Nationals 2010 - AU Dance Sophomore, Hannah

Well, we’ve officially reached March. Having come back from a pretty stressful fundraiser and a semi relaxing spring break, the dance and cheer teams are in full practice mode. Why? Because nationals is less than a month away. We’ve done a lot to get to this point; we’ve danced our way through dozens of basketball games and now have made it to the grueling national’s practices. And while I can barely make it up a flight of stairs right now, I know that all the pain and exhaustion will be more than worth it this year when we hit our ending pose up on the national’s stage.

Last year was AU Dance and Cheer’s first trip down to Nationals, and I cannot wait to go down again and show Daytona what AU Spirit is made of: energy building diets, two-a-day practices, sore quads and hamstrings, and lots of dedication. While we tried our hardest in 2009, it was our first national’s season. We had no idea what to expect or how difficult it was going to be, but we made it through and held our head high.

Now with a year under our belt we are ready for Daytona. We’ve already started working on improving our stamina and have begun our two-a-days with a new energy. Most importantly, however, we are looking forward to the moment that we walk on to that stage, face those judges, and show them our perfected routine. Because this time, more than ever, more than last year, we will be confident that we will be the best we possibly can be.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” And how right he was! After having already competed in NDA Nationals in 2009, we will be returning to Daytona this year with the experience and confidence needed to wow the judges. There will be no fear of the unknown, no aspect of the competition that we are unsure of. And hopefully, the only fear that we have will be the fear that drives us to perform the best that we can.