Personal Narrative: Hannah Alpert's Love For Dance

On the Saturday morning that the team was announced, I was wracked with fear. I was participating in a rehearsal for a dance competition with another team during the hours leading up to the time that the list was going to be posted. Trying to get through that rehearsal was nearly impossible as my attention was more focused on what color nail polish would best match my new Chiefettes shirt that I would be wearing to school on Monday. Once my mother and sister arrived to pick me up from the studio, I shook nervously in the back seat, sending messages to my other friends, waiting to find out the news. Both my mother and my sister remained silent, but I knew that they were praying just like I was that I would see my number on that list. As we

Again, tryouts came for the next greuling school year. The only difference from last year, I was prepared. I knew the cheers, I knew the feeling of standing in front of crowd so ecstatic from a winning game and I knew the feeling of a crowd sitting at a loss for words in the face of defeat. I knew my goal and I was absolutely determined to reach it. I could only be described as a lioness on the prowl and the Varsity squad was my prey. Just as anxious as the year before, though this time with a hint of confidence, I made my tryout a culmination of completely everything I had learned from my wildly experienced past. That night, I reached my ultimate goal and earned the prized name of Varsity cheerleader. The next day I practically walked around with an enormous V on my forehead, honored by the position. With all this positivity, I knew there was something to come. That same summer, I hadn’t received a lucky chance to become even a contender in the

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

I had just moved to Washington state and I auditioned for the local dance studio’s competition team for fun. I had no idea how talented they were. And I was just an untrained recreational dancer…Not surprisingly, I didn’t earn a coveted spot on the team it the first time I auditioned. That didn’t stop me from training seriously and auditioning for the team each year until I made it. And here I stand, now starting on my sixth year on the team and as one of the last people from my original team who decided not to quit when they started high school. Dance isn’t just twirling around in pretty pink tutus. What the general population doesn’t picture when they think of dance is the tremendous amount of strenuous work and the blood and sweat and tears that goes into every performance and competition. Certain dancers can’t handle it and quit when they realize they don’t have the passion. My passion keeps me living and breathing and most importantly, dancing, when times get

Joshua Catlin had had a great life with his two parents, dog, and grandmother. His parents were firefighters with the assistance of the best dalmatian firefighter ever, their dog Body. Joshua’s grandmother was a bank teller for the Seattle Bank. Yep, they lived in Seattle! They loved all the excitement and opportunities it had to offer, and the rain. Their family was not the richest, but nor were they living on the street. Either way, they were thankful for what they had.

Faye Carey is an activist that helps animals get rehomed. According to the article, “Teenage Girl is Dogs Best Friend,” Faye went to a week of work experience, and felt bad for the pets. Now, she has a facebook page called Animal Re-Home Waikato, that she spends 3 hours on a night. Also according to the article, “Faye has managed to re-home more than 60 dogs.” These examples show that a normal teenage girl is helping the country rehome

The next seven minutes could determine what my 7th grade year will look like. 11 other girls, competing for seven spots on the JAJH Cheer Team. My hands were shaking, and I was so nervous inside. What if I don’t make it? What if I make myself look like a complete fool? Falling on my face, tripping, doing the wrong cheer, all of these factors were racing through my mind. But I had to plaster that smile on my face, black shorts, white shirt, bow, tennis shoes, I was ready. Routines rushing through my head, one after the other, over and over. Five, six, seven, eight, one… Three days of practicing and learning the material for those next seven minutes.

As a varsity cheerleader, I have attended four years of Henrietta High School Mini-Spirit Camp. At Mini-Spirit Camp, high school cheerleaders promote spirit and confidence in children three to eleven years old. Every year, I realize more and more that being around children and being able to help in their lives is something that I truly love and enjoy. Being a part of Mini-Spirit Camp for the past four years has taught me patience and the importance of being a good role model and example to young children. As for my hopeful career, I know that these qualities are very important in becoming successful in acquiring the acceptance of

“I remember going there to my sister’s classes every day and I was like ‘I want to dance to mom! I really want to dance’ and I always liked to dance so she finally got me in it. I was like ‘I like this!’ and I’ve been there ever since” she said.

