“As a dancer you learn to adapt to a number of things, such as, weather and pain. There is a time in your life where you think you just can’t do it but in the end you overcome.” This is the start of an inspirational speech my dance coach gave the team on the first day of practice. We would soon learn that this statement is so very true.
“Okay let’s practice some stands until Ne-ne gets here” Alexcia says as we all line up in our respective positions. I was sore from the workout we’ve had the day before and wasn’t particularly ready to do anything but like everyone else I moved to get in position. We danced for about an hour when we received a phone call from our dance coach Ne-ne saying “Girls I’m on my way so get ready to work, I will be teaching you something new and there will be pain.”. After that phone we all were looking at each other wondering what she had in store for us today.
As she pulls into the band room parking lot we meet her outside and mentally prepare for the pain we know we will endure. She walks towards us with a smile and wonders why we are looking crazy. “What’s wrong with ya’ll, looking all dead.” She says. “Alright so what are we doing to day that you had to call and prepare us for?” I say giving her the, “you know why we looking like this” look. Laughing she sets her things down and does a “kick back land on the behind thingy” Oh and let me tell you she really got the “what the world” face from everybody. She laughs again “So get ready because that is what you will be learning to do today its called a donkey drop and you will be doing it in the field show for Friday’s game.”
Tori walks up and bluntly asks her “What have you been drinking woman its Wednesday now and it’s suppose to rain Friday?” We all agree and laugh at her. But in spite of the worries we had about bustn’ our behinds we got to work. And oh was it hilarious to see people walking by point and wondering what the heck we were trying to do. “When are you going to tell us this is a joke and we don’t have to really learn this trick?” Kayla yells out after hitting the ground with a bang and sending dirt every which way. The ground looked more hurt than she did after that dreadful landing. “Man up and do the dang thing” Ne-ne screams like a drill sergeant. Everyone grunts and turns to move to a different spot that we pray is more comfortable. After 4 hours of excruciating pain and many mishaps we as a team learned this so called donkey drop. Now all we had to figure out was how we were going to perform this magnificent, intricate stunt in the rain.
“Game Time” Someone yells in the background as we make our way though the crowd as the field waited for our arrival. The football players’ game was at a pause but ours was just beginning. The adrenaline was pumping as the crowd cheered and we prayed for a safe 10 minutes on the field for all. As we finished our walk onto the field the crowd sort of disappeared as we got into the zone. The first blow of the horn brought our attention back to the adventure at hand. “This is it girls” Ne-ne yells from the fence “Give me everything you got” she adds. The show progressed until it was time for the “Dazzling Diamonds” to grace the field. We set positions and danced like never before as our worries and the rain fell. The end and the “trick” were approaching as we moved to the next formation. As always I was satisfied at the progress my fellow teammates had made throughout the season and this is just another mountain we moved. We move that mountain with a mighty push, finishing our dance with a bang. The final dance move which was the “trick” was a phenomenal success. Everyone left the field that night with all their body parts and a sense of pride.
“Great job ladies!” I announce as we descended the field. Every tooth was shown and every head was held high. I was truly proud that my team was a dance team I was proud to be a part of.