Spending your days dancing away are not the only things dancers do to pass the time. Many teenage competitive dancers struggle to balance school, practices, competitions, friends, and family. Even with a busy extracurricular schedule, one student at Plant manages her life exceedingly well in many aspects. Kelsey Radigan, a sophomore at Plant, participates in many types of competitive dance while maintaining her academic excellence.
“I dance anywhere from 30 to 40 hours a week,” Radigan said. This type of commitment to any extracurricular activity can take a toll on anyone’s life. 168 hours a week, Radigan spends approximately 48 percent of her week at school or dancing. This busy schedule leaves little room for studying, friends, sleep, or any other activity Radigan may want to participate in.
“I have a lot of late nights staying up to study for tests and talk to my friends,” Radigan said. “I love to dance and the competitions, but I hate rehearsals and how time-consuming it is.” Even though Radigan enjoys her sport, it is understandable that she does not always love it. Any activity that takes up so much time can be mentally and physically draining.
Regardless, Radigan persists in her dedication to the sport. “Continuing to dance has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because if I gave up on it, I would never have the option to dance in college,” Radigan said.
Radigan has faced many hardships with time management while growing up with a sport as demanding as dance. Learning from these experiences, she continues prioritizing a healthy school-sport balance in her life and maintaining a similarly balanced future. “I want to go to Duke or UNC,” Radigan said, describing her plans. “They have a great academic, sports, and social blend while maintaining their rigor; I wouldn’t have to give up either of my dreams to attend.”
For the majority of the discussion, Radigan focused on the mental toll it took on her life. However, dance can also take a physical toll as well. Like many other sports, it is physically demanding and can often lead to injuries and impairments. “I have double hip impingements and two broken toes, which makes dancing harder and painful,” Radigan said, emphasizing her point.
Regardless of the difficulties accompanying her dancing journey, Radigan perseveres through trials and tribulations on her path to play the sport she loves, while persisting in academic dreams and social goals.