Salem Reporter is publishing profiles about one graduating senior from each Salem-Keizer School District high school for its Class of 2026 series. The seniors were selected by their teachers, coaches and advisors for exceptional leadership and perseverance. See the other profiles here. Yaradicxa “Yara” Ramos Adame walked into North Salem High School expecting volleyball to define her high school years.  Then, a hallway flyer for “Freaky Friday” auditions caught her eye. Ramos Adame, then a freshman, decided to try out for the body-swapping musical comedy. That audition sent her down a different path. “I wasn’t really expecting to get anything out of it,” she said of the audition. “I went to the audition, I sang, I danced, and then … I ended up getting a role.” She was cast in the ensemble for that show, playing several different characters. But what hooked her on theater wasn’t the spotlight, it was the people.  “Seeing the community and seeing how welcoming everyone is, I think that’s what really just got me wanting to get more involved in the theater here.” Soon to graduate, Ramos Adame is now a rising star of the school’s theater department.  She has been dancing since she was a kid, largely learning moves from TV and YouTube before ever stepping onto the North stage.  “I was just dancing and dancing and dancing, and then when I did get into the theater, I saw that I could do it on stage, I can do it for people to watch and I can tell a story through dance,” she said. “I would say that dance really defines me.”  A young Ramos Adame was a standout for theater director Alyssa Bond, who has led the North program for about 14 years.  “Watching her dance in ‘Freaky Friday’ was like a lightning bolt,” Bond said. “Like, ‘Look at this girl, she’s got so much energy and attitude and fabulousness.’” By Ramos Adame’s second show, Bond appointed her dance captain. She called the decision a “no-brainer.” “Having somebody like Yara who understands dance and is not afraid to move and not afraid to teach peers … Nobody else could have done what Yara’s been doing as a dance captain,” Bond said. Ramos Adame has held that title for six shows since, including a teen version of “Chicago,” “Shrek the Musical,” “Tuck Everlasting” and more. As captain, she teaches her classmates choreography, leads warmups and rehearsals, and acts as a liaison between the choreographer and performers.  Her drive is evident on and off stage. Beyond the theater, she is a historian for the student government, a member of the school’s choir and can often be heard giving the daily morning announcements, where she plugs upcoming shows. Then-sophmore Yaradicxa Ramos Adame performs in the North Salem High School production of Chicago: Teen Edition in 2023. (Courtesy photo) She pushes herself just as hard as she encourages her peers as dance captain. From small missteps in her routines to stumbling over the intercom during announcements, Ramos Adame often takes notice of her mistakes, constantly pushing herself to improve.  That determination was apparent when she went out for a role in Pentacle Theatre’s production of “Hairspray” last summer with Bond’s encouragement. The audition for the Salem community theater was like nothing she had done before. Performers had to learn a 30-second dance on the spot to then perform for the casting team.  During her dance, Ramos Adame remembers missing a move. After sitting down, she dwelled on the mistake. “It was my first time in that kind of audition space. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it again, but even if I wasn’t, I was always just going to think, ‘I should have done it right, I should have done it perfect,’” she said. So when the casting crew asked if anyone wanted to retry the dance, Ramos Adame jumped at the opportunity to fix it.  She went up, redid the newly-learned routine, and did it perfectly. She believes that moment – choosing to go back up, fix her mistake and show how fast she could adjust – is a big part of why she landed the role of dance captain in “Hairspray,” her first Pentacle show.  She later co-choreographed Pentacle’s production of “Something Rotten,” which ran this spring. Bond, a choreographer and dancer herself, sees much of herself in Ramos Adame – calling her a “little mini me.” And though she doesn’t pick favorites, she isn’t ready to see her longtime dance captain go. “Every few years there’s a student who I truly, truly miss, like I’m not ready for them to graduate, and I think that’s true for Yara, plus some extra,” Bond said. Ramos Adame will walk the stage to get her diploma June 5, soon after wrapping her last show at North: “Pride and Prejudice.” She is playing two roles in the show, along with being its dance captain.  But she is far from finished with the theater. Ramos Adame will soon choreograph a Pentacle Theatre show from scratch. She will be the youngest to ever do it in Pentacle’s 72 years.  She will take on the role during a gap year after graduation, along with being a dance teaching assistant at Children’s Educational Theatre this summer. After that, she is thinking about pursuing a teaching career, either in dance or at the elementary level. Bond told Ramos Adame she would be an excellent teacher.  “If you were my elementary teacher, I would love to come to school every day,” Bond said. Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] . “Thank you for your fair, thorough, and fearless reporting.” Subscribing to Salem Reporter helps sustain in-depth, local reporting that Salem depends on. Invest in your community’s news. Subscribe today. The post CLASS OF 2026: Fueled by a passion for dance, North Salem grad will become Pentacle’s youngest choreographer  appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less