Thalia Torres

Theme Story 1

Schenectady County Community College had a dance club that consisted of four people who put on a horrendous performance for an event the first semester of my freshman year. I knew from watching them fumble around that I would no longer have an outlet to dance in college, especially since dancing at a studio was expensive. I had gone two years of dancing for my dog in my living room before coming to MCLA and seeing a poster advertising MCLA’s Dance Company auditions. Excitement had bubbled up inside me, and when I had passed by the Dance Co table at the ice cream social, that excitement had grown even more.

It exploded into nervousness the day of the auditions. So many young college students were spread out on the floor of the gym. For the most part, they all sat in groups and then there was me. The girl who sat alone. The school year was only two weeks in and I had already considered transferring to the big university back home. The University of Albany; that’s where all my friends were. That was the cheaper school. If I had gone there, I would commute, and I would work my part-time job at the candy store. I didn’t want to live at home though, I wanted to taste what freedom from my parents was like. Finally being at MCLA I had gotten my freedom, but it also came with loneliness. My roommate was nice, and we hung out and ate meals together but it wasn’t enough for me. I needed to feel like I belonged.

My confidence at auditions wavered, spiking when I know I didn’t mess up and someone did, and plummeting when I did. They told us to say our name, the number we were assigned when we came and to freestyle, once we were done with the choreography they had taught us. I thought I had done so well, my freestyle was unique to my own style and I stood out somewhat. Then I saw girls doing flawless twirls and jumps. How could I compare? I waited anxiously for the emails that would tell me I had been accepted into a dance. I was happy to have been picked to be in my first choice, but that didn’t erase the loneliness I had felt.

As dance practices commenced, and I began to warm up to those around me in Dance Co, that lonely feeling slowly started to fade. It was the day of the second show when for the first time I haven't felt any loneliness. I had made friends with those around me, those who all shared the same passion as me. Standing on the stage at the end of the show, the warm lights hitting me, and the most genuine smile on my face, I had finally felt like I belonged.