Personal Narrative: My Dance Performance

Deep breaths… Okay- you got this. It’s just you and the vault. Nothing else matters. You have done this a million times before. Nick always here to catch me if I fall. Muscle memory takes over. When I am in the right mental state, anything seems possible. Any athlete would agree with me. All sports are half mental. AS I run down the runway, I know why I am a gymnast. Every bounding step I take I run farther and farther from everything happening in my life. Farther and farther from all the distractions. I can only hear my feet pounding into the springboard. Flying off the vault with a power I don’t even know I contain, everything zapped into slow motion. This is what it all comes down to. Every minute of training in the gym. Every wrist and

“Gold Dusters! USA! Gold Dusters! USA!” I was just getting ready to go on the Timberwolves’ floor for my second time that day; We had made the finals and we were in search for the medal at the end. It was my second year at the state tournament; I was 15. I was underground, underneath the stadium, listening to the stomping, the cheering, the screaming, and the many hands clapping, as they waited for our team to come out to dance. I could feel my blood pumping through my veins. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest.

Since I was three years old, dance has been a passion of mine. Throughout elementary school, I tried many other activities, however, I never enjoyed anything as much as I enjoyed dance. In my fourteen years of dancing, I have learned to work with a team and to use constructive criticism in a positive way. Also, I have learned that hard work leads to performance.

I have participated in many different activities and sports over the years, but the one that has stuck with me the most is dance. I started dancing when I was only seven years old, and went on to join a competitive dance team for four years. Dancing has given me many opportunities, such as being part of a team, performing, competing, and the chance to express myself through movement. Participating in dance for so many years gave me the chance to volunteer as an assistant to some of the younger dancers at my dance school, which allowed me to gain leadership skills such as communication and commitment, as well gain teaching experience. At my middle school last year, I was a co-president of the student council, and my job was to lead weekly meetings with the younger students at my school, also contributing to my leadership background.

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

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.

Throughout my time at the O’brien Center of The Arts, performing has been a tremendous part of my ballet experience. The long hours and demanding rehearsals often creates a stressful environment, but the effect of this has helped me develop the ability to successfully cope with those pressures while establishing a quality production. I love the feeling of dancing on stage, challenging myself, and doing things I never thought I could do. I have danced numerous performances at the Spreckles Theater at Rohnert Park, and have been given very difficult roles. The discipline needed to perfect the choreography, and stay in sync with my fellow dance members is colossal, and takes a tremendous investment of my time and practice. This may seem somewhat

"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

The fastest way for a performer’s career to end is with an unexpected injury. My freshman year I suffered patella luxation, more commonly known as the dislocation of the kneecap. I was in a full leg brace for a month and a half, and then participated in physical therapy over summer break until I was cleared to return to dance for my sophomore year. The time I had to spend recuperating forced me to explore other pathways associated with my art.

As I arrived to the theater, many memories came flooding back to my mind of my times being on stage. But that day was not another day on stage; it was a day in the audience. I was at the theater to help Impact Dance Theater with their winter show. When I walked into the lobby, I saw my teacher and the others standing around waiting to be told what to do. About the time I walked to them another volunteer came over as well. “Today you guys will be ushers” the volunteer said “I need some of you to scan tickets and some to hand out programs.” I was one of usher's who would be scanning tickets. We waited about another 20 minutes in the lobby before told where we would be at. The manager of the theater walked over to us with a pleasant smile. “Thank you so much” she stated “We will go over the rules the theater has and then I will tell you where to go.” Once she told us the rules and where we would be, we received our usher badges and when on our way.

Leading a team of teenage girls is most definitely not effortless, but it is something that I’ve done with pride for the past three years. When I entered high school, I was beyond eager to join the dance team. Unfortunately, it was not even the slightest of what I had expected it to be. We rarely performed and when we did, the feeling that I obtained exceeded embarrassment. I have danced since I was three years old, but it was so terribly draining, and not even in a physical way, that I considered quitting the team. At the end of the season my freshman year, though, the coach informed us that she was quitting and offered me the captain position for the following year. So with that, I decided to stay on the team. I was determined to make my

Have you ever wanted to know what happens in a bBreakdancing competition? Well, last summer, me and my friends all signed up for a competition for breakdancing. It was at the Silverback Open., That is where dancers from all over the world come over for a competition. We went to dance at the SilverBack Open to see if we couldcan win the breakdancing title. The breakdancing event was broken down into three parts, the tryouts, then the main event, and the finals or /rewards.Add how the experience impacted you.

Beginning this class I had taken some ballet before and had a good understanding of the basics even if I was not totally comfortable doing them. However, I still struggled with turning out at the hips, balancing on relevé, maintaining por de bra in an exercise, tilting my head when needed, keeping my neck long, engaging my core (especially when balancing), and using my plie in almost everything. While I was comfortable doing several other things, I know that ballet requires everything to be specifically engaged and that I could not slack in any part of my technique. Things like tilting my head, maintaining por de bra, and keeping my neck long, I am still getting used to but they are becoming more natural as I repeat them each week. It really