Back stage, curtain down, lights off. The excited murmur of a crowd echoes from the other side of a velvet curtain. Anticipation and adrenaline build as months of preparing and practicing are about to pay off. A signal is called. The curtain slowly rises, the lights turn on, the music begins playing. Showtime.
Dealing with this suspense has become second nature to Kate Coleman, junior, and Morgan Forgette, senior. Although dance is not performed on a field and there are no nets or balls involved, Coleman and Forgette take dance just as seriously as any other sport.
“My whole life revolves around dance,” Forgette said. “My dance schedule is very strict. Family functions, appointments, meetings, pretty much everything is planned around dance.”
Forgette is a dancer for one of the top competitive dance teams in the nation, Perseverance Dance Company. Each week Forgette attends a minimum of three dance practices that range from three to four hours, with weekend practices fluctuating up to seven and half hours.
“It gets to be hard balancing school and dance. Sometimes I have to wake up early to cram in homework; either that or I’m working hard to get it done during study hall. It’s worth it though. [Dance] has always clicked and it has always felt right,” Forgette said.
Coleman is no stranger to having a strict routine. Coleman has dance practice six to seven days a week which range between four and eight hours.
“Dance is very time consuming,” Coleman said. “You really have to be good at time management. I’ve always had my schedule like this, so I’m used to it now, it’s all routine.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that the strong physical demands on dancers’ bodies cause many to stop performing by their late thirties. Coleman is determined to get a head start on her dreams, and in order to begin her dancing career at the earliest age possible, she was homeschooled for eighth and ninth grade to bump up her credits. Coleman, a junior by age, is technically a senior because of her credits. Coleman is taking all senior classes this school year and is graduating early with exactly twenty-four credits.
“I was homeschooled so that I could go to college a year earlier and get a head start with my dance career. Dancers’ careers can be short-lived because your body undergoes a lot of changes, and I’m working ahead of that,” Coleman said.
Forgette also plans on continuing with dance after high school.
“I might go to the University of Minnesota because they have a really great dance team,” Forgette said. “Minoring in dance at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) is also an option because there are so many well-known dance companies and teams out there that would be great for exposure and auditions. Either way, I’m going to see where dance takes me and wait for the right opportunity.”
Coleman and Forgette’s strong love and pursuit of dance careers has turned their hobby into a passion and has taught them much more than how to leap and twirl across a stage. The U.S. Bureau of Labor claims it is essential for dancers to have self-discipline, patience, and perseverance to be successful, which is exactly what Coleman and Forgette have learned.
“[Dance] has taught me discipline, the importance of respect for yourself and others, time management and other social and life skills that I will be able to use for auditions and job interviews,” Coleman said.
For Forgette, the same lessons apply.
“Just a few things that dance has taught me are discipline, commitment, and how to prioritize,” Forgette said. “Even though balancing dance and my social life gets difficult sometimes, it’s okay because dance is my choice. My friends all understand my commitment to dance.”
Coleman’s strenuous dancing has even resulted in a concussion, a broken tailbone, a few broken ribs, and a foot that has been broken twice, but she feels the benefits of dance greatly surpass these injuries.
“Dance affects my social life to a certain point. I never feel like I’m missing out on anything because I love dance, I’m doing what I want to do,” Coleman said.
Time, energy, effort, and dedication are demanded of both Coleman and Forgette, but neither one of them would have it any other way.
“The bond that you make with your dance team is my favorite thing about dance,” Coleman said. “I know that I can turn around and fall back on these people because I can trust them.”
Forgette, who has been dancing for the past fourteen years, feels the same strong feeling of devotion to dance that Coleman does.
“My [dance team] is a family and I trust them more than anything. It’s great when you can bond with the people you love over something that you love.”
The possibility of bright futures lay ahead of both dancers. Dedicated and determined, Coleman and Forgette have only just begun their dancing careers.
“It’s hard work,” Forgette said. “Nothing is easy about dance, but I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t a challenge.”