Dance Team-Personal Narrative

I waited weary in anticipation of what name would break out of the happy-go-lucky collegiate cheerleader’s boisterous mouth as he was announcing the two lucky 2017 National Cheerleading Association All Americans out of all 4 Belton cheer squads. I replay this moment in my most vivid dreams, feeling the excitement of the halcyon moment grow greater and greater as the nerves and emotions grew stronger and stronger. A moment as imperative as this showed me in the most transparent way that hard, continuous work and growth pays off in many more ways than one.

Since I have been in this class I have gotten the opportunity to hear about many different directing styles and team philosophies. This semester I got a chance to listen to Abby Payne, Tracey Anderson, and Kellie Jackson-Jandt. From listening to their experiences and drawing back on my own experiences I have learned a lot about how I would want to lead my team.

Starting high school was nerve-wracking for me just like everyone else. I had made the Varsity competition cheerleading team as the first Freshman to do so. I was also one of the first three Freshman to audition and make it into the Wind Ensemble, the top band. Being a Virtual Performing Arts School, where arts are weighed as college courses, it was very competitive to get in. I was surrounded by upperclassmen on both ends of the spectrum and was determined to prove myself.

I stood on a mat, in an unfamiliar gym, surrounded by unfamiliar people. Did I really want to do this? I know no one here, I don’t even know if this is something I would end up liking. All these thoughts were running through my mind, making me question if I was brave enough to do this. I was eight years old and tryout out for my local competitive cheerleading team. As my mind raced, increasing my nerves, I contemplated leaving. I made the decision to join the team; I never know it could be something I would really enjoy. I didn’t realize at the time that this wouldn’t be the last time my mind tries to talk me out of taking a risk.

This weekend I will be at school trying out for next year’s Foley Falconette Dance Team. This consists of girls in grades seventh through twelfth,you do not have to have any experience of dance. It will last seven hours, it starts at nine in the morning and will end at four in the afternoon. We will work on a lot of dance moves, we will stretch, learn our tryout routine and work on our splits, kicks, turns, jumps and a lot more dance moves. Once we do all of the stretches and learn everything, we will move on to the actual tryout part. Our coach will put us into groups of three to five and we will perform everything that we learned that day. While our coach “grades” us on our moves and our flexibility that we have, our coach will tell us where she thinks we should be placed for next year’s team, the Varsity team, the Junior Varsity, or the C-Squad, Varsity is for the advanced dancers who can do anything without a problem, junior varsity is made up of dancers who have experience, but they are not at the varsity level yet, and the c-squad is for new dancers or for people who need help with their moves and everything else.

We spend 720 minutes, 12 hours, and 6 days a week mentally and physically preparing for a 2 minutes and 30 second routine. Our talent becomes unbeatable, and we as a team become unstoppable. The countless hours, hundreds upon hundreds of repetitions, blood, sweat, and tears all become worth it.

An extracurricular activity that I have had the pleasure to take part in for the past five years is the Greenwood College School dance team. Starting off as a new and young member of the team, I often faded in the background and followed the instruction of senior students, showing up to practice and doing the dances as told. During my first two years, in addition to being in various senior choreographed routines, I choreographed a dance alongside girls in my grade, an experience that gave me a basis of teamwork skills including compromise, commitment, open mindedness, reliability and creativity. After I became an experienced member of the team, the coach offered me a position as the team coordinator which I happily accepted. For the past two

I was born to run. I adore the feeling of aching legs, winded breath, and the absolute joy of knowing I have accomplished something so utterly momentous: winning a race. When I run, I feel strong and vivacious both on the inside and on the outside. Last year, I decided to join the high school cross-country team. I was extremely excited and could not wait for practice to begin, but I was also somewhat nervous. What if I was not talented enough? What if my skills were not competent enough? What if the coaches thought I was just… mediocre? I was so nervous, I began to doubt and feel dubious about my running potentiality.

Since the early age of four, I have been mesmerized by classical ballet. Every week, I watched my dance teacher display her beautiful skills during class, and I hoped that I could dance as well as her someday. As my love for ballet continued to grow, my opportunities widened. In the fall of 2013, I became a member of the dance ensemble at the dance studio I attend. When I joined the Pointe Academy Dance Ensemble, my position at the dance studio shifted from being a student dancing in the back of the room, to a dancer who learned how to teach others and set a good example for younger students. To me, being a role model and using acquired experience to inspire and guide others is leadership. My dance ensemble has been my most meaningful leadership experience because it is the source of where I have become a leader.

The day that changed my life forever was August 15, 2014; the day my identical twin brothers Landen and Brayden were born. They were born at 2.2 lbs., premature, and when they were in the womb, they had a condition known as twin to twin transfusion syndrome. In my brothers' case, Landen was the donor twin, and Brayden was the recipient twin. There was less than a fifty percent chance that the surgery required to save both of them would be successful. My parents decided to go for the surgery and attempt to save them both. Fortunately, the operation was successful, and they were both saved.

I’m a ballet dancer at Williston School of Dance. it’s my biggest passion in life. However when I first started I hated it so much! I’ve always been a quitter, I’ve tried so many different hobbies and quit all of them : piano, violin, Archery, guitar, sewing, flute, jewelry making and knitting, as you can see from my list I was a huge quitter, as soon as something got hard I would give up.

"Everybody be warmed up and ready by 3:20!" My dance teacher yells to the Camden Hills Regional High School's, Strom Auditorium stage into the Black Box. I quickly slipped on my dance shorts from Pink, and a white Studio Red tank top, and then lastly my ballet slippers. I sat on the ground of the senior company dressing room, along side my friend Emily, as we started massaging our feet, getting the blood flowing to our muscles.

My life drastically changed on March, 23 2011. I didn’t think it would result in something this extreme, but I guess I was wrong. It was just a stupid party for my friend Alyssa, because she had finally turned 18. SHe wanted it be something extreme, because she finally became an adult, but I doubt that was the

Twelve years doing the same thing, and it never gets boring. Dedication, commitment, and perseverance are are the most important qualities to achieve any dream. Becoming a ballerina is no exception. Natural abilities help the process, but not having them makes it even more possible. Some people are born to succeed, naturally do good, but they never have to work for their dreams. Me on the other hand I learned from a very young age I was not like them, I had to have passion to succeed.

I'm so excited, this is my first year on the dance team! I'm probably the youngest on the team because I'm only 6 years old but I know that I’m going to do great. The dance team is at a studio called Patti Herm School of Dance. It’s in Otsego which is about 20 minutes away from my house. The studio is pretty small so everyone knows everyone but since I'm new to the team I don't really know anyone yet. Some of the older girls have talked to me and helped me out when I needed it but I don't remember their names because I'm really bad with names.