Jaspreana Tobias, a young girl born in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was a child who had grew up around music and rhythm and soul. Born to a family where the last person who was not from New Orleans was born two generations ahead of her, one could assume the rhythm was in her blood. Since she was little and could feel the music, the young Louisianan danced and did so with passion. Though her family loves music and all its counterparts, Jaspreana is the only dancer in the Tobias family tree. In high school, Jaspreana, a determined dancer, tried out for her school’s dance team. Unfortunately she did not make the cut. As any young woman would be, she was disappointed in herself; heart-broken actually. In her mind, she had a great chance at making the team, due to her skillful footwork and elegant grace as a dancer. In her own words, the result of her not making the team was “devastating” as it shook her confidence to the core. On that day, Jaspreana swore she would never try out for another dance team ever again. After months and months of sulking and great disappointment, her love and passion for the art of dancing returned. Not only had it returned, it returned with a new fire which burned deep in her soul. Dancing was her passion and being a professional dancer had been her dream since she could ever even two step to the sound of a simple beat. Jaspreana practiced and practiced. She would dance and think about dancing from the break of dawn until dusk. Finally

Every since my friend Layla was little she had always dreamed of being on her high school cheer team. She would often call me over to her house just to show me new moves that she had learned from watching videos on YouTube. Once she got into middle school she had no problem with making the team she even got picked captain from 6th through 8th grade. She pretty much had guaranteed spot on the high school squad. That tragically all ended when she found out she had to switch schools. She had to leave this atmosphere where she had made a name for herself, knew everyone, and everyone was pretty much African American or mixed to an all white school.

Many have seen her. Many know her. But who is the American cheerleader? Is she a blond haired, blue eyed sex symbol? Is she a drug-addicted girl with no brains and even fewer moral values? Maybe she is just your average, pretty, girl-next-door with a loud voice and lots of spirit. What is clearly true is that cheerleading and cheerleaders have evolved greatly over a century-long history. What started as one bold college student has turned into an activity with over 3 million participants (Brady 1); one that is backed by a $150 million industry (Williams 2). Modern cheerleading has come a long way from its historic roots, but large differences still exist between the iconic cheerleader, the stereotypical cheerleader, and the truth.

Quickly third and fourth grade approached, the plans for my life had changed to being a dancer. Dancing is an art. I had watched a movie about a beautiful dancer on broadway, and had decided that is what I wanted to do with my life. As time passed, and my life became a little clearer, and I realized that I lived in a small town of 1,000 people and the nearest dance company that I was going to be joining had just closed.

For her freshman year, she is living with a friend from home. This may cause distress in her future due to the togetherness they share and lack of diverse experiences. College roommates and floor mates are a great place to meet new people and engage in socially relevant tasks. For example, learning to live with a new person, or creating a new social network. However, she plans on her best friend from home and also her boyfriend to visit often. This may impede social growth throughout the crucial first semester of college. She also relies heavily on her family. Without her meaningful relationships of her sister and mother, she finds daily life to be more difficult. She appears to have a great balance of caring for others and caring for herself. I believe if she recognizes the impediment of holding high school friends too close, she may be able to overcome and achieve equilibrium in the new

“Dance offers so many opportunities,” Charlotte explains to me as she looks off to the distance, “it provides not only a challenge physically and mentally, but also an opportunity to express your personality”, and that’s exceptionally important for teenage girls who sometimes struggle with finding a way to open up to outsiders. This hasn’t proven to be a potential problem to Charlotte, however, since she admits to becoming a much more confident person after these years of dance experience. As for what Charlotte wishes to pursue later in life as a career, she’s still exploring all the new opportunities she has, and for now, it remains a