Page 10 - MidWeek Windward - June 9, 2021

10 JUNE 9, 2021
24-7 Dancer Crowned Miss Hawai‘i’s Outstanding Teen
IBY GINGER KELLER
my confidence and one of the things I love most about life. Whether it’s performing in front of an audience or teach- ing keiki hip-hop classes, I love inspiring others to invest in their own passions.”
On the Hawaiʻi Convention Center stage, Sexton, along with the other contestants, participated in four rounds: an interview, fitness, evening gown and talent. For the lat- ter, she performed a hip-hop dance to Alicia Key’s 2001 hit Fallin’ . Her experiene with the Kāneʻohe dance studio undoubtedly prepared her: she won the pageant’s Thom McGarvey Talent Award.
“I went blank,” she says with a laugh. “I really went blank for a moment. Some- one took a photo and it’s just me with big eyes in disbelief. That’s my favorite photo from the whole thing. It really just captures how I was feeling.”
Sexton says she’s prepar- ing for nationals by dancing with 24-7 Danceforce and watching her favorite TV show — RuPaul’s Drag Race — to boost her con- fidence, adding that she’s thankful to 24-7 Danceforce and director Marcelo Pacleb for keeping her motivated and helping her feel confident on stage.
t’s a full-circle moment for Ilima Sexton, who was recently crowned
Miss Hawai‘i’s Outstanding Teen, as she heads to Orlan- do, Florida, this July. She’ll be vying for the national title in the same city where she was born.
Until recently, pageants weren’t even on this dancer’s radar.
Sexton’s platform focuses on body positivity.
Sexton, now 15 years old, moved to Hawai‘i as a tod- dler, as her mom and dad are originally fron O‘ahu.
“My hairdresser Dustin thought I would be good for it,” says Sexton.
“It’s something we don’t talk about often because I feel like everyone, especially teens, don’t want to come off as weak, and voicing our inse- curities make us come across as weak or not as confident as we should be when, really, it’s OK to be vulnerable.
To keep up with Sexton’s
Ilima Sexton
Dancing has been an in- tegral part of Sexton’s life, a passion she’s nurtured at Kāneʻohe’s 24-7 Danceforce.
“At first I wasn’t very inter- ested because it didn’t seem like my type of scene, but I was on Instagram and came across the program, and from looking on their social media and seeing what they stood for and what the last titlehold- er Makaila was doing got me interested. I wanted to connect with my community, teach dance classes, speak more on problems in the community — especially my platform, body positivity — and share that positivity with everyone and connect with other young woman like me.”
“Training with 24-7 Dance- force helped me both phys- ically and mentally prepare for the competition,” Sexton asserts.
“My absolute favorite thing about dance are the connec- tions I make because of it,” she states.
“Personally, dance is my outlet of confidence so being able to learn in such an uplift- ing environment really helped me stay positive. My time with them has also helped me grow as a dancer, opening me up to new creative choices and pushing me to become (physically) stronger.
“Our role models need to be people that aren’t afraid to show the real, unfiltered ver- sions of themselves, so having this title would mean that I get to be the person that girls say, ‘She’s literally just like me and she’s going through the same struggles, but yet she’s still putting herself out there and is confident in her own way by being herself.’”
“Before dance, I was ex- tremely shy and introverted. At my first dance class, I re- member crying because I was so nervous that I would em- barrass myself. Fast-forward nine years later and dance has now become the root of
When her name was an- nounced as the winner, Sex- ton had a humble reaction.
Ilima Sexton says that she was stunned when she found out she won the Miss Hawai‘i’s Outstanding Teen title. PHOTOS COURTESY JON FUJIWARA
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