Winning isn't everything, but I never hated it.

     The dance competition world is EXTREMELY competitive. If it wasn't for the dance competition world, I don't know if I would have kept up with it as much as I did. Something about traveling to other places, getting up on that stage with judges in front of you, and winning always kept my adrenaline pumping. I loved being in my studio on the weekends, from early morning till night doing the dances over and over again just to shine for that 3 minutes on stage. Just to win that plastic trophy and share that $500.00 check with with the other 15 people in your group was all that mattered to me at one point.

     I was very blessed to grow up in such a great studio with hard working dancers and an amazing director. Everywhere we went we won. No, it wasn't always first place but that's what made us get right back in that studio and work even harder. We were raised to always have good sportsmanship.We were taught to always congratulate the other dancers, clap for everyone,compliment, be humble about your winnings and no matter what try your best and have fun. My team was so supportive of each other and that is one thing I am passing down to my students. Every time I teach any combination in my classes I ask my students to split up into groups. This is beneficial to me because I can concentrate on my students more as an individual and beneficial to them because they can see the way others are dancing and get inspired. One of my "rules" is to clap and cheer on your fellow dancers before and after they dance, no matter if they messed up or rocked it. It is important to me that all my kids carry confidence with them because not only does it help in the dance world but it also helps in the real world. It takes a lot for these kids to get up on stage in front of all these people and perform and I am so proud of the way my kids always rock not only the stage but in the classroom as well.

       One of the most exciting and memorable moments in my dance competition career was in my last year of dancing with my team. I was in around 15 dances my senior year of dance. One of the contemporary pieces I was in was choreographed by one of my best friends and fellow dancers, Ralphie Picciarelli. The dance was titled, "Hallelujah" and there was seven girls apart of this amazing piece. As you know every dance should have a "story" and this story took place in the 50's. We were stay at home housewives who had the perfect life of cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, always dressed with the finest of pearls with dinner waiting on the table for our husbands. From the outside everything was perfect and they were always smiling, but behind closed doors they were tired, felt unloved, beaten on and trapped.

 
       This dance (excuse my french) kicked so much ass at competition and we won the national finals in New Jersey that year. We worked so hard to perfect this dance, there were many rehearsals of bickering, crying, hysterical laughter, one to many bruises from jumping into thin air and falling straight on our knees but most of all great memories. This dance brought us seven girls so close and winning with them felt so good. I will never forget standing on that stage with at least 40 other dancers waiting for them to announce the winner, instead of calling out "Hallelujah" right away, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop and they played our music. All seven of us screamed and broke down into tears not only because we were so happy but this was also our last time dancing all together before most of us were off to college. This is one moment I will forever remember and I hold it very close to my heart. I can't wait for my kids to experience this in their upcoming years and will forever remind them that dedicated + hard work = success.