NATCHEZ — Cathedral’s fifth-grade ballerina is light on her feet and has a vivid imagination.

Ava Walker has been active in the Middleton School of Dance for two years, before which she danced with the Natchez Ballet Academy starting at just 2 years old.

“This year, I’m playing the part of a fairy in ‘T’was the Night Before Christmas,’” she said. “It’s my favorite role so far. … (Going on stage) is nerve-racking at first, then I just let my body move to the music and forget anyone else is there watching.”

Dancing is just one of Walker’s many passions, she said.

Walker said she also enjoys playing the piano, reading and writing her own poems and stories, whether the work is for a classroom assignment or simply just for fun.

Walker describes herself as “personable, trustworthy and bubbly (outgoing),” she said. However, when Walker reads she steps into the shoes of the characters she reads about and lets her imagination take her on adventures, she said.

In her spare time, she writes about the adventures she has had and about her faith.

“I went to Tennessee two summers ago — in the mountains,” Walker said. “Nature there was amazing. I like to imagine myself back there sometimes. … I would wake up early in the morning and watch the sunrise and see animals come out of the woods that I’ve never seen before.”

Walker said she would like to do a lot of things when she grows up.

She pictures herself either becoming a journalist or a veterinarian because she loves to write and loves animals, she said.

Walker is the daughter of Kelly Gay, Brad Walker and the stepdaughter of Shannon Gay and Jennifer Walker.