Leap. Jump. Spin. Senior Bethany Grzymala spends her time outside of school at the dance studio.

     The dancer says that she has been performing for 15 years, and she got into dancing because of her older sister.   Grzymala says that when it came to continuing, it was her choice  “to start taking dance more seriously at the age of 8 and start working hard on a competitive team.” She adds her “favorite part about dancing is how unique every style of dance is.”

     On a typical weekday, Grzymala  goes to school from 7am-2pm, goes home, grabs something quick to eat, and dances from 4pm-9:30pm. On the weekends, dance is typically from 8am-3pm. Grzymala adds “to be a well rounded dancer is something a dancer strives for. You have to be able to look at each individual style and find ways you can incorporate your own movement quality whether it’s jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tap, musical theater, etc.”

     Grzymala says that another favorite part about dancing is the “relationships you form as a dancer are also one of my favorite parts about dancing. From teachers to students and even dance moms, it’s like a second family.”

     Grzymala says that the public would be shocked to know about “how long our competitions and rehearsals are. For the week, I spend 32 hours in the studio including classes, rehearsals, privates and assisting. For competitions, we have dances at 9am with award ceremonies at 11pm, we’re practically there the whole day, physically and mentally exhausted. It is a struggle to try and fit schoolwork in all of this especially on competition weekends, but somehow we all manage to get the job done.”

     Preparation for a competition isn’t just the week leading up to it, the whole dance season prepares them for competition. Grzymala has rehearsals three times a week every week since September, plus extra rehearsals once a month, and solo privates weekly. “Personally, I also cross-train and workout in my free time to make sure my body is healthy enough to withstand the physicality of dance, not to mention the stamina it takes to make it through all 12 of my competition dances,” says the dancer.

     Grzymala’s  favorite group dance she has done is their contemporary dance this year. It was choreographed by a guest choreographer, Dee Caspary. Her  favorite solo she has done is her self-choreographed solo that she created this year.