Extra Effort: Annabel Tu shows dedication through dance

Name a discipline, she can dance it.

"Ballet, tap, jazz, point, hip-hop, contemporary," Annabel Tu said. "I do everything."

It all started when her parents enrolled her at the age of two.

"I liked spending my time elsewhere and putting my hard work and dedication into something other than school," Annabel said.

Over a decade later and Annabel is in the senior dance company at the Wake Forest Academy of Fine Arts (WFAFA).

"Annabel is really dedicated, she is hardworking," WFAFA co-owner and director Aimee Sellars said. "She takes correction well. Always has a smile and a positive attitude.

Sellars along with fellow owner and director Alicia Rothman have worked with Annabel since middle school and seen her grow into one of their best competitive dancers, but also a volunteer.

"She helps out with our younger dancers," Alicia said. "She's always eager to volunteer anytime we have a community event at the studio."

Annabel's commitment to dance mirrors her commitment to her schooling. She is a senior at the Wake Early College of Health and Science. She will graduate with an associates degree and will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall where she plans to get her bachelor's in computer science in two years.

"School shows the academic side of me, but here at dance is the artistic side so I'm able to do whatever I want here while also be serious at school," Annabel said. "I like math, it's my favorite subject at school and I think computer science uses a lot of math. I hope to be a software engineer in the future."

Annabel's accomplishments in the classroom and in the dance studio earned her the WRAL Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.