arnold’s position on Dance Troupe has helped her create unbreakable bonds she would not trade for the world. “We’re all there to dance, and the girls on my team are so kind it’s ridiculous. I’m so undeserving of those friendships. I feel like there’s a really special bond that you build while you’re dancing with someone because you’re being so emotionally vulnerable. Also you have to trust them so much. I think we’re closer than normal friends because we dance together,” Arnold said.

Arnold’s interests aren’t limited to dance; she also expresses a love for film. “I’m super interested in film…I’m a part of Caiman TV, and…I’ve always been super in love with film in general, like movies and script writing and stuff like that.” Arnold provided an insight into one of the greatest influences on her inspiration for filmmaking: “I love Sofia Coppola. She directed some really indie movies, which are my favorite. Sofia Coppola directed The Bling Ring which was the first movie I saw of hers, and that’s when I kind of fell in love with her and discovered her. I went and watched all her other movies; she’s so inspiring. She does independent films and doesn’t rely on her dad’s wealth and fame. She does her own thing and it’s so different.”

Even when high school comes to an end for Arnold, she still desires to continue to dance. “I definitely do want to continue dancing outside of high school. I’d really love to dance with a company,” Arnold said. “And on top of that, being on a team now, it’s been really cool to build those bonds with people because we’re all doing the same thing.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally, we said “she” twice in the last sentence of Mojale’s interview. As of Nov. 6, 2:58 p.m., that’s been changed.