Bright lights shine down on the DGS Fillies as they take the field. This is senior Adreana Duarte’s first year on varsity dance at DGS after moving to Downers Grove in the summer of 2020.

“I wasn’t on the team last year because I didn’t know any information about the audition process, and by the time I came to the school, it would’ve been too late into the season,” Duarte said.

Since Duarte had just moved, she wasn’t able to try out for the team, making this year her chance. Duarte loves dancing, but hadn’t done it in a while before her audition for the Fillies, making her more surprised when she made varsity.

“At first I was really shocked because I hadn’t danced in a really long time before my audition, but then I was super proud of myself because I was able to put myself out there and pick up right where I left off [after] taking a break from dancing,” Duarte said.

Even with the long break Duarte took, she was still able to make the varsity dance team and started to work on improving her skills. Varsity dance team head coach Dawn Jovic commented on Duarte’s improvement.

“Adreana has improved so much in the few months that I have had the privilege to coach her. Her technical skills such as pirouettes and a la second turns have improved greatly,” Jovic said.

Even though joining the dance team was a great success for Durate, it can sometimes be stressful and causes her not to have a lot of down time. From working a job, going to school and doing two after school activities, the stress can pile up.

“I do theater and I also work at Old Navy. Sometimes it gets really stressful because I hardly ever come home at 3 p.m., and when I do come home, I have lots of homework on top of thinking about college. Luckily my job is really understanding about my schedule and overall I’m doing something that I love,” Durate said.

With the stress of school, work and dance, Durate still has time to make friends and have a positive attitude. Jovic explains how her positive attitude helps with not only her dancing, but also her personal connections.

“Adreana brings a friendly and positive personality to the team. Although she is new to the dance team and DGS in general, she quickly made friends with her teammates… as a senior and an experienced performer, Adreana brings a lot of stage presence to the team,” Jovic said.

Durate is grateful that she joined the team and is excited that she gets to continue a passion she loves: dancing.

“I just love to dance, and to be able to do that while also showing school spirit is so fun to me. I love being a part of something great,” Durate said.