Central student and life dancing outside of school

Allyson is a dancer at Omaha Academy of Ballet. Dance at Central is different from dance outside of school due to the competitive mentality between the dancers. She tells how she is able to balance school and the extracurricular activity.

Her favorite thing about being dancer is “Having an outlet to feel free and excited and how I am able to de-stress and focus on one thing instead of worrying of other life factors.” Dealing with any other hobbies other than school can be stressful. She is able to handle stress, grades, physical and mental duties by giving herself breaks between events in her busy schedule. She likes to take time to chill once a week for an hour or two to calm her mind so she doesn’t go crazy.

There are many pros and cons of being a dancer. “The easiest thing is learning the choreography and the intricate steps that are involved and also turning is quite easy for me. The hardest part of dance for me is absolutely the mentality that absorbs me where I am so self-critical and hard on myself. It’s really hard to avoid trying to be ‘perfect’ in dance,” she says. She says something her coach had told her that she will always remember is that it doesn’t matter how high your leg can kick or how many tricks you can fit into the dance but rather how you can dance and transfer emotions through your movements is when you’re truly dancing. She says stays with her because she’s always critical of herself and it helps remind her what dance is really about.

“My favorite kind of dance is contemporary because it’s not as restricted in technique like ballet, but I still love ballet. Watching ballet and tap are very entertaining and intricate in their own way.” The difference between school dance and professional dance is that school usually only consists of hip-hop and jazz dance when pro has more of a variety to compete in.

“I think the most important thing that makes a dance group successful is the compassion for one another, accountability for yourself and others, and showing how much you care for everyone to do well and succeed together and not just individually.” That is what school dance and pro have in common.

Allyson says she would love to have a dance major in college and teach dance in the future, but if life decides differently, she will always keep it has a hobby forever.