Since she was two years old, senior Tessa Goldman has considered her dance studio a second home.
Goldman started her dance career focusing on ballet, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop. By the time she reached sixth grade, Goldman knew she truly loved to dance and wanted to take her skills to the next level. Soon after she joined her current studio, Studio 650, where she began dancing competitively. “I just love that there’s no limit to what you can do, there are always different ways to improve,” she said.
In eighth grade, Goldman tried out for the M-A dance team and was placed on varsity as a freshman. By the end of her first year on the team, she was elected as an officer, someone who choreographs JV, for the following school year. “Being elected officer is one of my favorite memories because it was very unexpected for me,” she said.
Goldman was elected captain for both her junior and senior years. “I love everyone that’s on the team, and the fact that they respect me and they voted me for captain makes the experience of dancing even more enjoyable,” she added.
However, being so committed to dance isn’t always easy. Goldman has to balance both her studio team and M-A dance team while staying on top of her academics. “You have to find the motivation to stick with it, even when you’re not getting the results you want,” she said.
M-A dance team practices are typically an hour and a half twice a week, but as captain, Goldman has to choreograph all the dances outside of practice on top of working on her dances for her studio. The captain of the dance team in Goldman’s freshman year, Chloe Kim ’22, has helped her enjoy this journey. “She pushed me to try to be an officer, try to be captain, and now at my studio, she choreographs my solos for me. She’s someone that’s invested in helping me improve, even when she’s in college. She’s helped me reach where I am today,” Goldman said.
Goldman’s favorite part about dance is all the memories she’s been able to make with her friends. “My favorite memories are all the competitions with my friends, because, yes, we’re there to dance, but we’re also bonding,” she said. “We’re spending hours together and it’s just really nice being able to spend time with my teammates.”
Goldman and her studio spent part of the summer in Anaheim for the KAR Nationals Dance Competition where they came out in first place, bringing home the trophy and national title.
Looking towards the future, Goldman hopes to continue dancing in college, whether it’s competitively or on a club team. She also plans to stay involved locally and return to her studio to teach.
Goldman believes that anyone who wants to get involved in dance should do one simple thing: go for it. “I’ve seen so many people improve so much, just in a year, especially in freshman year, they get so much better. So just go for it. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to people on the team, I love hearing from people who want to be on the team,” she said.
