Making Memories

First Impressions at the New Jersey Summer Sizzler

By Brittney Heisserer

My first time attending New Jersey Summer Sizzler was truly a memorable experience. I was so excited to be able to travel and spend the weekend with some of my best friends and teammates. We arrived in New Jersey on Friday evening, which gave us time to get ready before the competition on Saturday. We prepared for the competition by eating a healthy meal and playing Mario Party on an old-school Nintendo 64. Saturday afternoon arrived and we made our way to the competition in Hackensack, New Jersey.

My first impression was that the competition was a lot smaller than some we have attended in the past. However, I could tell that the competitors were going to be just as fierce. I thoroughly enjoyed attending Summer Sizzler as it ran on time the whole day, the volunteers had infectious enthusiasm, and we were able to cheer loudly for our teammates from the sidelines. I was so proud of the performance that my partner and I gave, as well as the performances given by all of my teammates. University of Minnesota members ranked in the top of many styles and every skill level, meaning that all of our couples had great successes.

Some of my favorite moments included placing first in silver smooth, second in gold smooth, and third in novice rhythm. We were fortunate to earn great rankings, but what was more important to us was how we felt about our dancing. The performances we gave to earn these rankings were some of our strongest performances to date, which made us extremely proud. I also noticed that my teammates were dancing to the very best of their abilities. This weekend made me realize that there is no limit to the potential that University of Minnesota dancers have. Based on this weekend I know that the upcoming year is going to be one of the strongest yet for the University of Minnesota team. I cannot wait to see how much we can all learn and grow between now and the next Summer Sizzler.