Academy of Dance ArtsAcademy of Dance Arts is the name of my current dance

studio. I have been dancing here since 2010. This is my third year here, and so far my favorite studio. The owner of my studio when I first came here was Heather Mahan, but last year she sold it to one of our teachers Brianna Sandrelli. My dance studio is basically my second home I am there so much.

Below is a picture from one of my dances last year to the song Blow

To the left is a picture of the Junior team and I in class

Above, is a picture of my entire team from last year.

To the right is a picture of me and Lexx posing for strangers

Brianna SandrelliBrianna is my dance teacher. She is 23 years old but she is still one of

my best friends. The first day I met her I had just joined my new dance studio and she was the one teaching my class. I was not ready for what I had got myself into. She is really crazy, energetic and loud. She is also one of the nicest and most caring person I’ve ever met.

To the left is a picture of my dance team from last year. On the top row from left to right is Nichole, Briana, Nicole, Brianna, Sage, Anne, and Mackenzie.

To the bottom is a picture from my birthday party last year from left to right is Brianna, myself, and Anne.

CompetitionAt my dance studio I dance for their competitive team and we travel

all around the state to compete. There are about 7 competitions every year. Our season usually starts late February /early March and ends in early July. In the past three years, we have traveled to Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire, and in Massachusetts. The names of the competitions we have done are Dancer’s Inc., Turn It Up, That’s Entertainment!, Step Up To Dance, Starpower, BRAVO!, Sophisticated Dance Productions, and Hall of Fame.

To the right, is a picture from BRAVO! Last year, in one of my small group dances.

To the left, is a picture from 2011 nationals in NH, Step Up To Dance.

DanceI dance at Academy of Dance Arts. I have been dancing since I was 2

½ years old. I have danced at a total of 5 studios over these years. I dance 6 days a week and almost 5 hours a day. I also am a part of the competitive team which requires even more rehearsal time. Sometimes I can spend up to 30 hours a week in the studio, but in the end it really doesn’t matter because it all pays off afterwards.

To the left is a picture of my dance team in 2011 at Dancer’s Inc.

To the right is a picture from my solo 2011 to the song Raise The Roof

Erin FitchErin is one of my closest friends since almost the sixth grade, even

though she is 2 years older than me. I remember the first day I met her when I walked into my studio and she was sitting in the corner all alone. I went over to her and started talking to her and automatically she became one of my best friends now.

The picture to the right is a picture from a dress rehearsal from last year. From left to right is Erin, Mackenzie, Me, then Nichole.

To the left is a picture from The Christmas Spectacular, 2012, Erin and I acting like turtles.

Favorite EventsOver the past few years, I have been to a couple events I will never

be able to forget like Dancer’s Inc. National Dance Competition. I have gone to that competition since I was about 6 years old. The director of the competition Dan Barris is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met. He is one of those people that once you have a conversation with, he won’t forget your name and also say hi to you when he sees you.

To the left is a picture of Mister Dan, director of Dancer’s Inc.

To the right is a picture of the Dancer’s Inc. logo

Good FriendsThere are a couple of my friends that I have known

forever, and they know almost everything about me. We are together 24/7 on school vacations and weekends. We have been through a lot together, and no matter what we can always count on each other to be there.

To the left is a picture from our fieldtrip to the Museum of Science, with Lexx, Facundo, and Justin.

This picture to the right is from competition last year, Lexx, Anne, Jordan, and I after we had finished our awards ceremony and got 3 special awards for our dance.

Happy MemoriesOne of my favorite memories from the past couple of

years, was when I went to Old Orchard Beach with my friends Tiana, Nicole, and Ben. We had all spent the week there the week before a competition and just spent a week on the beach with each other. We went from July 23rd until July 29th.

To the right is a picture from the first day we were at Old Orchard and we were eating lunch.

To the left is a picture from the day before we left at the beach in front of the pier.

IdolsSome people have influenced my life very much in the

past few years. Some of these people are my friends, and some of them I have never even met. Some of my idols are…• Brian Freidman • Nappytabs• Lauren Froderman• Ben Brooks

To the left is a picture of Ben Brook, and me.

To the left is a picture of Nappytabs.

To the left is a picture of Lauren Froderman and me.

