AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s been a week since a campus killing claimed the life of a freshman University of Texas student.

Haruka Weiser was involved in the dance department at UT. Many people describe her life as a rhythm on and off the stage that rippled through the hearts of many.

“She was remarkably humble… I met her first two years ago as a junior in high school and saw her dance before I ever talked to her,” Charles Anderson, head of the UT dance department said.

He remembers Haruka when he visited her high school in Oregon two years ago to recruit for the dance department.

“When we saw her on stage it was like oh, okay, this is one that we will definitely be recruiting,” Anderson remembers.

Video from high school dance recitals showcase her talent. “Haruka is one of those amazing people who she was so gifted at dance that she was almost embarrassed to show how good she was,” Anderson says.

He first began teaching Haruka this semester in a contemporary technique dance class, and although he only taught her for about three months, they had a special bond.

“Many times her shyness would come off as being aloof or even a little bit like I’m bored, and I’m saying that because teaching her in class was almost like a Christmas gift. I would think I had a challenging combination and she would do it instantly and I’m like ‘oh my god she’s going to beat me on my game,'” Anderson says with a slight grin.

A grin that fades when Anderson remembers when he got news that Haruka was missing.

“On Monday morning when the students first alerted me to her being missing became probably one of the worst weeks of my life,” Anderson says. “And this my first year as the head of the program. I could not have imagined a harder first year.”

He says a void is left, where a beautiful soul is now gone at the hands of a killer.

“I don’t have kids of my own so I’m really, really protective of the students and so when this particular student explained to me that she was missing I knew enough about her to know that it’s not like her to just go take a day off,” Anderson said. He feels “anger at [the suspect] for taking her from us and to be honest sadness just sat particularly for the family.”

After this week’s events, Anderson says he and his students are trying to focus on the good memories.

“She was a dancer and when I say that I don’t mean in the simplistic sense… she was a brilliant, powerful, amazingly sweet young woman.”

The UT performance Haruka was a part of started Friday. Their performance will be a chance to dance for a young woman gone too soon.

“We have crafted some moments within the performance to directly remember her and we hope we can do even a small bit of honor in this hard time,” Anderson said. “We’re all going to miss her.”

The first performance “Bodies and Souls” was 7:30 p.m. Friday, and continues through Apr. 17.

You can purchase tickets here as well as see upcoming showtimes for the performance.