Personal Narrative: My Dance At Camden Hills Regional High School

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.

For the remainder of the month we got together three times a week to write, rehearse and iron out details of the show. That was one of the most stress filled, exciting months of my life. On one hand the pressure of the show gave us motivation to make more progress in music that i feel like i ever had in my entire life, but on the other hand that creeping feeling that we weren't going to be prepared enough by the time the show rolled around was just as constant. After weeks of stress filled practices and promoting the show to our friends and family, and around town, the night was finally

At South Walton High School homecoming is an extremely important tradition. Not to mention, South Walton includes an unbelievably small number of students compared to majority of the high schools throughout the America. As I proceed through my senior year, I came to a realization that it would be my last opportunity to participate in this year’s series of homecoming events. With homecoming beginning the week of September 26, 2016 I was overjoyed to express the amount of spirit I had for my school. As each day expressed a different theme I decided to dress up for many of the occasions. On “twin day” as Meredith Grey from the cast of Grey’s Anatomy. Twin day allows students to find a partner or group of friends that could arrange a similar outfit

I quickly moved from the door to First Sergeant Attaway’s room. I arrived there before anyone else did so I started to make my uniform cleaned up and spotless, along with going over the questions I thought might have been asked. There was plenty and I was not really prepared as I wanted to be, but I was going to do my best. Everyone else started to show up, putting on their uniforms or cleaning their uniforms. The judges walked in and we lead them to where First Sergeant was. We then sent everything we needed to the gymnasium we were going to be in. The flags, the harnesses, the rifles, the stands, everything we needed was right there. We then started off with a little talk from First Sergeant then we started off with the color guards. One with and one without a saber. We then moved into a group marching with and without rifles. After that were the questions, and then he flags. The flags have been the easiest part, since the whole group you were in, which was five people this year, were able to talk and help each other. We finally completed the day. None of us embarrassed ourselves and we made it out without anything awful happening. We put everything away and then talked about what happened at both the practices and the auditions. We were then finally able to go

Then we started to warm up because we had a judge's preview. So basically we just went into a classroom and performed our dance it was really scary at first, but then it got better because I knew they weren’t judging us that

I wake up. It’s the day of the show. I feel a nervous knot in my stomach and the pressure on my shoulders. I was the only person on my team to qualify for IEA Regional’s. Usually on show days we get up early and to the barn by 6 or 7. Today was different, I didn’t need to be there until noon. I couldn’t sleep though, so I got up and got dressed. The show was in Charleston, so my dad and I went the night before to spend time downtown. After breakfast we drove to Starbucks to buy some time before meeting my coach at the show.

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

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

The morning of the dress rehearsal I go over my lines once more. The cast was told that we would go to first and second and then leave for third. Some people were so nervous they were biting, some running around with excitement. As for me I feel excited but as the show gets closer and closer my mind is having confits. We get to the stage and put on our costumes and makeup. My hands were so shaky I had to have someone else do my make up.

Who all can say that they have danced on national television at Walt Disney World? Well now, I can say that I did. I have been on many trips to Disney World but this one was by far the best because I got to be there with my dance team. In a small town like Saltillo it is very rare that any type of athletic team goes and wins state competitions or makes it all the way to a national level but we did. The Saltillo High School dance team of 2014 was the first team to ever go beyond a state competition and do anything on a national level. It was a huge honor for all of us to represent our school in the way we did. From arriving to Disney’s ESPN Resort, to getting ready then preforming was an overall great experience for all of us.

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 comfort zone - I was about to leave it. With my heart pounding violently against my chest, I realize that this adrenaline rush is causing my hands to tremble; I am itching to begin. Auditioning for the MRHS Dance Team marked my transition from a girl who hid in the shadows, to a girl who danced in the spotlight.

There will be a Q&A session with the dancers and choreographers after the performance, followed by a dessert and coffee reception.

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

We had to wait in the hallway because the party girls went during first act and we went during the second act. We played games and talked and drew things. One time we said “let's practice all together.” After the Party Girls left we got to go into the dressing room