KU's Scholar Athlete

From Obama to the Ballet, Connor Enjoys the Spotlight

scholar-athelteConnor Perry

• School: The Lexington School
• Grade: 8
• Sports: Track
• Academics: Connor has been a straight-A student and also has danced at Bluegrass Youth Ballet since she was 3.
• Parents: Carla & Randy

If you draw a straight line from President Barack Obama to the Joffrey Ballet in New York City, it would run right through eighth-grader Connor Perry of The Lexington School.

Connor, 14, has danced since she was 3 with Bluegrass Youth Ballet and spent three weeks in Manhattan two years ago at the Joffrey Ballet School.

And just last year, in October in Evansville, Indiana, President Obama picked out Connor from a crowd at a Manufacturing Day town hall meeting to ask a question.

He pointed at Connor and said, “The young lady in the yellow jacket.”

Connor asked a sophisticated question about bringing jobs and improving infrastructure and education opportunities in rural America.

Connor has visited the manufacturing plant in Eastern Kentucky that her father, Randy, manages so she is aware of the concerns of rural businesses.

Connor can remember most of the President’s answer, but she’s amazed she remembers anything at all.

“I was very nervous when he called on me and then really excited when he answered,” she said.

“I was like, ‘Did I just ask the President a question?’”

Her moment in the sun didn’t end with the President’s departure. A local TV newscaster interviewed Connor on live TV and stations around the country picked up the story.

“We had friends from Dallas and Florida call to say they saw Connor,” her mother, Carla, said.
Connor is no stranger to the spotlight. She has danced in countless performances and played Clara in “The Nutcracker” at 10 years old – the youngest

Clara ever for Bluegrass Youth Ballet.

She also has danced leads the past four summers in Ballet Under the Stars performances.

Her dream is to dance professionally in New York – if she doesn’t become a doctor first.

A straight-A student for most of her academic career, Connor was a Duke TIP qualifier in seventh grade and has taken chemistry and geometry classes at TLS.

In the fall, she will attend the SCAPA program at Lafayette High.

SCAPA will be pleased to welcome Connor, but the track team will be disappointed – Connor is ending her running career.

Connor is the reigning state middle school champion in the 100 hurdles.

“She is athletic and that shows in her dancing, too,” Randy said.

“She’s also competitive and that’s why she excels. She pushes herself to be the best.”

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