Hopkins' Own Dancing Family

There’s a labor of love involved with dance—a two-step the Rosenzweig family knows all too well.

Lauren, Sydney and Taylor Rosenzweig, sisters on Royelles dance team this year, began dancing at age 2. They’ve spent hours perfecting their craft, dedicating evenings after school and weekends to sharpening their moves and tweaking their performance.

It’s not always easy, and, admittedly, there are days when they’re not in the mood to practice.

But dancing is in their blood. It’s what the Rosenzweigs do.

“We definitely are the dancing family,” sophomore Sydney Rosenzweig said. “We dance seven days a week. Anywhere we are, we’re dancing. It’s like the family that dances.”

Literally.

The sisters began dancing at such a young age because their mother, Barbara, had that same passion. Their father, Barry, began practicing with other fathers at the Summit Dance Shoppe two years ago per his daughters’ persistence, and he ended up auditioning for America’s Got Talent on NBC this year.

Certainly, there is the gift of jazz in this family’s genes.

“We’ve stuck with it our whole lives,” senior Lauren Rosenzweig said. “First off, I met a ton of awesome friends that I’ve been friends with my whole life. Plus it was great exercises, and it was something that was fun for me to do and I loved doing it.”

The Royelles have had multiple sister groups come through the program, but in coach Allison Bridges’ eight seasons she has never had three sisters simultaneously on the squad. That changed this year when seventh-grader Taylor Rosenzweig joined the varsity High Kick team.

That’s three Rosenzweigs totaling roughly 40 years of dancing experience.

“They’re great performers,” Bridges said. “I have to credit both their parents. They’re very involved, interested in their kids’ lives. They’re fun people, and I think you can see that in their kids.”

Performance precision comes with hours of practice, and even when the Rosenzweigs think they just aren’t in the mood to dance they realize how woven they are into the sport.

Lauren said once the music starts the excitement comes back. Taylor agreed.

“Some days I get really super excited,” Taylor said. “Some days I’ll like not want to go, but then when I get here I’ll have a lot of fun and I’ll wish I wanted to come here before.”

It’s that passion that keeps the Rosenzweigs motivated, both for the Royelles club and for the future.

The sisters all hope to continue dancing after high school to varying degrees. Lauren hopes to stay involved, either for exercise or to teach classes. Sydney wants to keep dancing in college, and Taylor’s dream is to perform on Broadway.

Why not dream big? Dancing is in these girls’ blood.

“I definitely know we are the dancing family,” Lauren said. “That’s who we are, and I’m OK with that.”