PATRICIA HANNETT is self-confident ? at 13.
Without batting an eyelash, she answers every question in this interview with ease, and unlike most teenagers, has good certainty about her preferences in music, fashion, and academics.
Based in Connecticut, Patricia visits the Philippines to see relatives. She says, ?I enjoy seeing the culture and how everything works here. I like to see the beaches and nature, because [here,] it?s nowhere near as nice as the US. The beaches are not as clean, too.?
Just dance
An incoming eighth grader at the School of the Holy Child in New York, Patricia started dancing hip-hop at 8, and moved up levels almost every two years.
In 2008, she took up jazz, and this year, learned modern dance and ballet. ?I enjoy dancing because it lets you express yourself through moving your body in many different ways. The choreography is so different from anything else and each dance has its own style, and that?s what I enjoy about it,? she says.
Of all the dance genres she has learned, Patricia says jazz is her favorite. ?I enjoy jazz the most, even though I just started this year. In jazz, it?s more graceful, and I think I?m better at it, which makes it more fun.?
She practices almost 15 hours a week during summer and six hours a week during the school year, outside of her school activities.
Apparently unaware of her unique talent to excel in many dance genres, Patricia takes it all in stride. ?In school we just learn the basics of tap dance, which I?m not a big fan of, and ballet. I?m still deciding if I?m going into pointe shoes or not,? she says simply.
Last June, in a spring performance, she did two numbers, a hip-hop and jazz routine. She recalls, ?I had fun especially backstage where we had to put on our own makeup and helped each other.?
The performance bug may have bit her hard. To celebrate her mother?s birthday and Father?s Day, she gathered three younger sisters, cousins, and her sister?s friend to choreograph a show for the couple, with no less than 20 dance numbers.
?We had to do so many quick changes and layered our clothes. By the end we were sweating so much!? she says.
Style lab
Patricia laments that attending a strict Catholic school leaves her with almost no room for creativity in fashion; she loves fashion. ?I like to be comfortable yet fashionable,? she says, adding that she gets to express her style only during monthly dress-down or casual days in school. ?I plan what I?m going to wear because I have a lot of things to wear. I might be the only one who thinks about it, among my friends, because some of them might not be as into fashion as I am.?
She tries to express her style by wearing simple jewelry with her school uniform, but prefers denim jeans or shorts, and layering her tops during weekends.
?I like to layer a lot, because it brings out the top layer more than just wearing a single layer of clothing. So I usually layer tank tops, or wear a tank top under a nice shirt.?
Patricia draws inspiration from friends and TV. ?I try to find clothes kind of like what they wear.? Her usual shopping spots include Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale, and American Eagle.
Cool school
Patricia?s also into sports in school ? cross-country running, track-and-field, and basketball. Evidently having good body coordination, Patricia learned squash last school year, but is leaning towards tennis this year.
In the classroom, she enjoys Science and Social Studies ? ?I think history and culture are very interesting.?
At the start of the shoot, Patricia shyly poses for the camera. She gets a confidence boost, however, as her mother and father try to loosen her up. ?Pose like you?re dancing! Or just do some of your dance moves!? her mother suggests.
A couple of frames later, Patricia goes on a solo flight and strikes different poses like a pro. ?That?s it! That?s it!? the photographer shouts.
She lets her personality shine through, even under the watchful gaze of the shoot staff and her parents.
Patricia is comfortable under the spotlight, which is where she may belong ultimately.
