Story Created:
Oct 31, 2006 at 11:28 AM EST
Story Updated:
Oct 31, 2006 at 11:28 AM EST
How many times can you spin around before you get dizzy? Five? Ten? If you have a good inner ear maybe fifteen? Now that we have you up, try spinning around on one foot.
She's a dance teacher in her own right now, but it wasn't too long ago that 14-year-old Alicia Clifton was struggling to learn the difficult positions of ballet and the complicated ball, heel, toe combinations of tap.
"Yeah, it's real difficult because you have to think about fifty million different things and one to do all at once."
To say that she mastered them would be an understatement. Closing in on her 15th birthday, Alicia can count herself among the world's best tap dancers; placing in the top three twice in world championships.
"I've been dancing for eleven years now."
If you want a true measure of alicia's talent, picture a music box dancer. Take one shoe off. Wind her up and watch her spin.
"People say it's my body structure. There's just something about it. I have a really good center."
Alicia learned to pirouette in ballet class like every other girl her age, but she could always spin really well. She kept working on it though and pretty soon she could out-spin anyone, even teachers like angela sellers.
"To even see someone do four or five in a row is what we call in the dance world extremely good," says Sellers. "We would call them a turner."
Late last year she got together a bunch of friends and witnesses. She rolled a camera and spun off 36 consecutive pirouettes. That shattered the unofficial mark of sixteen and circled her for a spot in the guinness book of world records.
"Yep, they sent me the certificate and hopefully I'll be in the book. I'm not sure yet," says Alicia Clifton.
She's just a 9th grader in Moore, but her training continues. In practice, Alicia says she's completed 38 pirouettes. 40 wouldn't be out of the question on a good day. Get the right witnesses in order and she might just give it a spin.
