Hayfield graduate to study with famous artist

Wiley Harang is a 2008 graduate of Hayfield High School and attends Briar Criss University in Sioux City, Iowa, a private school where he majors in graphic arts and plays football.

Wiley loves to draw and paint and has always looked at it as a hobby, but now he is exploring a professional career as an artist. He also happens to have one of the best teachers anyone could ask for — he just learned that he’ll be doing a mentorship with Gayla Prince-Wallace in Utah this spring.

Prince-Wallace has been called "the most inspired artist in modern history" by Alan Ashton, (a co-founder of the WordPerfect Corp. and a prominent leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) Prince-Wallace is currently one of the most successful and collectable artists alive, and prints of her painting, "The Ten Virgins," have sold more than a million copies.

Wiley is heading out in March to study with her and hone his skills as an independent artist. He is not sure what to expect but pretty excited to start. Wiley says he feels comfortable both painting and drawing but if he had to pick just one, it would be drawing.

He has been doing a lot of portraits lately and is musically inspired, so lots of his work has to do with musical artists. If you want to see some of his stuff (and you should, it’s very impressive!) Wiley has a Facebook artist page that you can get to by searching "Wiley."

Oh, and I asked him if he is just going to go by one name, (a la Madonna, Prince, Bono, etc …) and he says, yes because there’s no need for a last name when there aren’t too many Wileys out here.

Spring Valley dancers take national stage

Could you imagine being 15 years old and dancing in front of a crowd of almost 50,000 people? And even more, as it’s being broadcast nationally?

On Jan. 2, five girls from the Spring Valley Just for Kix did just that. Corrin Lee, Hannah Ramaker, Paige Webb, Rachel Harder and Shelby Larson (along with their coach, Laura Perez) were part of the pre-game and half-time shows for the 2012 Outback Bowl (Georgia vs, Michigan State).

The girls auditioned by submitting a DVD to the event staff, which reviewed and critiqued the performance and selected the five to be a part of the show. Only 350 dancers out of the 2,000 who auditioned were selected.

The girls performed four routines in both the pre-game and half-time shows, along with a 1,025 member marching band. The songs the girls performed to were a medley of songs representing America, and the performances included presenting of the American flag and a flyover!

Coach Perez has 25 years of dance experience (coaching, choreography, teaching and performing). Perez started the Just for Kix program in Spring Valley two years ago and now has more than 80 students.