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Britney Spears: When she was (even) younger
'I mean this was not L.A or Hollywood. This was Kentwood, Louisiana -- an extremely conservative, working-class village where singing and dancing were seen as a total waste of time," explains Hood, 33, who still lives and teaches in and around Britney's hometown -- a small place with less than 3,000 residents, in southeast Louisiana and just northeast of New Orleans.
Changing closed minds
"The only thing kids were encouraged to do here was go to church, leave school and get married -- anything else simply wasn't an option. Singing and dancing was something other people did on television and it was certainly not something for the likes of us."
And Hood knows only too well -- he struggled for many years trying to convince his unsupportive family and friends that he could make a living from dance.
"People had very closed minds here. No one liked change and everyone just did exactly what was expected of them and that was it -- until Britney came along and proved them all wrong by becoming a star."
But, when Hood first met the talented youngster, he had no idea that the little girl with the big voice would go on to become such a huge international sensation.
"I didn't exactly meet her the first time she came to our dance studio, but, I certainly heard her. I was coaching her best friend -- also called Britney -- in a group class, when we suddenly heard this powerful voice echoing through the building. When I went to check, there was Britney in the middle of the corridor outside our class, singing her heart out.
Why? "Because she felt like it," says Hood.
"That's what made her stand out. It was her first time at the dance studio. She wasn't even waiting to attend a class -- she was simply waiting for a friend when she decided to launch into song.
"Her voice was so strong and so very loud that you couldn't miss her and I remember being stunned that there wasn't a single ounce of shyness about his sweet looking eight-year-old," says Hood, who went on to coach her in dance, gymnastics (she excelled in floor exercises and the uneven bar), beauty pageant and cheerleading.
"It seemed strange for such a young child to be so confident. That's when I knew she was different from all the other kids who came to our dance studio, but I couldn't have predicted her success," says Hood.
"I had been dancing professionally for many years before Britney came along and I didn't even know how to go about promoting myself or that it was possible to go any further in dancing and here was this little girl from our sleepy village who knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to become a star -- she often said so!
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