At a young age, Lexi Akin noticed the dancers on screen and knew she would one day be one.

“From what my parents told me, when I was two, I was watching TV and told my parents I wanted to be one,” she shared.

Her dance journey started at the age of three when her parents enrolled her in dance classes. Akin explains that as she got older, she realized dancing was the best way she could express herself.

“I fell in love with the art,” Akin expressed. “I’ve always struggled with public speaking. Getting up on a huge stage and not having something rehearsed and just speaking always freaked me out. But being able to get on stage and tell someone what I needed to tell them through my body and through what the music was telling me I could do [that].”

Akin explained that with her interest in dance she thought she would just be a dancer, but when she saw musicals and the Rockettes performing she wanted more.

“I remember at a young age my grandmother would take me to see musicals as a part of Broadway Dallas and I fell in love with the music, costumes and choreography,” she said. “But, when my family took me to see the Radio City Rockettes, when they were still doing the traveling tour, I turned to my mom and said ‘I’m going to be Rockette’.”

Now 15 years later, she is still working towards making that dream a reality.

“I’ve gotten to meet so many people and artists through my journey that come from a small-town background that inspire me,” she shared. “And they always say if you keep going and keep working you can make this happen for you.”

Akin shared that seeing someone like Athens native J. Quinton Johnson, who had a similar drive and journey as her, make his Broadway debut in Hamilton excited her.

“I want to be the new generation’s J. Quinton Johnson and be able to show these younger kids you can make it and you don’t have to be stuck,” she said. “It inspired me to keep going since I’m this new person for younger kids to look up to.”

Akin expressed that having younger audiences inspired by her work kept her motivated in times of doubts or insecurities.

“Like many other people, I’ve had doubts,” she said. “I had a very big part in my freshman year where I just wanted to stop dancing. I just fell out of love with dance and wanted to quit.”

She explained her mom could see her frustration and told her not to quit. With her mom’s advice and push, she doesn’t believe she would be pursuing a move to New York City or Broadway.

“Ever since that moment in my life, my love for dance, acting and performing has just grown.” Akin shared.

Not only did Akin deal with her own self-doubt, at times she would hear doubts from other people and felt compelled to prove them wrong.

“Behind closed doors, they would say ‘She’s never going to make it’ or ‘There’s no way she can make it’ and that fueled me,” she shared. “I’ve had a lot of self-doubt, but what fuels me is people’s doubt in me because I want to show them that I can.”

Proving them wrong is exactly what Akin did. Her resume and accomplishments currently include first overalls in dance, choreography awards, high point dance solo awards, multiple dance solo awards, first place with self-choreographed musical theater solos, auditioning for Disney Cruise Lines and receiving a call back, receiving multiple scholarships for dance schools and programs, and more! Her list will continue to grow, but in April 2024 she will accomplish her biggest goal: to audition for the New York City Rockettes.

“Disney will always be around, and Broadway shows will always be popping up and happening, but with Rockettes there is always a max of women they hire a year,” she shared. “To know that there very few opportunities that they take on new rookies each year, I want to jump on that opportunity, and I want to be able to join that line.”

While Akin isn’t auditioning for musicals, cruises, and dance lines, she’s either choregraphing dance numbers, teaching students or working on online schoolwork.

“I teach kids dance every single day of the week and have started choregraphing numbers,” Akin shared.

Akin is currently attending Trinity Valley Community College as an online-only student. She started TVCC as a dual-credit student at Athens High School in her sophomore year. Akin explained with the ease of her online-only classes, she was able to focus on her passion and career.

“It has opened so many opportunities for me,” Akin said. “Having a school that offered me virtual opportunities where I didn’t have to go into class allows me travel and teach. I teach a young girl here, at the time, that would be regular class time. Instead, I get to mentor her and do my schoolwork at night. Recently, Disney had an open call for performers, and it was on a Tuesday morning. A lot of my friends there said they would be penalized for missing class and how lucky I was to have the opportunity for virtual.”

In December 2023, Akin graduated from AHS as the last virtual student from COVID-times. She graduated with Honors and was recognized by the National Honor Society. She will graduate from TVCC with her Associates and as a member of Phi Theta Kappa Society in May 2024.

“What’s crazy is I will walk the stage from TVCC before I walk the stage for my high school diploma,” Akin laughed out.

Akin hopes others will see her story and feel motivated to accomplish their goals.

“Keep trying everything and don’t let yourself say no,” she shared. “Take every opportunity you can, take every class that you can, and put yourself out there. Use the people that tell you ‘You can’t make it’, drive you.”