ONEONE Dancing Dynamo I was upside down No really My feet soared through the air as my head whooshed over the springy foam mat A second earlier I had completed the first of two consecutive back handsprings In the blink of an eye my body finished its rotation and my feet landed softly on the ground Nice landing shouted Coach Amy I threw my arms in the air as I flashed a smile for the judges Usually I hated the showmanship that goes with competitions How am I supposed to remember to smile when I’m tumbling all over Today however every little point mattered It was the semifinal round of the Massachusetts and Dance Junior Rhythmic Gymnastics 4
Competition Girls from all over the state were performing individual routines in hopes of making it to the state championships next month Technical artistic and execution judges watched our every move They looked for the tiniest details that could separate the field The smallest point deduction could make a difference So I showed off my smile again for the artistic judge Keep it up Louie shouted Coach Amy from the sidelines Focus until the finish included a I was in the middle of my routine Things were going well I had nailed my technical components They front tuck two balancing sequences a series of back walkovers and a pike jump My limbs felt strong the sign blood was pumping and sending energy from head to toe As I began my final sequence the crowd clapped with the fast-paced music I had picked a song that would hopefully get them involved in the 5
performance With only a few moves left I was thankful for the energy their applause provided I danced from one end of the mat to the other keeping my feet soft and my landings light In rhythmic gymnastics and dance choreography and tumbling mixed together into one powerful routine That’s why I loved the sport so much Some athletes performed with a prop like a hoop ribbon or ball In my division dancers could perform freehand with no equipment When I first started training with Coach Amy I was five years old I never could have imagined that I would be where I was today Seconds away from finally clinching a spot in the state championships I finished my footwork and positioned myself in the corner of the mat making sure not to step on the red out-of-bounds line As the music picked up speed I snuck a quick peek at the sidelines 6
Coach Amy hovered nearby The other girls from my dance team crowded around her They had come to support me in the individual competition Behind them my family sat in the front row of the stands Dad’s head darted back and forth following my every move Mom shielded her face too nervous to watch Halmeoni my grandmother sat perfectly still her eyes on me I took a breath and visualized my final tumbling sequence Two forward somersaults followed by a no-handed cartwheel and finish with a forward leap into a middle split In addition to showing perfect form the key was to connect each element of the tumbling pass with little to no breaks It was a difficult sequence But I had practiced it hundreds of times over the past month for this very moment I could do this You got this Louie shouted Rana 7
