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Show A n n u a VJULUC 1521 East 3900 South Suite 100 Salt Lake City, UT 84124 AN The EDITION OF L O C A L L Y STD US POSTAGE PAID SPANISH FORK, UTAH PERMIT NO. 2 Fork News O W N E D VOL 3 / NO. 23 A N D O P E R A T E D WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2008 50?! SPANISH FORK, UTAH Spanish Fork teen becomes Nickelodeon star Marilyn Nielson STAFF WRITER A local 16-year-old dancer is appearing in Nickelodeon's "Dance on Sunset" this season. Hefa Tuita is one of the Saturday night show's six dancers, called the "Nick 6." Last week, Hefa visited with students at Rees Elementary, where he attended school himself from first grade on. He taught them a dance and answered questions about dancing, his career and dealing with fame. Hefa began dancing at age seven when his mom, Carley Tuita, enrolled him in hip-hop lessons at the Spanish Fork dance studio Heart n1 Soul. Later, he enrolled at the studio Center Stage. "Ever since he was little, Hefa loved dancing. His dad and I both like to dance too, so when I heard about a hip-hop class starting, I just asked Hefa if he'd like to try it out," said Carley. "He loved it, so we just kept going with it." Hefa had some acting lessons and appeared in commercials when he was five, but his dancing career began to take off at age 14 when he got a principle dancer role in Disney's "High School Musical 2." Some of his other professional credits include a role in the feature film "Unaccompanied Minors," two music videos for Taylor Vai, and dancing onstage for pop star Rhianna. At Rees Elementary, the students seemed interested in, but not overwhelmed by, Hefa's celebrity status. A few students asked simply, "Do you like dancing?" and got a simple, "Yeah. I feel good when I dance," from Hefa in reply. "Is your life different now that you're famous?" another student asked. "Not really," said Hefa. "I'm just a normal kid. More people know See DANCE • A12 Soldiers return home come Home Erie Shepherd We L Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News x; WARM WELCOME: Local members of the National Guard 145th returned home recently from serving in Camp Bucca, Iraq. Pictured with their families are Eric Shepherd, far left; Alan Pentico, left; and Robert Brunson, above. Shepherd and Brunson arrived on Monday, May 26, 2008 — Memorial Day — and Pentico arrived with another group on Wednesday, May 28. For stories, see page A8. |