Twirling across the floor at Ilta Dance Studio, freshman Shelly Meskauskas, who is ranked eighteenth in the nation for ballroom dancing, spends the majority of her days practicing.
“My parents were always big dancers, so I grew up in a dance studio,” Meshkausk said. “I was kind of born to do it and it’s been in my family for many years. My great grandmother danced and my grandma danced, so I’ve just always done it.”
Meshkausk goes through a grueling routine each week for her love of dancing.
“Competitions can be every weekend, but I practice everyday for almost five hours,” Meshkausk said. “Also, I dance morning until night on weekends, except if I have recitals. Since I have school during the week it makes it kind of difficult, but I try to do as much as possible.”
Although Meshkausk also participates in hip-hop and contemporary dance, her specialty is ballroom dancing.
“I do standard and Latin [ballroom dance styles],” Meshkausk said. “I like Latin mostly because you get more freedom and more movement.”
Ballroom dancing often involves a partner, but Meshkausk currently dances solo.
“I recently had a partner, but we split due to a bad relationship, so I’m looking for [a new] one,” Meshkausk said. “For now, I dance with my dad because he’s my coach.”
Even though Meshkausk is nationally ranked, she still faces hardships.
“Trying to get the technique perfect is really difficult,” Meshkausk said. “Also, politics; competitions nowadays are about who you take lessons with. That definitely makes it more difficult.”
By facing these hardships, Meshkausk has achieved many of her personal goals.
“I feel like being comfortable with my dancing is really important,” Meshkausk said. “I had a couple years where I didn’t like how I danced, but now lately I’m very confident in myself and with my dancing. As long as I am confident, I’m happy, and it makes my dancing look better.”