Separate, But Together

It was Friday March 13th, the track meet and softball tournaments had been cancelled but the thought of closing school still seemed far off. We worked on our Dance Challenge routines all period. The 10 minute bell rang, each group finished up and grabbed their belongings as we headed back to the locker room. "Have a great weekend!" I shouted, thinking I would see them all again when we got back to it on Monday. But Sunday night we got news that we were not going back to school on Monday. Weeks later we learned we would never get that chance.

The first two weeks felt like we were on Christmas break, but as we got further in to April our hope for coming back together for our dance show grew dimmer and dimmer. People would ask me about tryouts, but I hadn't even thought about tryouts. I wasn't concerned with tryouts. I was concerned with my seniors not having their last dance show. I was concerned that all of the hard work, creativity, and choreography we had worked on during the first two weeks of March would go to waste if we never got to perform again. I was concerned that we weren't going to have our one night of the year to shine. The one night that people show up to be taken on a journey from cowboy hats and boots during our traditional school song, to in your face hip hop, to sparkly poms shaking to Aretha Franklin's "RESPECT", then beautiful kick lines, roll offs, and ripples in perfect synchronization, and finally we end with our country roots as we swing our partners to Born to Boogie. This year we had planned to take the audience on a journey through Footloose, with the classic songs from the movie. Would we have that chance to shine?

Dance show is our night; don't get me wrong we love every chance we get to perform. We are used to working for weeks for 2 minutes at halftime. Dance show is ALL ABOUT DANCE! It's our chance to share our passion with our community. It's when we get to make our audience smile, laugh, and even cry. The thought of it being taken away was something that hit me hard. Not for my personal needs, but for my dancers. I have been in their shoes and I know what it means. My heart was broken for them.

Then things started to change. Our cases of Coronavirus had stayed low in our county and surrounding counties. There was talk of neighboring counties having spring football practices. I began to brainstorm ways we could pull off a modified dance show and was told to go ahead and start planning. So plan I did! I went to my 4 year seniors and we started planning what this modified dance show might look like. We weren't sure exactly of all the logistics because the "rules" seemed to be changing on a daily basis. But we planned what the skeleton of the show would be. Our hope was renewed.

After about 2 weeks of planning I was trying to confirm a date with the school and what I got in response was the last thing I expected. There would be no modified show. I couldn't believe it. I was crushed, I was devastated- not for myself, for my team. I felt like we were just here- mourning the loss of our show. Our hope had been renewed, and then it was taken away again.

Listen carefully, I was not upset with my school, I was upset with the situation. It was another time where we got the raw end of the deal because we live in rural Northern California. I understand stricter protocol for big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, but Corning is the polar opposite of those places. However, because we live in the state of CA, if we go against recommendations, our school could lose all of it's funding.

I kept telling myself "focus on what you have control over- this is out of your control." But that didn't fix the hurt in my heart for my dancers. I felt responsible for getting their hopes up, only to to have them crushed again. Throughout all of the ups and downs of this roller coaster ride, one thing was certain. We were all in this together; separate, but together. Even though it killed me to deliver my team the horrible news of no modified show, the response I got from my students and parents was nothing but love. They appreciated every battle I fought for them no matter what the outcome. We were going through these ups and downs as a team.

This team may not get to perform their dances 6 feet apart on the football field, but it doesn't mean they didn't work their butts off to prepare for that opportunity. They put in all of the hard work, they just didn't get the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labor. While my heart is deeply saddened by that reality, I know their lives will never be the same because of this experience; they will be better because of it. Every challenge we face in life makes us stronger.

Because of this experience my hope is that they will:

1. Look at every performance in front of a live audience as a gift.

2. Have a mindset of gratitude for the chance to hook up with their teammate in a kick line.

3. Never miss the chance to dance.

4. Keep their heads held high, pivot, and go with plan B, instead of giving up when things don't go as planned.

5. Look back at their time on Drill Team with loving memories of changing in a crowded room, swinging with their Born to Boogie partner, putting their hands on top of each other for a yeeehawww, and hugging each other whenever they felt like it.

6. Know they are stronger because of this challenging experience, and that we can get through anything- separate, but together.

No matter what differences we may have we are Cardettes. We love to dance, and we love each other.

Always proud to be their coach,

Mrs. Savage