Hailing from spicy Miami, half-Cuban, half-Venezuelan Desaly Gonzalez definitely injects a healthy dose of spunk to the Wake Forest campus. With her distinctly Hispanic flair and permanently-beaming smile, she’s nearly impossible to miss.
A dancer since the ripe age of three, Desaly attended an arts high school, is a Presidential Scholar for dance and is an active member of the Wake Forest Dance Company. Not to mention she’s also a participant in CHARGE, Tri-Delta sorority and the Organization of Latin American Students (O.L.A.S.).
Growing up in Miami, Desaly lives with her Spanish heritage day in and day out.
“Spanish is my first language. I speak it with my family.” Chuckling to herself, she recalls having to learn English as her second language in school: “Yeah, I was that kid.”
Winston is obviously a change of scenery. No beach. Very family-friendly. Minimal nightlife. So what does Desaly miss most about Miami?
“The Hispanic culture. I miss how I could go to the market and everyone is speaking Spanish. I miss the Miami flair – the ‘swag,’ as I like to call it.”
Though her two homes couldn’t be more different, Desaly has been able to transfer her love of dance from Miami to Winston. Her passion for dance started at an early age and has now grown to become second nature.
“I always used to walk around on my tippy-toes and would do performances for my grandparents, even though I was just moving side-to-side,” she laughs. “I guess my mom could just tell that I wanted to dance.”
Her years of hard work and natural talent paid off when she received the Presidential Scholarship for dance at Wake.
“I came to Wake because they had the perfect balance of education and dance – they also had the scholarship, which didn’t hurt,” says Desaly. “I also knew about Wake before. My brother Alimer played soccer here and graduated in 2008.”
Dance has always made Desaly incredibly busy. Down time wasn’t even an option. Her daily schedule in high school? Oh you know, just the standard – academic classes from 7:30 to 1:00, dance class and rehearsal until 6:30, and then still more studio classes afterward. No wonder she is such a standout dancer here at Wake.
When asked if she missed out on a ‘normal’ high school experience, Desaly just laughs.
“No, I mean, we at least had our own senior prom. I just liked being around people that all had the same interest in the arts.”
As for her future career goals, she giggles, “I wish I knew, I guess one possibility would be dancing for a while after school, and then going to graduate school – as long as I am living in Miami, but if not there . . . somewhere in the Greek isles.”
In truth, Desaly hopes to someday work in speech therapy or sports medicine, but for now she is focusing on her HES major, continuing her dance training, and keeping up with her hectic schedule.
She’s always had it in the back of her mind to audition for “So You Think You Can Dance,” and plans on giving it a try sooner rather than later.
“I want to try out in the next year or so, I think it would just be something fun to do.”
Desaly is not all about dance, though – she can sing, played soccer at one point and is obsessed with collecting quotes. What can’t this girl do?
“Not a lot of people know that I like to sing, I don’t like to do it in a front of a lot of people,” she explains. “I also love collecting quotes and seeing how they relate to my life, I look them up online. I want to make a book of them someday.”
Be on the lookout for this confident campus celebrity, whether it be in the next dance company concert or strutting her stuff across the quad – anywhere she goes, she’s sure to bring the Miami heat.