Dance Excellence 2019
- The STEM Academy Paper
- May 1, 2019
- 4 min read
May 1, 2019
Maddie Gaffney
Over spring break, a group of 19 girls from Chester Valley Dance Academy, which is located in Lionville, flew to Los Angeles California for an international dance festival called Dance Excellence. Of these 19 girls, 7 of them including myself, go to school at STEM: Ally Waitte, Emma Burke, Emily Plichta, Julia Davidson, Heidi Beardsley, Sophia Alfinito, and me, Maddie Gaffney. We spent 7 unforgettable, inspirational, and, above all, amazing days in California, where we were lucky enough to experience and participate in once in a lifetime opportunities.
Dance Excellence
Dance Excellence is a global dance event held in the one and only Los Angeles California. Dance studios from over 31 countries and 4 continents are invited each year to share their love of dance, take classes from professional teachers in all styles, meet new people from all around the world, and perform not only in front of a panel of judges, but at the famous Disneyland.
Day by Day
April 14
The festival officially started on Sunday, April 14th with an inspirational orientation and dance party. From the very beginning, I already knew how incredible my week was going to be. The very first thing we were told to do was make a circle with people we had never met before. We were challenged to go out of our comfort zones and connect with people our age from all over the world, which is was such a cool experience. We met people from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, England, Hawaii, the Philippines, Mexico, New Mexico, and Canada to name a few, all sharing the same love for dance.
April 15-17
Monday through Wednesday we took a total of 19 master classes with 19 incredible instructors. All of the instructors were insanely cool. One of the teachers was the director of the Disney performing arts program and choreographed dances in several films. The majority of the instructors have danced alongside famous singers and actors like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, and Ryan Gosling. Some have even danced in well known movies such as La La Land and The Greatest Showman. Overall, it was truly amazing and an honor to take classes with such successful men and women. For three days, 6 to 7 classes each day, back to back, with lunch breaks in between of course, we danced a variety of different dance styles. From ballet to hip hop, African to musical theatre, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, mock audition classes, tap, and so much more, we were always on our feet. Our instructors were some of the kindest and loving people I have ever met. They always reminded us of who we are as individuals and how amazing we all truly are. They wanted us to dance with our hearts and souls, and dance what we wanted to dance, not what we were told. In all of our classes, we learned dance combinations that we then made our own and within which, found ourselves. Every class was unique in its own way and most importantly taught a different life lesson that was beyond powerful. On Tuesday night we took a trip to Hollywood and saw Fiddler on the Roof!
April 18
Disney Day! On Thursday, April 18th, each studio was invited to perform in Disneyland and, of course, spend a magical day in the park. Every studio performed a ten minute routine on stage in Fantasyland and once they were done, they could run around the park! This day was by far my favorite because if there is anything you know about me, you know that I am in love with all things Disney. We even got to go behind the scenes so to speak and see where all the magic is made. It was truly an amazing and unforgettable day!
April 19
On our last day of the festival, we performed four of our best pieces at the international performance boards. We performed two jazz pieces, a lyrical dance, and our strongest style, ballet. That night, we attended the Awards Gala where everyone was dressed up and ate a fancy dinner with everyone around the world. At the Gala, we received our awards for all four of our dances and two of our senior dancers who attend Downingtown East were chosen to travel the world with the Young Americans organization. All four of our dances received the highest ranking/award and we were insanely excited.
Reflection
There is truly no good way to describe and explain the amazing Dance Excellence in just one word, one sentence, or even one paragraph. Dance Excellence was certainly and without a doubt in the world the best week of my life. The powerful amount of love, joy, and inspiration I experienced throughout my week there was overwhelmingly incredible. I felt like I could be myself without being judged by others and dance the way my heart, not my mind, told me. I felt invincible and, most importantly, powerful for loving myself and learning who I am as a person.
I met the most beautiful and sweetest people from all over the world. The master class teachers, the young Americans, the staff, and the directors of the organization were the most loving, supportive, and inspiring group of people I have ever met. No matter where you went or who you talked to, you felt like family. That feeling of connection between everyone and the bonds created between the most beautiful people will forever be life changing. Dance Excellence is unlike any dance festival or organization to which I have ever been. The love for dance surrounds the entire atmosphere every minute, every hour, and every day you are there. I will never forget this amazing experience for which I will forever be grateful. Thank you, Dance Excellence, for showing me the power of dance and the type of love and happiness that should surround our world.
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