Dance
An anxious feeling filled my body as I sat patiently, waiting onstage for my numbers to be called. “ You did great in all of your dances,” I told myself. " Why are you getting so nervous? It won't change anything. “
Thinking this just made the anxiousness get worse. The awards had just started, and my first number had been called. “ Featherstone… Platinum.” The announcer called. This was my contemporary dance, my favorite dance this season. In case you didn't know, your dances were ranked with Gold being the lowest and then going High Gold, Platinum, and then Diamond being the highest.
My friend Madison went up to retrieve the trophy and pins, and I smiled in relief that we did pretty well. After a couple of dances, one of my dances was called again: “ Sweet Dreams… Diamond.” With this being called, all of my nerves left me, and joy perked up right there in its place. “ Sweet Dreams” was my jazz dance, and I was proud of everyone in the group because we had made much progress.
At that moment, I remember first being taught the dance. There I was with the other 17 kids, just trying to learn the different parts of the 2-minute and 30-second dance. When I watched the video after rehearsal, we looked ridiculous. No one was in timing and knew the moves, including all 18 of us. Getting a Diamond was a big achievement for us. I glanced at my friend, Arielle, whose smile was even more significant than mine.
The other five of my group dances were called along with hundreds of others. “ Diamond! Platinum! Gold! Platinum! High Gold,! Diamond! ” Was all I was hearing at that point. Sometimes I even forgot which dances were mine and which dances were ones that I had never heard of before.
After a few judge's choice awards and a bazillion top 10s, it was time for the big trophy, AKA the highest-scoring group dance. I had never won one of these and had only ever watched people go up to get their award. I saw how joyful they were and I wanted to experience that joy. I wasn’t listening to the lady who announced the awards at the time. I had just thought, “ There are hundreds of dances at this competition. It’s a one-in-a-million chance that any of my dances would win.”
This was my second time at this competition (Beyond the Starts), and I loved it for one reason and one reason only. When and if you won the highest-scoring group dance, they didn’t announce the name of your dance. They played your song. This built up suspense and got everyone super excited.
“ And the winner is…” the announcer said as I picked at my fingernails.
And then I heard it, “ Sweet dreams are made of this…” And I screamed, my jazz dance had just won!!!!!!!!
I ran up to the 4-foot trophy along with 17 other kids, all jittering with excitement. We all said our names into the microphone, and “ Wren” sounded louder than the rest.
I am proud of all of my achievements in dance throughout the past couple of months, and I hope my next competition will be as good as this one.
This is so great Wren. Your writing has really grown and you chose such a great moment for your comeback as a slice writer. We always say it’s not about the winning…and it isn’t. But I’m happy for you that you got to experience this moment with your friends. I love watching your joy on stage. Not always a fan of your moodiness afterwards though. There is something else to write about. Love you! ❤️Mom
ReplyDeleteWell that was exciting. Congratulations. I like the way you built up the suspense in that moment with the picking at the fingernails detail. I also like that your dance school picked a song from the 80s. I'm old enough to remember when that song first came out.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great, significant moment to capture in writing! What I like best about your piece is how you show us your internal thinking as you go. Such strong writing!
ReplyDeleteI love this line, "With this being called, all of my nerves left me, and joy perked up right there in its place." Joy! Congratulations. The best achievement was turning from anxious to joy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a courteous writer you are! Thanks for providing me, your reader, with so much information regarding the dance competition, which took me there. Jittering was an excellent choice of words, too.
ReplyDeleteYou have all the elements of great storytelling in this slice: a good hook, suspense, excitement and an awesome ending! Congratulations on the dance win and also on the very precise writing. Two parts that stood out for me : 1) getting lost in the flurry of awards : "Sometimes I even forgot which dances were mine and which dances were ones that I had never heard of before." and 2) Expressing your real excitement at capturing diamond: "We all said our names into the microphone, and “ Wren” sounded louder than the rest."
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Wren! How wonderful that you received this trophy. :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the flashback to your memory of learning how to dance when you were little. It's incredible that you remember that. Core memories have been built in your dance studio.
Wow, congratulations to you and the 17 others who won the big trophy. Wren, your dancing and writing are lovely together. I hope you will always record your memories and experiences. They will help cement the joys of a lifetime.
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