One thing that I love is dance.  I have taken dance classes ever since I was four years old.  I started taking ballet when I was four.  I have been involved in tap since I was six years old and jazz since I was eight.  I have made many good friends through dance.  Most of us have been together ever since the beginning when we were four years old.  Although all of the other dancers in my class are a grade above me, I fit in well with them.  We all get along really well. 
     

When I was younger, our class would perform little dance shows for all of the nursing homes around our area.  However, when we got older and there became more of us dancing in our class, there wasn’t enough room for all of us to fit in the nursing home activity rooms, so we quit doing nursing home performances.  These performances were always so much fun.  I especially remember when we got to perform at the nursing home my great grandma was in.  She was so proud of me.
     

When I was in sixth grade we started dancing at different benefits around the area. Our dance instructor told us, “We have some news.  We got asked by the K or C hall to dance for a woman who has recently found out that she has cancer.  They asked if we would be able to dance for them.  I said of course we will!”  I was so excited because this woman was from my school and a mom to one of my good friends.  This woman was Jina Flory.  I knew that all of my friends that I go to school with would be there for Jina, which means they would finally get to watch me dance.  I was excited for her to watch me dance too.  Even though I was so nervous about performing in front of all of them, I knew that this dance was for a good cause and that my friend’s mother wanted to see something really beautiful like a dance. The money raised at this benefit also helped to pay for all of the hospital visits and treatments that she had to have.  The dance that we did was a Father and Daughter dance.  My whole dance class knew the Flory family.  This made it extra special for all of us.  Everyone loved the dance, and ever since my sixth grade year, we have been asked to perform for the K of C hall for others who have cancer or some type of disease in the Defiance area.  This past September my dance class not only danced, but we raised the most money for the family being honored.           
     

My class and I have also been asked to preform at the Festival of Trees in Fort Wayne.  We were asked to do this for about 3 years straight.  It was so fun being able to perform in front of huge crowds and in front of other classes that were there too.  It was such an honor to be able to dance at the Festival of Trees.   Our first year of dancing there, we were told that we were a class act dance studio and that we should all be very proud of ourselves.  We were told that we represented our dance studio very well.  However, we didn’t have enough time to dance there every year, so after 3 years of dancing there, we stopped. 
     

I am still in dance to this day, and I love every minute of it!  I have made so many great friends.  I feel my dance has helped me to better myself in my sports as well.  Dancing is a part of me.  I wouldn’t trade all of the experiences that I have had throughout the years for anything!