Don’t just stand there…
Henry Lacks,19, of Washington, dances along West Chestnut Street as he makes his way to classes at Washington High School. Lacks is a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, track) at Washington.
Henry Lacks shows off some of his dance moves as he walks along West Chestnut Street in Washington.
Henry Lacks is gaining a local following for his public displays of dancing.
Henry Lacks dances his way from his job at Taco Bell in Washington to class at Washington High School.
Clad in just a sweatshirt and jeans against the 40-degree temperature, the young man appears oblivious to traffic rushing by inches away.
He spins slowly, his movements fluid and effortless. Then, a tempo only he can hear increases and his feet are blur of motion. His arms pump then slice through the air.
Suddenly, he stops, balancing steadily on the tips of his shoes.
“I’m thinking about having a good life, being a free man,” he said, removing earbuds during a short break last week. “When I listen to music, I just feel the beat.”
Henry Lacks, 19, is becoming somewhat of a local celebrity. The Washington High School senior is gaining attention for his street-side moves as he makes his way from work at Taco Bell on West Chestnut Street to school on Jefferson Avenue.
He doesn’t just sway halfheartedly – Lacks performs with fervor, using the sidewalk as his stage, whether the sun is shining or rain is falling.
“This one time, I danced in the snow, slipped, then got back up and kept dancing,” he said.
Fans post videos of Lacks on social media and praise him for making their day a little better. A recent thread garnered more than 100 responses, from, “This world needs more people like him. It would be such a better one” to “I can’t take my eyes off of him just dancing up the road without a care in the world. Wish I had some of his moves.”
Lacks doesn’t mind the attention, especially from females.
“I’ve gotten job offers from businesses. A lot of people honking, recording with cellphones. They’ll stop and yell, ‘Yeah, rock on! I’m your biggest fan!’ A little while ago, a group of girls in a car stopped and said they were fans,” he said with a smile.
A member of the track, basketball and football teams at Washington, Lacks is a self-taught performer.
“When I was 2 years old, I started dancing,” he said. “If I got bored, I would dance.”
In addition to practicing at home, Lacks uses the Wired skating rink in Pancake with his dance crew, 24/7.
“Because we dance 24/7,” he explained.
His stepmother, Tia Lacks, said dancing has always been his passion.
“It’s his life,” she said. “When he dances, he’s in his own zone.”
Tia Lacks said Henry was on antiseizure medication until he was 12 years old, and she said it “made him a zombie.” After taking him off the medicine, the seizures stopped and “life totally changed,” she said. “He’s doing a lot more things.”
In addition to dance, sports, school and his job, Lacks also babysits his younger siblings. He enjoys math and knows his way around a computer.
“He’s a great kid,” Tia Lacks said. “He’s really amazing.”
Sheila Johnson, Lacks’ manager at Taco Bell, agreed. She and his other coworkers keep a newspaper photo depicting Lacks mid-backflip behind the counter.
“We love Henry,” Johnson said. “He dances when he cleans. He dances all of the time.”
After graduation this year, Lacks hopes to make a career out of his moves. Ideally, he would love to be featured in music videos. He’s also looked into purchasing a vacant building in order to run a dance studio.
“People say, ‘You’re good. You should teach me how to dance.’ Maybe I will,” Lacks said.
With rap pulsing in his ears, he continued on his journey.
A woman in a black sport-utility vehicle called out to him as she drove by.
“Hey, Henry!” she yelled.
But Lacks didn’t notice. He was too busy dancing.