By Lindsey Scott

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On Oct. 31, Junior Sienna Lalau performed with her dance company ImmaBeast on The Ellen Show in Los Angeles, dancing to a live performance of “Juju on That Beat.” Lalau and her group were invited to dance to accompany the singer’s performance and show off their moves.

“I started dancing (when) I was super young, so around like four years old and I guess my mom and dad noticed me dancing around the house and stuff and they just kind of put me in it to see if I would like it or not and I just loved it ever since,” explained Sienna Lalau. “For me I love that I get to become a whole different person on the, not just the dance floor, but like when I’m performing too. It’s good to watch videos and look back and see ‘wow I never ever thought I could be like that.’”

With the support of her parents behind her, Sienna Lalau has expanded her career by practicing both on island and on the mainland. “Since she started dancing, we’ve supported her by taking her to dance classes at her home studio, Hypersquad Dance Company in Waipahu. She also (takes) classes around the island at other studios as well. However, as she progressed in her dancing we began to look at other ways for her to get training so we began by having her travel to L.A. in 2015 and since then she’s been traveling back and forth to L.A. to dance,” explained Sienna Lalau’s mother, Jeannie Lalau. “I think it’s just me traveling up to L.A. ever since last year and a bunch of my choreographers and just a lot of my mentors just like training me up until that (point),” Sienna Lalau added.

Appearing on the Ellen show provided a new experience for Sienna Lalau and her group. “We got the opportunity to go perform for the artist of that song ‘Juju on That Beat’ and so we all dressed up in Halloween costumes and we just did the dance, but we also did a little bit of freestyling as (well),” explained Sienna Lalau. “Dancing on Ellen was exciting,” said Sienna Somera, one of Sienna Lalau’s students. “I was (feeling) nervous because I was afraid I was going to mess up, (but) having my dance sister, (Sienna Lalau) with me on the Ellen show made me less nervous. I knew she would watch over me and I felt fierce dancing next to her.”

The group did not know about the dance beforehand, causing them to make last minute preparations. “We only had one hour the day prior to taping and about 30 minutes during the day of taping to reverse. (Sienna Lalau) helped me remember the choreography for the dance routine. There are a few versions of Juju on That Beat and I kept doing the wrong choreography. But (Sienna Lalau) made sure I was dancing to the right version,” said Somera.

Dancing has provided Sienna Lalau with many achievements, and also bettered her work ethic and provided her multiple options for her future. “She’s setting a great example to her younger siblings as well as the next generation of dancers at her dance studio (showing) that with hard work, determination and passion, you can do anything, just don’t give up. It has also made us aware that she can use her dance platform to be a blessing and inspiration to others, especially for dancers in Hawaii where hip-hop is not well known,” said Jeannie Lalau.

Sienna Lalau will continue to travel to L.A. for future workshops and performances, allowing her to grow as a dancer, and as a person as well. She also continues to help and inspire others in dance.