Dance Team Performance

As a youth, I engaged in many forms of dance expression. I studied tap, jazz, and ballet for fifteen years. During these formative years, I choose to forgo many youth experiences so that I could participate in advance dance programs. The hard work paid off when I received a college scholarship to a performing arts

We were all set! I had been waiting for months, counting down the days. I was finally going to see her, the one and only Beyoncé Knowles! On the way there, lots of emotions and thought’s went through my mind being that this was my first concert. I had no clue what to expect!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it so my mother allowed me to quit. Then a few years later when I was in fourth grade I saw that my elementary school had a dance team/drill team and it looked like tons of fun. I then realized that dance seemed like a hobby that I would enjoy. So my mother let me tryout as long as I promised not to quit. Of course I made her that and I auditioned for the next dance season and made it. I was extremely shocked that I had been asked to join the team seeing as I had no previous dance experience. Now ever since that moment dance has been more than just a hobby for me. I continued to dance through the rest of elementary school. However I did discontinue when I reached middle school due to my mother getting divorced and my family and I moving to a different town. I did try tumbling and cheer for a while, but it wasn’t befitting. I recognized I did not have a connection to tumbling and cheer like I did with dance, and that’s when I realized dance was my passion. After I came to this realization I auditioned for my high school dance team and this was the point in my dance career where I became extremely involved and also when I began to take it more seriously. I began to take it more seriously because at this point in my life I was out of shape and my body was not built to be a dancer. This was because during the time my mother had gotten divorced it was a difficult transition and I

Abby Payne at Lake Travis High School claims her team is all about the show. They do football, contest, and spring show but spring show is the team’s favorite. One thing that seemed unique about her team is that they devote an entire group or the “Elite team” to preparing the dancers who want to dance collegiately. This is a great idea when you are in an area like Lake Travis because those dancers work hard in both academics and dance so they are more likely to attend prestigious schools that have excellent dance teams. It is a wonderful that Abby is taking steps to set them up for success in their future. Another thing that is interesting to me is that Abby encourages them to be in other organizations and to involve themselves in other things besides dance team so they can build their resumes. From my experience a lot of directors prefer their dancers keep the dance team as the number one priority and to not make too many other time commitments that take away from their devotion to the team. It’s very generous of Abby to allow the kids to take these opportunities to further prepare them for their future. The thing

Our coaches had told us since the beginning that the months and months we would spend preparing for one particular day would all be worth it in the end. Taking place at New Castle Fieldhouse in early March 2015, I competed in the IHSDTA Dance team competition with my fellow teammates and members of the NHS dance team. We walked into the vast, expansive Fieldhouse knowing that it was the largest High School Fieldhouse in the Nation. The anticipation in the air was electric and full of excited chatter of girls who had been preparing for months for this one day… actually for these two minutes.

My apprehension only seemed to grow as the time dragged on. Suddenly, I heard our school name. Adrenaline rushed through me as we ran out onto the mats with gaudy smiles on out faces. The music thundered behind us as we jumped, stunted, and danced. It felt like it was over in a heartbeat. The experience as a whole left me utterly exhausted; so much in fact that when it came time for awards, I was quite frankly too worn out to care. We had done our best and there was nothing we could do to alter our fate at that point. Still, I couldn't help but attempt to play back our performance in my head. "We were nowhere near as natural or well put together as the other teams." I muttered. As it turned out, I was correct. We placed last in our

I have danced every year of my life since. I am humbled to say, that through long days and nights in the studio, sacrificing time with my friends and family, all of the blood, sweat, and tears, I have accomplished what I have been working for since I was a little girl waddling around swallowed in a big pink tutu. I was chosen for the lead role of Cinderella in the Danscompany of Gainesville’s “Cinderella Ballet.” This accomplishment is a reflection of my consistent and sustained work ethic. This tenacity is reflected in other areas of my life and will be a defining characteristic that I carry to

Over the many years I’ve spent doing gymnastics, I’ve become a determined and motivated individual. Always striving to do better in everything I do whether it 's in my routines or raising my grades on every exam. Because in gymnastics to be the best it not only takes having the routine with the most difficulty, but being able to perform those skills with precision which takes endless practice and repetition. First or second place could be set apart by a hundredth of a tenth based on even the smallest imperfection such as a foot not being pointed.

We were all incredibly nervous but knew we had done everything possible to prepare for competition and that it was all in God’s hands from that moment on. We loaded up the bus at seven ready to go with ear buds in and our minds zoned out. No one was saying a word just “Get your minds set girls!”. As we walked into the park, the nerves started to really set in as we saw all the other teams getting ready to perform. One of Mickey’s little helpers escorted us to the back of the stage with my coaches alongside for us to practice as well. We prayed and practiced and prayed and practiced until it was go

Arriving there was culture shock, thousands of teams were practicing for their big moment in any patch of grass or open area they could find. We arrived at our competition tent on Saturday morning with a rush of emotions. We started with flawless warmup, giving us the confidence to hold our heads high. With the thought in the back of our minds that “ no one has done or attempted this before”, “ we are only one of four teams in northwest Indiana to make it this far”, or “ what if were not good enough”. I stepped up realizing the team was looking at me to guide them through this bittersweet moment. I said calmly “ Ladies we are the best of the best. We have accomplished an incredible amount this season and the outcome of this competition will not take any of that away. I will not ask you to go out there and hit every stunt and throw every tumbling pass perfectly; but I will ask you to go out there and give it all you’ve got. If you walk off that floor without any regrets, thats all I could have ever wanted.”

In my life, just as everyone else’s, we win and lose some battles, but every once and awhile, we lose a big battle. When I was a sophomore I had tried out for the volleyball team and unfortunately I did not make it. While this was a big loss for me, I soon learned that I would come across a huge achievement.

It was the last night of rehearsals before we left for state, and we were freaking out. Emotions were running at an all time

Soon enough, 7:00 pm came. We were all scurrying to get all of our stuff in order before we went on stage. First we had to introduce ourselves. I had to walk on stage and say, “Riley Hall, Wayland!” in the most enthusiastic way I possibly could. Then, we had to get ready for swimsuit/active wear. We had about 2 minutes to be changed and ready. I had owned that stage. I bounced around in my hot pink Vans and you would’ve thought that I was actually at the

While performing on stage, my body gets filled with adrenaline. Everything is really intense, however, I strive for the best. To try to stand out on stage at the end of the performance, and have that incredible feeling. Our dance teacher watching us as we perform then giving us a heartwarming talk the next day. gave us a heartwarming

I look back and I think I would say I did a pretty great job at winging it, the show went smoothly and I got to work on my soloing, I went through the scales and managed to wow the crowd as Mr. Kusserrow signaled the band to repeat the chorus of Chameleon about 3 more times to let me solo for another 75 measures. After the show Mr. Kusserrow apologized to me and then told me when we go to New York that I have his permission to tour freely with my friends and not with him and his assistant. So after another 10 hours on the road, we were in the Big Apple. We arrived at the Marriott Hotel and unloaded our stuff, my luggage and music were there Yay, lady luck arrived. I could now change my outfit, I had fresh underwear and music, things could not be any better for