Dance-Personal Narrative

Since I was three years old, dance has been a passion of mine. Throughout elementary school, I tried many other activities, however, I never enjoyed anything as much as I enjoyed dance. In my fourteen years of dancing, I have learned to work with a team and to use constructive criticism in a positive way. Also, I have learned that hard work leads to performance.

My mouth hung open as I watched the gorgeous, graceful girls leap and twirl across the gym floor during their annual summer mini-camp. From that point forward, I knew that I wanted to be a Chiefette. I studied up on the history of the team, watched every one of their public performances, and enrolled in dance team preparation classes. Each year, the Chiefettes got better and better, and during each dance, their pirouettes and jetes grabbed my heart and carried me with them through their emotional journey. Their movement quality astounded me; I wasn’t exactly sure how a team of so many girls could dance in unison with seemingly effortless grace. I knew from talking to the girls on the elite team that they maintained excellent grades, participated in other school activities and sports, and volunteered within the community. These girls were my idols, and I thought that the only way to have a positive high school experience was to join the dance team. There was no question in my mind that I would be on the team all four years of high school, and because I had prior dance experience, that I would be one of the better dancers on the team. Throughout middle school, I dreamed about the day when I would finally be able to call myself a Chiefette, but I soon realized that I had no idea the amount of hard work and talent that it took to earn that

As I walked into the intermediate room at Monsters of Hip-Hop, the nerves inside of me built up like a hot air balloon. I was stretching in jealousy of other girls and boys as they showed their amazing talents. I start to worry if I mess up on the choreography, out of nowhere the choreographer Laura Edwards comes in. I look at my mom in fear,

Our team sat in the hallway of our school, waiting for our name to be called to enter the gym. The pregame jitters were everywhere. Girls were bouncing up and down, fanning themselves and skittering around. I had a flood of emotions inside me. I was mostly excited but also quite nervous. What if my parents didn’t like the dance? What if my peers don’t like the dance? What if it looks bad? I couldn’t help but doubt the routine in a time of such nervousness. Our coach gave us each her routine good-luck shoulder shakes, and I knew the time had come. I heard the crowded gym fall quiet.

The fastest way for a performer’s career to end is with an unexpected injury. My freshman year I suffered patella luxation, more commonly known as the dislocation of the kneecap. I was in a full leg brace for a month and a half, and then participated in physical therapy over summer break until I was cleared to return to dance for my sophomore year. The time I had to spend recuperating forced me to explore other pathways associated with my art.

My heart is in my throat as I walk onstage. The curtain opens, and the dance number starts. I see my friend Maggie come out with the rest of the graceful dancers. She looks at ease, and I start to sweat. I remember the dance moves that Sophie taught us. Up, step, back, tease and turn. As I move my way up to the front of the circle, I try to remember the lines that I have to

Joining my High School dance team was one of the best decisions I ever made, until my junior year. The year started out great, we had a very talented team of 24 dancers and three amazing coaches. Our three routines showed everyone's strengths and were choreographed to perfection. However, as the season went on my team and I struggled to connect with one another. We got along but we saw each other as singular people not as one team. Our coaches also had many disagreements. It was always two against one with every decision that had to be made, and it really affected the team. We had our fair share of team talks to try and resolve our issues, but new issues just kept showing up. Towards the end of the season some people no longer enjoyed being on the team. The talk of practice soon

The music was blaring. Beach balls were flying everywhere. The smell of pizza, pop, and the sound of balloons bouncing to the ceiling fills the air. It was the first Middle School Dance. I had been helping set up the whole thing. Some children looked like they were dancing too hard, and were going to have a broken back in the morning. Then there were the kids who just hung back in the corner. Why do they even come? Then, I heard the stereo DJ start to move the records around. After a few songs, a Rihanna song came on. By that time the DJ and flashing lights were only about 4 feet away from me. The DJ looked at all of the teachers including me, and said, “It’s Karaoke Time!” A kid looked at me and said, “Hey,

I enjoy dancing, I was part of the cheerleading team in high school, I also did one year in college and I occasionally participate in my sororities stroll team. With my years of experience in choredographed dance, I have been able to choreograph routines and teach them to my sorority sisters. I have the patience to explain and show someone how to move even if they don’t have rhythm. There is a popular move that we use, which requires upper moment as well as lower movements at the same time. Some people have a hard time being able to move one section of their body let alone coordinate both at the same time. I explain that it is easier to learn the lower body movement first and follow by the upper body; after a few tries people are able to master

I went to technique classes 4 times a week and put in extra hours on the weekend. Although, most girls had much more experience than me, I kept pushing on, no matter how many times I felt like quitting. The week of tryouts was filled with different emotions. I only had two days to learn a 2-minute dance that included moves and tricks I had never even heard have before. My body ached and tears poured from my eyes, but I still fought with everything I had in me. The day of auditions rolled around and I found out which 3 girls would be dancing with me to earn the title of being a Sapphire. Just my luck, I was put with 2 returning members and a girl, whom, had been dancing since she was 3. My hands were shaking as I put on the signature red lipstick and waited in line. I knew that my chances of becoming a part of the team were low and I should be prepared for the worst possible outcome. When my name was

I had expected the adrenaline to race through my limbs like one of the Formula 1 cars my dad watches, but it didn’t. In that moment I realized that I was a trained performer. Sure, my performances had been at much smaller scale than preforming at Radio City Music Hall in front of 4 extremely famous judges, thousands of people in the audience and millions of people at home, but still the stage was my home. After years of training and two weeks of working as a professional dancer in New York City, millions of pairs of eyes staring at me and expecting something magical was something I was prepared for. Although the stars were not aligned in a perfect dance formation like my routines, this experience was not something I regretted. I came into the Big Apple as a young, naïve 16 year old and I left a mature and experienced dancer who found both pride and success in

“Year after year we always get so close, but we never make it,” Dustin screamed throughout the dance studio. We all acted like we weren’t listening, but we all were. This year we all had one thing on our mind and that was making it to Nationals. Dustin was right, but none of us wanted to admit it. I always said, “Maybe the judges weren’t watching.” Maybe they were just crazy, but I knew that it was because we didn’t match up to the other team.

My experience in the dance field has given me unique qualities that I will carry into the veterinary profession. Through dance I learned to work with a team to perform in unity and to work with everyone’s differences to make a strong team. I believe these are also really important qualities to a veterinary team that I know how to utilize. I also spent some time teaching dance classes which taught me leadership skills, such as decision making and communication. Veterinarians are the leaders of the their team and having prior leadership positions will help me to assume that position

She could hear the muffled sound of the dance track playing through the walls of the dimly lit studio. "He’s here," she observes, peering in through the doors glass panel. She releases a shaky breath, relief flooding her system as she rests her forehead against the cool temperature of the door frame. Her eyes squeezing shut momentarily to gather her wits before watching him dance, a hand resting loosely on the silver door handle.

I pulled out a beautiful, white, elegant, and silky gown with gold sequins around its neck. In my opinion, this was a winning dress. Within the next twenty minutes, our names were being called. This was the first on-stage practice that we ever did. The stage was not so frightening as one would think. The big bright beams of light blinded me allowing me to feel as if noone was there. The stage became peaceful and relaxed. I began to practice with four inch heels, I noticed that this event was not properly organized. Everything that was dictated was made up as we went along this made me feel confused, but there was no giving up now.