San Pasqual hosted its annual Winter Dance Concert on Thursday, December 13th.

The school dance ensembles enjoyed performing at the event, including students Monique Dedicatoria and Jennifer Saldivar, who were very eager to perform at different dance levels. Both dancers are actually very close friends that have enjoyed supporting and inspiring each other throughout their dance journey.

Dedicatoria may not have the most dance experience on the team, but she is very excited to see how well she does as a part of the ensemble.

“I’m the most excited about performing and seeing the audience’s reaction to our dance,” said Dedicatoria.

When it comes to dance preparation, practice makes perfect. Preparation for upcoming dance performances can be quite intense and intimidating.

“To prepare for the dance concert, we usually go over our dance multiple times to make sure it’s performance ready,” said Dedicatoria.

Dedicatoria admits performing with experienced dancers was a fear of hers. She worried that she would hold the rest of the group back.

“Being in a dance class with dancers who have been dancing their whole life scared me,” she admits. “Just the thought of being behind and slowing down the class while learning choreography made me feel like I shouldn’t be dancing with them at all.”

Dedicatoria has learned to overcome this fear with the support of her friends and dance teacher. Reassurance from those who are experienced is key to a successful performance.

“With the help of my dance teacher and my friends in dance, I was able to dance without any worries,” said Dedicatoria.

Dedicatoria explains that her friends have helped her through all the hardships that come along with dance. Her friends have encouraged her to give it her all on the dance floor.

“My friends have been my biggest supporters and inspiration,” Dedicatoria said. “Seeing them dance makes me want to dance even more, and they don’t hesitate to cheer me up!

Saldivar mentioned that advanced dancers have been cleaning up their dances to ensure they’re performance-ready.

“We have been practicing our dances to make sure that everyone is doing the right steps,” said Saldivar.

The dancers have stepped up their game during practices by facing windows instead of mirrors.

“Facing the windows helps us concentrate on our own moves and not on what others are doing,” said Saldivar.

One of Saldivar’s biggest obstacles has been catching up with the other dancers after skipping straight to intermediate. Most dancers start with beginning dance, followed by intermediate, and then advanced.

“I skipped intermediate dance, so sometimes I get confused with the steps. When there’s a lot of footwork I often get it wrong, but I get the hang of it when I practice or when I ask others for help.”

According to Saldivar, advanced dance will also be performing a jazz routine.

“Jazz tends to be more fast paced and has more foot movement, which was a little difficult for me.”

Even though dance can be a little difficult at times, Saldivar’s favorite part about it is performing. Performing gives dancers the opportunity to show off what they’ve practiced weeks prior to their performance.

“I love dance concerts!” said Saldivar. “They’re really fun and I feel like we know all the steps so we’re ready to perform.”