As long as she can remember, Sabra Aguirre has liked to sing.
Now, home from learning the nuances of cosmetology and hair care in Wichita, Sabra, 21, is working with her mother, Pam Tressler, at Class Act, 10 E. Jackson.
But don’t think she’s settling in.
The Yates Center resident hopes a career in music materializes.
“That’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” Sabra said.
Her vocal talent was first unveiled when Richard Spencer cast her in Iola Community Theatre’s “Beehive” seven years ago.
Spencer put out a call for songbirds, with the provision that they be 18 or older. He didn’t think younger singers would have the voice or physical maturity to portray — as Sabra did — such 1960s singers as Tina Turner and Connie Francis.
“Boy, was I wrong,” Spencer said. “She left the age line blank on her audition sheet, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t 18, but it didn’t matter when she opened her mouth and started to sing. I literally was blown away. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
When rehearsals started, Spencer also found Sabra, then 14, had a stage presence that belied her age.
“She was a natural from day one,” he said.
Sabra continued with local performances through two years at Allen Community College and in recent years as part of the praise team at Iola’s Freedom Regional Church, before she began cosmetology school in Wichita.
She sang some in Wichita and also tweaked her interest in photography, an avocation that she will pursue while working at Class Act.
Sabra said she prefers fashion photography and has several examples on display at the Iola shop, including those in which she moved to the other side of the camera, to model and design hair styles.
SABRA WAS featured in a recent issue of HOT Magazine, written for salon professionals and stylists beginning their careers.
“Rising Star: Beauty school student Sabra Aguirre shares her amazing beauty talent with the pro-beauty world,” the story’s headline proclaims.
Sabra told the magazine that her work as a hair stylist in Iola wasn’t intended for the long term, just long enough to put away a nest egg to finance the start of what she hopes will be adventures on a much broader scale.
“I want to explore employment opportunities in more cosmopolitan areas, including Chicago and Austin,” Sabra said. “Because I’m an amateur photographer (with hopes of it turning a few dollars) and editorial enthusiast, I also want to do beauty work for fashion magazines” with her musical interests also in mind.
