From jazz to contemporary, hip hop to ballet, sophomore Kiera Meighan has performed it all since she was three years old.

As a toddler, Meighan performed with the studio Dance Attack, but put a focus on ballet at 11 when she joined The Dance Company of Los Gatos. During the summer, Meighan attends summer intensives, overnight rehearsals in cities such as Boston or San Francisco. She has also performed in shows such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Meighan especially enjoyed playing Clara the in “The Nutcracker.”

“It’s any young ballerina’s dream role,” she said. “When you go to see The Nutcracker you pretty much focus on Clara because she’s the main character.”

Meighan said dancing as a specific character, such as Clara, allows her to communicate herself through that role.

“You have to have some passion when you’re dancing,” Meighan said. “Ballet is an art and you get to express so much through it. It’s so versatile in the way it’s expressed and is a really nice mix of things that I love.”

With the art of dance comes unnecessary toxicity, especially in body image. As a ballerina, Meighan has seen and experienced negative input on her and her peers’ bodies. Issues with body dysmorphia and eating disorders are frequently documented in ballet dancers.

“It’s hard to escape that world because we’re in the mirror all the time,” she said.

To overcome the daunting pressures of body expectations, Meighan does her best to move past those expectations and remind herself why she’s there.

“I’m not there to love how I look in the mirror or anything like that,” said Meighan. “I’m there to dance.”

One of Meighan’s favorite aspects of ballet is performing. She enjoys being able to give something back to the community and inspiring others to value dance.

“It’s so nice to see how we as artists inspire young people and even older people.”

In the future, Meighan hopes to dance professionally.

“It’s a dream to dance for a professional company,” she said. “I always want to have ballet and dance in my life.”

Meighan’s past performance was of the “The Nutcracker” in November.