austinaustin:

Vibe is the highlight of my year.  Out of the entire dance competition circuit, Vibe is the one event that makes me want to relish every moment of it over and over again. 

In the morning

You park and arrive at Mesa Parking Structure, the hallowed grounds of years of dance practices, the home of UCI dance teams.  Passing through here almost feels like its a necessary rite of passage, a path that must be taken before you can even glimpse the venue.  An understanding that not every team has the luxury of a dance studio to call home, but regardless of their environment, they still push forward towards their goals and ambitions.

You walk out of the structure and you view the Bren, the coliseum that will house these dancers for the day, and before you enter you’re given a badge that marks you as a dancer.  And you wear it proudly.  You wear it as a symbol of the hours you put in, the sweat and the hard work, the determination and the drive, that brought you to the Bren.  Regardless of how the event goes this single piece of rectangular plastic becomes a spoil of your war.  Proof that you are among the few who are fortunate enough to share the stage with the talent that surrounds you.  

TECH

For me, this is the real show.  Weeks, even months, of secrecy, refusing to share any hints of your medley are all showcased here, among an audience of just your peers.  Not hundreds and thousands of people who don’t understand the work put it, but by the few hundred who appreciate the musicality and the effort just as much as you do.  Each team before and after you puts everything on stage as a sign of respect to one another, that they worked hard because they know thats what its going to take to keep up with one another. 

Then after the tech its the review, the last big push to perfection.  Minute details taken care of, issues resolved and tweaked, and all of the finishing touches are made.  You feel good, because you’re still riding off of the performance high from tech.  Then you’re let free to have some time to yourself, so you go outside, and thats when you see it.

The crowds.  People line-up in a maze like pattern, eagerly waiting for the show to start so they can get the best possible seat.  Walking with your badge, carrying your bags, still wearing whatever it was that you danced in, you become an instant celebrity.  They may not know you, but they know who you are, because you’re the reason why they came.  

NIGHT

You go through your own ritual.  Costumes, make-up, hair, hygiene, prayers, whatever it is that gets you in the right mind set, and then you join your team to prep as a group.  And at the same time, all around you, you see your fellow dancers, your competitors, your peers, in all different states.  Some are like you, anxiously prepping, others are riding their performance highs, having already left everything on stage.  But then all your attention to turns to your team.  You’re ambassador leads you down the hallway, the same hallway that every team passes through.  You’re bombarded with good luck wishes, smiles, high fives and fist bumps.  As you wait in the hole outside the doors, you can never remember exactly what goes through your head.  You laugh with a teammate, you congratulate them for pushing hard, you give a reassuring hug, and then you enter the doors to the on deck area, right behind the stage.  

The environment changes completely.  Lighting becomes an epic array of reds and blues on a dark canvas.  The roar of the crowd mixed with the medley of the team before you gets your heart pumping harder than you could ever imagine.  You mark choreography in place as you prep on the sides, tying your shoelaces, adjusting your costume, sneaking in one last hug. 

The announcer introduces your team, and you walk on stage pumped, and stand in your opening position.  Stage lights are off, and your nothing but a silhouette, a shadow, on stage.  This is the greatest moment.  The true point of no return.  Looking into the crowd, you see nothing, just the red light and smoke.  Practices, rehearsals, reviews and cleaning sessions are over, and you have nothing left but your team and the music to guide you.  And although you try to hold on to it as long as you can, your 6 minutes on stage pass by as fast as a single second, and you’re exiting the stage, feeling on top of the world.  It doesn’t matter if you messed up or perfected the medley, you feel good about what you did, and you’re glad you did it with the people that are surrounding you.

Walking back, you’re bombarded again with different words of good will, and you honestly don’t care of whether you placed or not.  You’re just happy you got to experience the moment.  And what happens after this is no longer as important to you as it would be to people who didn’t go through your journey.

I really wish I was a better writer to express how I feel about Vibe, but I tried my best.  Vibe just really is the greatest experience and one of the most unique atmospheres within the dance community.  I’m really looking forward to competing this year with SGBM and finally being able to rep my hometown in the city that became my second home.   

1/29/2012 

I’m coming for you.