Jordan TraceyI have known Jordan for three years. She is from Harvard,

MA. She is a year older than I am, but she still acts our age like she is only 14. We have danced together since I met her, and we hangout together almost every Saturday. She is basically like my sister, and I love her so much.

These two pictures are from a picture day at dance. This is out side of my studio with Jordan.

Kelsey SzarekI have known Kelsey for about 6 years. We do almost everything together. Everyone

that knows us says that we are inseparable. If we aren’t together then we always texting each other or talking in some way. One of my favorite times that we’ve spent together was in October 2012 when we went to Spooky World together. She was going with her dad and brother Connor, and asked me if I wanted to come with them. She picked me up earlier that day and we went out together for the day before coming, just to find out that her dad, and brother couldn’t come with us. By the time that we got there it was already almost 9:00. By the time that we finished going through it all it was almost midnight, and we were scared out of our minds. We decided to spend the night together and sat there all night with all the lights on watching Ice Age. That was one of the most fun and amazing nights of my life.

To the left is a picture of Kelsey, and me in Spooky World.

LexxI have known Lexx since 2nd grade. We weren’t really friends at first but now

she’s one of my best friends. We now see each other almost every day, and we have been through a lot together, more than anyone will ever know. We have one of the most confusing love hate relationships. One day we will be perfectly fine, and the next day we will be fighting all day long. I guess it really depends on the day, how we feel, and how much time we have spent together. Sometimes we spend too much time together and I think that’s why we fight so much, but in the end we will always still be friends. We are always together at dance and competitions, and we still have some of the best times ever. We like to make random videos, pose for strangers in the windows, and embarrass random people in restaurants who we don’t even know.

To the right is a picture from Dancer’s Inc. last year. From left to right is Tiana, Nicole, Lexx, Me, and Jordan.

Monsters of Hip HopThis year on November 10th and 11th I went to a dance convention called

Monsters of Hip Hop. Monsters is a 2 day convention, from 9 to 4 both days. This year we learned dances from 6 different choreographers, with all many different styles of hip hop. We had classes from Nappytabs, Chonique Sneed, Kevin Maher, JaQuel Knight, Marty Kudelka, and Nick DeMoura. My favorite class was Nappytabs, which I was lucky enough to have both Saturday and Sunday. We danced to the song Work Hard Play Hard, and it was one of the fastest combos I have ever learned, but by Sunday I could finally do it and now, I still remember it and it was really fun. They are also really funny. I remember them talking to us and they were really nice and funny.

To the left is a picture of Kevin Maher.

Nicole IntoI have known Nicole for 2 years now. She was friends with Jordan

before all of us though. I dance with her, and she joined my studio the year after I joined. Since then we have made a really strong friendship, and made a lot of memories. Nicole and I have a lot of inside jokes that always come out at dance, but the best part is, is watching everyone get really confused at them. No one will ever get them, because once we tried to explain one to my friend Anne, and she got so confused that she gave up because the thing about our inside jokes is that they are really stupid and immature.

To the left is a picture from Christmas show 2012. from left to right is Me, Anne, Nicole, and Lexx.

To the right is a picture from our dressing room in 2012.

Overall One of the best feelings in the world is

when I look at the shelf in my room with my overall awards. An overall award is when after you get the adjudications (bronze, silver, high silver, gold, high gold, platinum) there are overall awards that each competition gives out to what they thought were the best dances of the day/ session. In overall awards they look for the most creative dance which would include choreography, costume, and concept. You also have to have an almost perfect score for technique and togetherness, the things that you get judged on for your adjudication awards. I have about 10 overall awards ranging from 1st place overall to 5th place overall.

PeacocksPeacocks are one of my favorite animals. I love the colors of their

feathers and the appearance of them in general. Ever since I was little I told my parents that I wanted a pet peacock, but now I don’t think that would be the best choice even though that I love them, I’m not sure I would want one walking around my house. I just like to look at them and see their pretty colors. But what I didn’t know, is that the male peacocks are the ones that have all the pretty colors, and the female peacocks are all white, and the more ugly ones. When I was little I found a peacock in a zoo, and I remember trying to feed it. I got in a lot of trouble that day…

To the right is a male peacock

To the left is a female peacock

QuotesSOMETIMES I HURT BECAUSE I DANCE, OTHER

TIMES I DANCE BECAUSE I’M HURT…EITHER WAY, DANCE FIXES IT ALL.

