Personal Narrative: The Sartell Dance

I stopped mid-step and millions of thoughts rushed through my head. What was she going to say to me? Was she going to yell at me for not being able to do the turn? Was she going to take me out of the dance? I had never been so nervous at dance before and I felt a sense of uneasiness come over my whole body as I walked towards her.

Last week was such an amazing experience! I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to dance with all my wonderful 4th period friends and take part in the Fall Show, “Subsequent”, with the rest of the BHS Dancers (including my wonderful big, Lindsey)! I’m really proud of how the dance department did as a whole. I love dancing at Brookwood High School because it’s so different than the strict ballet setting that I’m used to at my studio. It is also very special to be part of something at my school. As a Sugarloaf Ballet Company Dancer, I’ve not had this experience before. Dance has always been separate from my school. It is so exciting to be able to say that I dance for Ms. Ellen at Brookwood High School.

“Don’t worry, we’re both gonna do great!” I explained, even though I was nervous too. That was the day we were finally trying out for competitive dance at our dance studio, Bleker’s. Bleker’s used to do competitive dance years ago, and finally, after I had been dancing there for 9 years, they started to do comp again!

"I'm going to play the music once, and you're going to close your eyes and think about the dance. Ready?" Kaitlyn said while we were still waiting in the dressing

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

Suddenly My mom started to finally understand how nervous I was about this it was like a light bulb was on top of her head and it had just turned on. Then she explained how it won’t be as scary because I would be practicing everything with my dance teacher Mrs.Dawnell. Also, she told me that I would get to practice with my friends, But she also told me that we would have to practice doing our interviews. I was even more scared of that even though it was just going to be practice. I can’t even imagine what i’m going to feel when i’m in interviews with the judges.

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.

On the team, I automatically became involved at school, performing at every home football and basketball game, but I also became spirited. Dance Team is where I learned the opportunity to become an ambassador of our school. Now I not only supported our school, but also represented it. As a team we strived to hold good reputations, on and off the field. I loved supporting our athletes teams fuelled by the energy of the crowds. I found a new confidence within, that I easily shown on stage.

As I walked into the intermediate room at Monsters of Hip-Hop, the nerves inside of me built up like a hot air balloon. I was stretching in jealousy of other girls and boys as they showed their amazing talents. I start to worry if I mess up on the choreography, out of nowhere the choreographer Laura Edwards comes in. I look at my mom in fear,

One of the biggest differences between all of us is our level of experience in dance. About half of the girls have been dancing since they were three years old and then there are the rest of the girls like me who began to dance in high school. When I first started dancing with my high school dance team, I felt like I was the worst dancer on the team. Everytime I looked at the girl next to me execute a flawless leap or turn without flailing all over the place, I could feel my self-esteem shatter into several tiny little pieces. I started to dread going to dance practice, which was everyday for at least two hours after school. This was only during football season, where we would perform at halftime. During our annual

As soon as I get home, I call a family meeting. “Guess what? Ms. Taryn is bringing a couple of students to the World Ballet Championship, and she has invited me!”

The tryouts were pretty much a “show me what you can do” stage. We did a practice dance to show the owners of the event we are ready. A week later, I got a text saying we got in and we have to be there the next week. I called my friends to tell them that we got in, and we started to practice. We went to the local park to practice and have fun. We were excited for the week to come.

From the first day I walked into the dance studio at 3 years old, I knew I wanted to be a dancer. From age 6-13 I got straight a’s, had many friends, and danced at least 10 hours a week. I thought high school would be the same, but the reality was I had to make new friends and the school load was harder. I decided freshmen year to join the robotics team but soon enough I learned it fell on the same day as dance. In the past I wouldn’t have given dance up for anything, but I decided to join. That same year, I auditioned for Inlet Dance Theatre’s Summer Intensive and received a scholarship and an opportunity to perform with Inlet’s professional dance company on Cain Park’s stage but I had broken my foot two days before the show. Dancing with

I'm so excited, this is my first year on the dance team! I'm probably the youngest on the team because I'm only 6 years old but I know that I’m going to do great. The dance team is at a studio called Patti Herm School of Dance. It’s in Otsego which is about 20 minutes away from my house. The studio is pretty small so everyone knows everyone but since I'm new to the team I don't really know anyone yet. Some of the older girls have talked to me and helped me out when I needed it but I don't remember their names because I'm really bad with names.

Obviously, the goal for the team every year is to win, but we also like to have fun. Natalie Meloche elaborates on how she feels about spending countless hours at the studio perfecting her routines, “Going to dance class is my favorite part of my day because I can always escape whatever is going on in my life and just let loose and dance. I also love to see my friends and teachers as well.”  In fact, three of the four girls I got answers from said they enjoyed going to class while the fourth had mixed feeling about it. Although for the majority of the girls, being in class was their favorite part. My favorite part was all of the team bonding that we did. Outside of the practice rooms, the team went to the movies together, painted pottery, played laser tag, and took trips to the cider mill.