Personal Reflection on a Great Team Experience in Dance

During my freshman year of college, I was a part of the Titans Auxiliary Dance team. I thought that since I had great social background. I would be in for a prosperous season. I had not been a part of a team since I was in middle school. So, it was it was difficult for me to catch on to the dance routines. It was definitely a great team experience in dance that I want to share in this essay. Moreover, there are both good and bad things during the dance season that I will share in the text. 

One of the good things I enjoyed was meeting and greeting my teammates and coaches. I felt that this was an opportunity for me to familiarize myself with the different personalities around me. I found that I had a lot in common with some of the girls on the team. Another thing that went well, was when the coaches asked the team to deliver a freestyle eight count. Eight counts are just eight dance steps. As I presented my counts, I had someone record me, and this allowed the coaches and I to see where my strength and weakness were. Often, I was too shy to talk to the coaches about what I missed or did not quite understand. Because of the relationship, I built with my teammates made it comfortable for me to ask questions after dance practice.

Unfortunately, in the middle of the season, we were coming up to back to back games. The team was beginning to get frustrated and less patient with one another. There were days where I got into altercations with some of my team members, because I felt that they were distancing their selves from the rest of the team. The only time they would do this if the coaches assigned them to be leaders. A lot of the team members had poor leadership skills. Some of the leaders would pick and choose who they wanted to help, which I felt was not right. Eventually, I gave in and called a meeting with the coaches and told them that if I was going to continue to stay on the dance team, they were going to have to step in and do something. A couple of months had pass and I still did not see a change. I then reached out to the leaders and told them I understand they are advanced, but there is a right way to lead. I commanded two things from the leaders, which respect and accountability. One out of the three leaders apologized and told me that I could come and practice with her after class. My attitude toward the two leaders began to become hostile. I chose to hang in there and make it through the season. As tough as it was working with the leaders, I made it through.

However, my team became my family. Just like a family, we went through ups and downs. Some days were better than others. There are several ways to make an efficient team. I learned that if we all worked together, instead of being against one another, we could get the task done. If everybody is not doing their part, and on the same page it creates chaos. Without proper communication skills, it will make it harder for ones to get their point across. I learned that people that work well in a diverse environment are more than likely to be successful in a team-based environment.

I have learned that being a team does not include one individual, but positive people working together and being patient with one another to get the job done.