Personal Narrative: My Dance Recital

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 have been performing in a symphony orchestra since I was eight. Most kids at the age of eight were skinning their knees on the playground, but I was forming blisters on my fingertips trying to put my finger on the right notes. My God Mother would always tell me, “In order for you to be the best, you have to face your fears.” I didn’t fear performing in front of crowds until I was given the opportunity to be the soloist one evening.

As a little girl, I would constantly walk on my toes. Because of this tendency, my parents enrolled me in a beginner ballet class at the age of three. I learned how to walk like a ballerina, the art of pointing my toes properly, and how to properly curtsy at the end of class. Throughout the months leading up to the recital, my classmate and I learned a piece to perform, and I practiced in class and at home for my parents and brother. On the day of the recital, I performed the dance perfectly in my green sparkly tutu and the smallest size ballet slippers. However, I was disgruntled with the other baby ballerinas for making mistakes on the stage.

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

The town is described in two different ways, at first there is a positive, upbeat joyous depiction of this town, full of celebration music and singing. But also

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

On the 5th of December, I attended my second concert in Cypress Recital Hall. It was an amazing experience. I got to fully appreciate the sounds of the violin and the piano. Erika Salas, played the Violin accompanied by Yoko Mizuno, Doris Wang and Michael Cooper each individually performed a different piece on the piano. The first song was Sonata in D major HWV 371 by George Frideric Handel and performed by Erika Salis and Yoko Mizuno. The structure of this sonata was made up of four movements. Affetuoso feeling, tenderly, Allegro lively, fast, Larghetto slowly, steadily, and Allegro energetic, fast. Each section had a specific form the first movement reminds one of a slow symphony. The Allegro is written in a fugue, polyphonic style. The

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.

On the evening of Tuesday, November 28 at 7:30, I attended the UNG Instrumental Honors Recital. To be quite frank, I was entirely unsure of what to expect as I had never attended an instrumental concert before. The entire evening had a semi-formal air about it, despite the casual t-shirts and jeans many people were wearing. Each musician would step on stage to a completely silent audience, settle on the provided chair if necessary, take a deep breath, and then finally let the music sweep them away as they played for the audience. The passion and emotion each musician had was clear from the intensity of their respective facial expressions, which changed depending on what piece they were playing.

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

Last year at my dance recital, the craziest thing happened to me. The day started out like this: I woke up, went to a last minute rehearsal for the ballet, and then prepared myself for the show that night. And then while I waited in anticipation for hours to fly by so I could check in at the theater, I got my makeup done and put my hair in a low flat bun for the first dance I had. I also made copies of the pictures at dress rehearsal for all the teachers. After the time got closer, my dad and I went to the theater to check in. Once I got there, I dropped my costumes off in the dressing room, and then went to the stage to get the last minute corrections from my ballet teacher, Ms. Lainie. When all of the dancers got on the stage, she gave the

Everyone walked nervously onto the platform, we had been on at least 20 times that before that day, and we were even more nervous than before. Smiles plastered across all of our faces. I was one of the main characters in a sister singing group who all yearned for the top position and the spotlight for their selves. It was weird for me, that I didn’t like being the center of attention, but my character did. The spotlight shined profoundly bright on all of us, as the audience stared and waved at us. Mrs. Ussery delivered the introduction with pride and joy. Even though we were nervous on the inside, we were proud like my music and dance teacher Mrs. Ussery that day, as we stood there staring back at five hundred and fifty people.

Highlighting my freshman year was the homecoming dance. I was able to attend the dance with my bestfriend,Takia Jackson, we had an amazing time. The homecoming dance was one of the first times at Euclid High School, where I felt as if I wasn't an outcast freshman. All of the upperclassmen and underclassmen, got along and connected as a “panther family”. Age, grade year, size or anything that would generally make you different on a normal school day roaming the halls, did not matter at the homecoming dance. I was ecstatic to mingle with new people, dance with my friends and have a great time without drama or violence. I personally would recommend going to homecoming, to any freshman entering high school, it was awesome time for me, and I am

I started ballet when I was 5 years old. At first I did not want to join ballet. But my mom forced me to join. When I tried out, I was really enjoying the class. But I did not want to show that I did enjoy it.