From the time she put on that uniform or costume. Sophia Bulava knew she wanted to perform. From dancer to cheerleader, to singer, Sophia Bulava has a variety of talents. Sophia, now a senior, has had a busy life for as long as she can remember. Having school and multiple practices and games on the same day. But, this doesn’t get in the way of doing everything she loves. Having such a variety of hobbies or sports she enjoys, exposes her to new people and a new atmosphere making her comfortable to express her talent and herself. Once being timid and shy to confident and 

Cheer

Cheerleading has been in Sophia’s life for the past 7 years. She started doing midget cheer in elementary school to cheer on the kids in her grade. Then, middle school tryouts came around and this was the first time she had tryouts. The team was only taking twenty girls and there were about forty-five girls at the tryout. While this made Sophia nervous she gave it her all in those tryouts, “I was ready to show what I could do and I left it all on the court.” Luckily she made the team for both seventh and eighth grade. In eighth grade, she had the opportunity to be a game leader for a game or two to get familiar with what was to come in a couple of years for high school. The middle school squad cheered for Junior High Football, basketball, and JV games on Saturdays.  Something different about middle school was the cheerleaders would perform at halftime for the fans. Sophia fell in love with cheer and wanted to keep becoming a better and better athlete. She tried out for high school for all four years and made it every time. “I worked really hard to be where I’m at today.” Bulava was the “top girl,” in her stunt group known as the flyer for all of her years in cheer. For her senior season, she seized the opportunity to try for captain. She and Porsche Sartoris got the titles for this season. “I was so thankful when I heard my name called, it felt like a dream that came true.” Bulava hopes to continue her cheer career in college. She has gone to clinics and has been working hard to make that opportunity a reality. 

Competitive Dance

Bulava has been dancing at The Dance Alley for fifteen years and then for their competition team for ten years. At the Dance Alley, they exercise every style of dance, including tap, lyrical, and jazz to name a few. Sophia has a total of eight dances this year and comes into the studio three times a week. Dance is a year-round sport, only having about a two-week break. She has summer classes two days a week, then choreography starts for competition. By the time March roles around her and her team are ready to go to competitions in the Pittsburgh and Youngstown areas. The competitions are usually two to three days, depending on the competition, the process of all the dances and awards can be from early in the morning to late at night.  While the days are long and tiring, the girls always find a way to make the time go by faster, “We hang out together, eat dinner together, and if we have time we could go to a nearby mall.” The competitions are the most challenging yet fun time for Sophia and her fellow dancers. Whenever they come back from each competition they evaluate as a team and watch the judge’s critiques to perfect their routines. “I really like that we have the critiques to better myself for my solo, and the group dances for everyone, it makes us want to become better dancers for the next competition.” After the competitions, Bulava and the rest of the studio get ready for the recital from April to June. This year Sophia has to do a bit more for this year’s showcase. “This year I have to make a senior table, it consists of pictures of me over the years of dancing recital t-shirts and basically showing my whole dance career.” Although it’s her last year Sophia plans to come back and support the younger dancers in the upcoming years, “I want to support the girls just like how they’ve supported me through the years.” 

Musical Theatre 

Sophia started her musical journey five years ago. First, she was involved with the chorus throughout elementary school, singing at concerts and in class. Once she got into middle school she loved singing but wasn’t into musical theatre. but once she saw a television show it introduced her to a newfound love. “Up until the start of eighth grade, when I saw the show Glee I had never been into musicals. Even though I’ve always enjoyed singing, I think this show inspired me to join the drama club and perform in school musicals.”  Moving on to bigger things, Sophia, feeling good about her past musical in middle school, At the Bandstand, she tried out to be a dancer in her freshman show, Bye Bye Birdie. She loved the experience and the atmosphere of that show. The upperclassmen made her feel like she belonged, “The upperclassmen made me feel so welcome and made me want to be there.” She continued to be in, Pippin. She, as well as five other girls, were the main dancers in the production. The next year, she got a call back for, The Wizard of Oz, but then got cast as a dancer again. Though she loved to be a part of the process, she wanted to advance. She took a chance to try out for a bigger, role. The audition went well, then she anxiously waited for a callback. Once she got the callback she was ecstatic to prove that she deserved this step up. A couple of days later the cast list came out, and Bulava got the role of Urleen for this upcoming musical, Footloose. Sophia compares the difference in how she has evolved from a dancer to one of the big roles this year, “My role in Bye Bye Birdie was a teen dancer. I was in four dance numbers and was in the background of a couple of scenes. This year for Footloose my character’s name is Urleen. I am in most of Act One and about half of Act Two. She has a good amount of lines and I sing a bunch of songs like, ‘Somebody’s Eyes,’ and ‘Holding Out for a Hero.”  While this is her last show she is beyond grateful for the experiences she’s had and the life-long friends she has made.

Sophia Bulava proves that when you do what you love it doesn’t matter how busy are because the time slips away from you. “Before I knew it I was a senior, it was my last year to do sports and the musicals that I loved for so many years.”