Most teenagers in Atlantic do dance moves like dabbing or whipping, but senior Gladlynn Mark does something far more exotic: hula dancing. Mark has been hula dancing since she was 14 years old. She said her cousin, Buwalisa, was the one who first taught her, but she was also taught from other relatives too. As soon as she was taught, she “got a hang of it.”

“It wasn’t that hard of a process because I used to watch my cousins hula all the time. I guess being able to watch how they hula danced helped me understand what to do,” Mark said.

 Not long after she learned the tactics of hula, she started performing in front of crowds, despite the fact that she had stage fright. Her first performance was at a middle school talent show. She performed to the song “Te Hiva” with two other people, Buwalisa and a good friend of theirs.

  “Even though I knew I wasn’t going to be completely alone on the stage, I was still nervous and stressed it out a lot. I can’t even describe how much I was shaking. I didn’t get sick though,” Mark laughed.

  According to Mark, the talent show went by “too fast” and was overall a “great experience.” She said her favorite part of that day was being able to perform with “two of her favorite people” and being applauded by the audience. It was “relieving” when she looked out to see everyone satisfied with their performance.

 “I feel like I’d regret it big time if I didn’t perform. I honestly thought about it a lot. I’m glad I didn’t chicken out or fall off the stage,” Mark said.

 Over the years, Mark has performed a total of two times. Both were always with other people. Mark doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to perform by herself but still hopes to “conquer that fear someday.” She also hopes she’ll be able to perform with junior Alexandra Pastrana and sophomore Erchina Mark before she graduates.

 “Hula isn’t life, but I really do enjoy and cherish it,” Mark said.