Junior Gabi Pagel has been interested in the art of dance for most of her life. She has recently joined a new studio to compete with, the DNA Dance Collective in Rocklin.

“I’ve been doing studio dance since I was three, so 13 years and then I started doing competitions when I was ten at another studio,” Pagel said. “I actually left that studio because the tap teacher I had been with my whole life was switching over to DNA, and so I moved with her. I joined this year at the start of the school year and I love it. I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in [dance] and everything so it’s a good push.”

The competitions that Pagel and her team participate in follow a similar scoring structure to cheerleading and diving competitions. According to Pagel, these conventions are a great way for Pagel to compete and have fun with her passion.

“Competetions work where they’re scored by a panel of judges and then sometimes there’s competitions and conventions where you would compete at night and in the morning you would be dancing and taking convention classes for five to six hours,” Pagel said. “These comps take place really anywhere. This weekend I competed in San Mateo, so it really depends on the competition. I mostly go to the bay area and stay in sac which is nice because our studio stays local.”

Pagel plans to stick with her passion for dance throughout her life as either a competitor or a teacher for others. According to Pagel, the art of dance has filled her with love and happiness, and she wants to share that love with as many people as she can. 

“I want to stay with [dance] until i graduate for sure. I can only grow at this place which is really nice. I do always want dance to be a part of my life just because of the life skills its taught me; accountability, hard work, and expression. Its brought me a lot of joy and creating choreography has brought me a lot of joy,” Pagel said. “I definitely want to keep it in my life as a career, not necessarily in the industry, but more maybe teaching would be a lot of fun.”