14 Years Gone By

My dance training began when I was four years old. I was solely enrolled in the form of tap dancing. I learned many things in my first five years of dancing. I learned how to shuffle, hop, buffalo, brush, ball-change, flap, stomp, step, grapevine, and do single, double, and triple time steps — as well as many combinations of those steps. I continued on in tap until I graduated from my dance school at age 18. I learned many new things in those nine years such as: how to do quadruple time steps, wings, many different types of turns, pick ups, pull backs, kicks, maxie fords, cake walks, charlestons, and cramprolls. I also learned how to accent certain sounds in the choreography.

Through five to six years of my tap dancing career, I sang songs with my fellow peers during the intro part of the dance where the movement wasn't as demanding. The songs we sang were: "Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me" by , some song that went "One dance each day will keep you as a fit as a fiddle, one dance each day, that's all", "Big Spender" by Peggy Lee, "Hello Dolly" originally by Louis Armstrong, and a couple others but i can't remember them.

When I was nine, I picked up the art of Jazz dancing for three years. It was not my favorite type of dance. Jazz is flashy, I'm not. I learned something about myself through taking jazz.

When I was eleven I picked up the art of French Classical Ballet. When I was 13 I was seen as able to use pointe shoes (or toe shoes) in ballet. I did. I was one of the strongest non-cheaters in the class. When using pointe shoes it is called cheating when one bends there knees when they go up en Pointe. I didn't do that, I was above it until I got to my last year and I began to get a little lazy. Through my years as a French Classical Ballet student, I learned the five positions of the arms and legs, pie, piqué, and possé (sp), perfecting my turn out, what a sickling foot is, as well as the following movements: sisonnes, sautés, saut de basques, rond de jambes, relevés, port de bras, plies, pirouettes, pas marchés, pas de bourrée courus, pas de bourées, many types of jetés, glissades, échappés, développés, coupés, chassés, changements, battements, ballottés, ballonés, balancés, attitudes, assemblés, and arabesques. For what most of these look like you can view them here: http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html

In my last year of my dance career, I was given a trial for lyrical ballet. The movement in the trial was very fast and didn't allow me to feel it with my heart. I decided to not try out for it.

In my eleventh year of my dance career, I tried out for "Richardettes" and "Gay Parisian Can-Can", the top-most kicklines. I did not make it, so i tried out for Can-Can yet again in my twelfth year and made the same mistake I did the first time I tried out. I didn't turn the right way. If it wasn't for that mistake, I would've made it.

In my tenth year of my dance career, I tried out for an elite line called "Gold Irish". I didn't make it into the line that year but the next year I made it. I stayed in "Gold Irish", the line that uses hard-shoes (or clogging shoes), for two years. I was the strongest dancer in the line at the time so I was promoted to "Star Irish" which is my dance school's highest elite line for Irish dance.

Every year I studied dance was accompanied by "show weekend". "Show weekend" started on Thursday and ends on Sunday night. On Thursday and Friday were dance rehearsals and on Sunday were two shows. All of this was held at a facility where the audience capacity was 1,441. Most of the shows were sold out. I danced every single one of these. In total, I did 28 rehearsals and 28 shows.

As a graduation present to the seniors of my class, my dance teacher took us out to dinner at the Melting Pot and took us to see the musical 'Spamalot'. They were fun times.

At my final show of my dance career, during the graduation ceremony, I cried my eyes out on stage. So much work, so much time, so much sweat, growing up, scrapes and bruises from falling, blisters, perseverance, pain, soreness, happy times, sadness, and experiences. I missed it greatly then, I still miss dancing to this day. I don't think I'll ever get over the feelings I have for dance. Its such a great part of me that helped me to find out who I am, helping to form me. I love dance with a passion. I will never regret dancing.