Ever wonder what the pros were like as kids? I just picture all the girls running around in tutus or soccer cleats. Jessie Irvine wore tap shoes. 

“I started dancing when I was two or three years old. I did ballet, tap, jazz, all of it. I also did all of these dance competitions growing up and we traveled around,” said Irvine. “We won a ton of medals at these competitions.”

Dance wasn’t her true passion like tennis or pickleball.

It just came naturally at a young age, so Irvine stuck with it.

“My favorite out of all of them was tap dance,” she explained. “When I was little, it was my dream to be in Riverdance.”

Riverdance is a theatrical show that mainly features traditional Irish music and dance. 

Irvine admired the performers, which sparked her professional dancing dreams.

At the age of 10, though, she was given a harsh reality check.

“Our dance teachers went around the room and asked all of us individually what our goals and dreams were. When they got to me, I said I wanted to be on Riverdance,” recalled Irvine. “My teacher wasn’t mean about it, but she was very realistic when she told me that joining Riverdance wasn’t going to be possible.”

That's when she hung up her tap shoes for good.

If her primary goal was truly unattainable, she simply wouldn't pursue it.

“I literally walked out of the room. I quit right then and there,” said Irvine. “I was only dancing because I wanted to be on Riverdance, and if you’re telling me I can’t do that, then it’s time for me to move on and find something else to do.”

It was a tough moment in her life, of course, but she made peace with it.

And she has grown from it.

“Riverdance is an Irish cultural dance. They’re very proud of that and protective of their culture, so it was hard for me being a mixed African American black female to get into it. It was also the 90s and things were different back then,” explained Irvine. “Looking back, I completely understand. It’s a cultural dance, but when I was young, I looked up to the performers and thought it looked like so much fun. But, I started playing tennis after that and I never looked back at dance.” 

Fortunately, her dance skills came in handy on the court.

“Competitive dance made me love reps and understand why they’re so good for you,” shared Irvine. “People tend to get bored with doing the same thing over and over, but practicing dance again and again helped develop that discipline and respect for it that I use now for drills.” 

It kind of makes sense that Irvine has a dance background.

Just look at her signature hairstyle. Those space buns are very ballerina-inspired.