To love is to dance, dance is pain. Pain,Is just weakness that leaves your body.

LIVE LIFE FOR THE MOMENT, BECAUSEEVERYTHING ELSE IS UNCERTAIN.

Life is a funny thing, the minute you think you’ve got something figured out.

Something comes along andturns it upside down.

Rewards I have a lot of rewards/awards from dance since I was little. I have

been getting trophies, medals, ribbons, and pins. When I was little I used to have award bears and stuffed animals. I have about 5 awards bears now. I don’t really use them anymore, because I keep all my pins on my jacket and all my medals and ribbons hang on my trophies.

September September is the month that I was born in. My birthday is on

September 10, 1998. I was born at 2:31 pm. September is one of my favorite months, not only because of my birthday, but because in September it is the first day of fall. Fall is one of my favorite seasons because it can be warm and cold. For me so many things happen in September. There is the first day of school a little bit before in August, and so many of my friends birthdays are in September. I think there are about 7 of us. Tiana, Brianna, Kelsey, Nicole, Megan, Becky, and myself.

Both of these pictures are from my birthday party last year. To the left I am with Kelsey, and to the right I am with Anne, and Brianna.

Teletubbies Ever since I was little I have loved the show teletubbies. I loved

watching it, and seeing the little sun baby always made me laugh. I honestly miss watching that show everyday, because even though it was really childish and kind of stupid, I loved laughing at it. My favorite was Po, the red one. Once I even dressed up as Po for Halloween one year. I think I was about 2 or 3 years old.

Up!I love the movie Up! It’s my favorite little kid movie ever. I always

watch that movie when I am bored. I went to go see that movie in the theaters and I got it the day it came out in DVD. My favorite character in that movie is Russell. He is the little kid that tries to help Carl with his journey.

VacationsOver the summer my friends and I go on one vacation together every

year for one week. In the past couple years we went to Old Orchard Beach for a week. That was one of my favorites. We had all shared a hotel room that was surprisingly big enough to fit the seven of us. We had spent each day doing something different. One day we went to the beach, the next day we walked around the pier and went shopping, another we spent at the little amusement park, and so on. It was one of the most eventful vacations I had ever been on. Other times we went to Cape Cod, and Florida.

To the right is from when I was in Cape Cod with my team. That day was the only day everyone was together.

Left, is Alexxis and me in Orlando, Florida.

WinterWinter is my ultimate favorite season. So much happens in winter.

Christmas and Competition season are my favorite thing to look forward to when winter comes. I also love the snow. I really can’t explain why, I just do. Maybe it’s because everything looks so pretty when it snows for the first time of the year.

To the right is a picture of my house this winter before it started to snow.

X-tra Special People in my LifeThere is one person that means the world to me. Her name is Tiana Roman.

She has been there for me no matter what, and I will always be there for her too. Tiana and I have been though a lot together, but through the ups and downs we still stick together. We have always said, “Win together, loose together.” which is how we handle everything. Yeah, we fight but we have always figured out a solution to it. Tiana and I are alike in so many ways it scared us sometimes. I don’t know where I would be without her. She is what keeps me grounded, and if it weren’t for her, I don’t know if I would still be sane. She has helped me though so much and she is honestly the best friend I could ever have.

To the left is a picture of Tiana and Me at my house in like October.

To the right is a picture of us when we had just won 2nd overall. We were really excited.

Years In the past five years, so many things have happened to me and changed

me. I have changed both schools, and dance studios. I have made new friends, and done so many things I thought I would have never done. These things have affected me in so many ways, and that’s the reason I am who I am now.

Below is a picture of when I was at dance, and we were really bored so we decided to play with the mats.To the left, is a

picture of me with my dance teacher’s baby, Finna. We were sitting at the dance studio, and miss Heather was teaching so I was babysitting for her.

ZebrasZebra’s are my second favorite animals. I have only seen one of them

in person once when I was at Franklin Zoo. I was about 7 years old, and I remember my parents telling my friends and me trying to could them all. We counted about 30 of them, but I remember them telling us there were only 5. They were all together so it was really hard to tell how many, but we were laughing about it the rest of the day.