Why I Keep Coming Back as an Alumni

It’s my first year of university. I’m in my dorm room on a Saturday morning when for the past 13 years I would’ve been spending my Saturday at the studio. However, instead of feeling sad or lonely, I am filled with the utmost excitement at watching my friends hit the stage for the first time that season on a livestream.

It took me graduating to realize that my passion for dance extends beyond the walls of the studio because my love for dance is also with the people who I have spent my childhood dancing with. I still attend every recital and make sure to watch at least one competition each year.

The reason why I keep coming back to the studio as an alum is because Take 5 is my community. Every time I come back it’s like I never left. We joke the same, we play the same, we even dance the same. Whenever I’m back at the studio, I feel like I get hugs from every single person in there (and I probably do). There’s no place on earth where I can go to feel that same level of connection and friendship.

Also, coming back allows me to be a leader in a different way than I was at the studio. I get to show the dancers of the types of opportunities that exist after high school, especially the older ones as they navigate the transition from childhood to budding adulthood. Watching the kids that used to sit on my lap during award ceremonies go on stage for the last time always brings me to tears, but I love being there to experience that with them.

Since graduating, I’ve lost track of the amount of times I have returned to the studio. And I know that if it’s been a while since my last visit, I’ll get a call asking when’s the next time I’m coming by. Some people search their whole lives for a sense of belonging and I’m so grateful that I found mine so early in life.