DHSDT: What the yearbook won’t tell you

For 3 years now, I have devoted many hours to the Dominion Dance Team and it’s sister team in Seneca. Specifically, for the two years on the Dominion team, I have been asked many questions regarding practicing, schedules, and what we even do there. So i thought, might as well answer some questions.

How much do you guys practice?

We practice 5 out of 7 days of the week for around 2 hours each practice. Sometimes it extends by 1-2 hours depending on how much we want to get done and how close our competition is. Usually, we have morning practices at 6:35-8:30 am Tuesdays and Fridays, afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday from 4:30-6:30, and Saturday practice from 10am-12pm. So on average, we spend 10 hours a normal week, 15 when we extend a bit. Again, this is rough calculations. This does not include what officers have to do, sometimes spending their whole weekend to help out the coaches for hours on end.

What about homework? School? Family? Friends?

We have a 30 minute study hall before afternoon practices and if you’re smart with dividing up work and spacing it out, your work will be easy. Of course we get stressed sometimes due to extended practices or homework, but we can always talk to a coach to meet a teacher or work a little longer on something. A big misconception is that we don’t have time for anything. We actually have a lot of time to finish things or hang out with people. Think of this, we’re only giving 2 hours out of a 24 hour day to do what we enjoy. When it’s thought like that, it’s really not that bad.

Don’t you get tired?

Well, duh. We’re not superhuman. We get worn out at times, mentally or physically. But, everyone on the team has a deep love and appreciation for the craft, so we push through it. Obviously if we are sick we don’t show up or take it easy. Plus, if we really need to take a mental day, our heads won’t get cut off.

Who’s the best?

Surprise, we all are! Everyone on the team has their own unique flair when it comes to dancing. There are no ‘bests’ or ‘worst’. It would be unfair for us to compare ourselves to each other since some people are trained in different styles. We all also come from different levels of dance experience. Let’s say someone is trained in gymnastics and studio hip hop for 3 years, while the person next to them was a ballerina for 8 years, and then the person next to them has never danced for team or studio, just at home in their room for fun. All our different styles merge to create a single piece that comes out looking amazing.

Dance is truly something else, the positivity and close-knit friendships we’ve made had allowed us to better ourselves even outside of dance. It has made me become friends with people I wouldn’t even imagine myself talking to. Not only that, but it has helped me become a more positive and thoughtful person. Trying out for the team is definitely something I will never regret.

 

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