Personal Narrative: Hills West Dance

It seems like I have been waiting years for my letter to come in the mail. Just last month I sent out my application to see if I can get into Juilliard School of Dance, in New York. I live in Springfield, Massachusetts. Juilliard is where only pro dancers, the best of the best, the real shining stars can get into. Ballet has been my passion since I could walk. If I don’t get in, my life is over! All I want to do in life is perform, not sitting down having to fill out paperwork the whole day in a crowded office, or stuck behind a fryer, serving greasy, crusty food to ungrateful customers. Ballet is my escape from that.

I walked on stage, my head pounding and my knees shaking. I looked to the audience, but bright, glaring lights blocked their faces. As the music started playing, I forced a smile onto my face. I can usually smile naturally, but tonight was different.

White skirts, rainbow fabrics, and jingling money, Hmong dancing, a part of my life since age nine. In fourth grade, I joined a dance group with my sister and her friends. Two months in and now our coach wanted to test us on our memorization skills. We all began shaking nervously as nobody had practiced. Me, the oldest, had to dance first as my heart dropped and desired to cry. I stepped forward when the music started, my ears remained only on the chatters of the other members. My eyes wandered elsewhere attempting not to make eye contact with the coach, yet I did. I stuttered multiple times because dancing first and not getting to practice before we did this made it nerve wracking although, everyone else had the same issues. After this practice,

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

The author begins telling the readers who she is, basically, that dance is a portion of her life. She teaches dance and creates new techniques through teaching children. She mentions how creative children are and how that has inspired her work throughout the years she has been choreographing. The co-operatives Marin County Dance, located in California, has impacted lives in the company. The classes cost only fifty cents per person. This organization brings this community of children together along with the volunteers which is primarily there parents. Not only are the classes for all children but their was a demand for boys in the beginning of the creation of the program. This program was only successful in fraction by reason of the parents’ role as volunteers. The parents, in reality, coordinate the location, attendance, and finances. The author mentions, powerful understanding of a child’s background and level of age allows a teacher to engineer their lessons for the child. Like training an adult, the learning process takes time. Children learn best when moving and exhibiting dance.

For the past six years, I have been dancing at Shirley Matta Dance Academy. I have been taught many dances of different variety such as jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, etc. The studio has recently begun offering Pointe classes, which I also attend. In addition to attending the studio, I also assist in teaching dance and gymnastics classes there. This has been an experience that I will never forget, especially since I spend most of my time at the dance studio. It has helped me in so many ways. Not only have I improved immensely as a dancer, my communication and leadership skills have skyrocketed as well. In fact, every Tuesday, I currently teach ballet to a group of about fifteen girls between the ages of 7-10 year all by myself. In

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

The phone rings. My mom steps up from her worn office chair and grabs her cell phone.

For these past two years in high school, I have been taking Cleo Mack’s dance program that is provided for us at MCVTS. Starting the program freshman year I did not know what to expect at all but I am glad my mom pushed me to come to this school. I have been dancing since I was three at a competition studio who is very strict about almost everything especially performance quality, but as I have learned from Ms. Mack it’s good to tone down the face and make your dancing more authentic and real.

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.

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.

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.

On April 13th, I attended San Francisco Ballet’s Program 07, Made For San Francisco. The San Francisco Ballet is notorious for their classical full length ballet productions, but let me tell you, they are equally as amazing in a more contemporary setting. This specific triple bill showcase was made of Trio, Ghost In The Machine, and Within The Golden Hour. The first piece was choreographed by Helgi Tomasson, the company’s own artistic director, and is world renowned classical ballet dancer of his generation. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, was played by the orchestra and the notes of the music carried each dancer across the stage. It blended so well with the dancing, it seemed as if it were made for the movements. Crisp yet

When I was 10 I began going to a church where they have a dance ministry and a band ministry I thought it was really cool and fun. I seen the girls danced in the alter with a tambourine I was a little girl I wanted to dance too with them so I told my mother I want to be in the dance ministry and my mother talked to the pastor's wife and she said I was able to start going to the practices with the girls on Friday's night . I learned all the steps and moves in 3 months and I began dancing in the alters I was super exited I loved it. I moved to Texas in September 2011 and we found a church over there they did not have a dance ministry there and they planned to have one, my mother talked to them about me being able to teach the girls how to dance