Dancing in the Rain- One step at a time

Dance has always been one of my biggest lifelines, perhaps even my biggest. I have been dancing around 8 years (ish) if not more. I quit gymnastics so I could do what my big sister was doing and I have been at Clytie Adams since. Dancing is a way for me to let go. I may start out angry and upset but by the end of class I'm so happy (Most of the time) and have forgotten what had gone wrong that day. I also became best friends Clytie Su because of ballet (and school), got my pen pal and have so many other friends because of it. I started learning line dances in 3rd grade and in 6th grade I was doing multiple partner dances, my favorite being the swing with full lifts and stunts. My partner and I were able to win the 6th grade swing competition that year…yay! (Hey, it’s a lot bigger than it sounds) We were also in all the auditioned coupled dances, and all this time I was still doing ballet and had started modern dance.

Then the boulder hit. I learned that I would need to get foot surgery for my flat feet. It was either that, wear arch supports 80% of the rest of my life, or be in a wheel chair by the time I was 50- 60. (Especially where I’m bull-legged) And so it happened. I got the surgery and for a month I could not run or jump. I couldn’t go swimming or to the beach because the water would get into my stitches. I remember the night of my surgery I had had enough medications I could walk up the stairs. The next morning I woke up before my mom got home from her walk (the medication made me wake up early). I put my boots on and took one step and fell down in agony. I couldn't even crawl without it hurting and I had to wait for my mother to get home to carry back into my bedroom. Time passed and fortunately I was told I was making more progress than any other patient that doctor had ever had. But then, I had to go get my first pair of point shoes. My feet were swollen and so they placed me in the wrong brand of shoe, making my life miserable for me and I’m sure my teacher. I hated dance, it was horrible, I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to quit. I was also sick of my feet hurting when the weather was bad, or by just walking. I was still walking pigeon-toed. Luckily my father had given me a blessing and my family was there to support me.

So in 7th grade I auditioned for the Davis County Ballroom Team and made it on to the 8th grade team. It was lots of fun and I even got to do an improved performance one night. I was able to make Nutcracker, even though from off stage my mother could see me dancing pigeon toed and on the outside of my foot. By 8th grade I got placed into the right brand of point shoe. I quit DCB team and went to a smaller one for half of the year. I was able to run, and slowly the pigeon toe went away. I got to perform on point shoes for my recital dance and did very well.

Welcome to 9th grade. I have ballet three times a week, modern and jazz once a week, and Nutcracker once a week. This is my seventh year in Nutcracker (the maximum that you can do at my age.)I love running and other sports and my feet rarely bother me. I am still bull-legged which makes life hard in the dance world…but it’s fun to be different I guess! My feet are strong and after a couple weeks, we finally found the perfect way for me to wear my point shoes. If you watch me walk I walk on the outside of my foot (come tell me if you see me doing it so I can fix it!) and I still stand pigeon toed some times (again if you see me doing this come tell me). I have a teacher who is helping my with any hip and turn-out problems I may have. One thing she said has helped me so much to conquer this challenge.
“She is strong. She has the mental capability to learn combination's so fast that I didn’t know it was humanly possible. She is able to do things others can’t and has such a gorgeous upper body and arms, and can feel the music. I love to watch her dance. She is gorgeous.”