I have always loved to dance. It lets me express myself and helps me disconnect from the everyday demands of being a high school student. I train in various styles of dance, including Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop. I look forward to my classes every night and seeing my friends and teachers. They’re like a second family to me.  Sometimes, I spend more time with them than my own family, but I love every second of it. I have made true life-long friends who I likely never would have met otherwise.

When I was five, my mom signed me up for my first ballet class. She noticed that I would always put on shows and dance around the house. Kids often play sports when they're younger. When you think of sports, you likely think of more traditional ones, like soccer and football. But in dance, I would argue that we practice and train more than any sports team.  We have to memorize many two-to-three minute routines.  We don’t have an off season. Our main season is from September through June, when we learn and practice the choreography. Then from July through August, we have our technique classes, where we polish our dance techniques, including body alignment, turns, leaps and jumps.  We also  learn new choreography. We have three to four competitions per year and train for 13-15 hours a week, Monday through Saturday. We usually travel on competition weekends, which include three long days of performing and showing off what we do best. Not only do we practice in classes, but we have to take time at home to make corrections and stretch and rehearse. It requires a lot of hard work, time, and perseverance. Just like every other sport, we have to overcome challenges, like acquiring new skills and healing from injuries.

We also learn important life lessons and social skills. Our motto this year is, “Don’t Wish For It, Work For It.” This means that you're not going to accomplish your goals if you don't practice and work toward them. This motto directly correlates to my dedication to improve my dance skills and my commitment to my team. We also learn about time management. It can be difficult to get school work done when we are at the studio for up to four hours per night. I tend to get my school work done because the more I have to do, the harder I have to work.  I adapt to my dance schedule. When we’re at competitions, we have to be ready fifteen minutes before our call times. As a result, I’ve applied this discipline to my own life, and I tend to be prepared and arrive early to events.

I wanted to be able to share with people what I love to do and what has been so impactful in my life, but I was afraid to. I was afraid because people didn’t understand or know what being a dancer really entails. As I developed as a dancer, I became more aware that it was okay to tell people about this crucial part of my identity.  It became important to let people know what I do and how hard I train. I finally had the courage to embrace my identity as a dancer. I am proud of how my dedication and work ethic have helped strengthen my dance skills. 

Dance has also changed me to become the person who I am today. Without dance, I wouldn't have become more outgoing or met my best friends, who I will have for a lifetime. They share my understanding of what it really means to be a competitive dancer.  I’ve learned that In life, there are many times when you will face challenges and hardships. However, you must keep going and never give up because you need courage to keep moving forward and doing what you love.

© Nicole. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.