With a new director, more than just the difficulty of the dances have changed.
“It’s completely different from what we had last year,” Vondenstein said. “I feel like the new director has things so under control. She’s new to the school district, but I feel like she always knows what she’s doing, and she knows her next step, and she knows exactly what she wants. It keeps it so orderly, and just keeps everyone from stressing about everything or getting overworked. Last year, we had morning practice all the time, and we got nothing done. That was awful, but we get so much done now.”
With a completely new JV team, a lot of new dancers on Varsity and almost a completely new officer team, Belles has gained new opportunities for growth over the 25-26 season.
“We have new leadership, new perspectives,” Vondenstein said. “Townsend is very focused on our dance technique and she really wants the best for us and for us to grow as dancers. We’ve seen her dedication from our technique classes, or from bringing in outside choreographers that are going to challenge us, and she gives us challenging choreography.”
The role for Assistant Director went unfilled this year, making things more difficult for Townsend.
“I would say the greatest yet rewarding challenge for me would be managing a large team,” Townsend said. “Finding ways to meet the individual needs of each dancer while still maintaining a unified team requires communication and organization.”
But Townsend had the support of seven dance officers and five social officers when managing such a big team. She’s made an impact on the officer team as well as the dancers.
“She’s amazing, and I really appreciate that she really takes a lot of what we say into consideration,” Morris said. “She lets practice be led by the officers. She also has a great dance background: she went to HSPVA, and she danced in college. She’s very talented, and she’s really good at keeping the team calm when things get a little bit stressful. Everyone on the team really respects her, so it also makes practices really productive.”
As for Townsend’s first year, it has been going “wonderful” so far.
“Learning and growing with all my students has been a rewarding process,” Townsend said. “I strive to become a better teacher and role model every day, and my students continue to inspire me to grow, learn and lead. Managing such a large team has come with a few challenges, but I continue to find ways to problem-solve and support each dancer individually to the best of my abilities.”
As the Belles progress further into the year, Townsend hopes to continue this mindset and learn from the other dance teams they will meet at competitions.
“I am excited to witness all the dancers’ hard work on stage and share an amazing experience with them,” Townsend said. “I also love watching what all of the other dance teams and studios bring to the stage, as it is inspiring to see the talent and passion throughout the dance community. Being surrounded by so much energy and artistry makes every performance even more special.”
