Last weekend, I had the honor of attending the Dance Worlds to compete with my all-star team. The Dance Worlds is an invite only competition for the most prestigious teams around the world to come and showcase their talents in various styles.

All-star dance is highly competitive, and you can’t just join a team and pack your bag for Worlds. Last April, I received a formal invitation to join my Senior Worlds Team—an unforgettable opportunity I never saw coming. I began training with my team in various styles including pom, lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop. For a year, we have dedicated the entirety of our lives to our routines in preparation to earn our bids.

Through all-star dance, I had opportunities to train with choreographers like Dan Sapp, Carsen Rowe, Krista Miller, and more. These people helped us perfect our routines and pushed us towards earning our bids. To compete at Worlds, you must be invited through the form of a bid. At our first competition, we were blessed to receive all partial-paid bids from our sponsors that paid for us to travel to Worlds!

Once we arrived in Florida where we were surrounded with the most prestigious teams from across the world, my team only had one goal: to advance to finals for all of our routines. Though this may sound easy, advancing in a category of hundreds of phenomenal teams is not so simple. After two days of advancing, my team was honored to be selected for finals.

We walked into finals with our heads held high and danced better than ever before. After all of our performances, we were interviewed by officials and coaches from around the world. One of our judges, Melissa McGhee, head coach from the Ohio State University, even took a moment to congratulate us on our phenomenal routines. To say this moment made our weekend complete is quite the understatement.

Overall, my team ended fifth in the world and second in the United States. This has been a huge honor for us, and we are so proud of our performances! My team has been the biggest blessing in my life, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to compete on the Worlds stage!