By Elizabeth Goldman
Sports Editor
Senior Juliet Delino has been training in dance for 15 years and is co-captain of Mira Costa’s varsity dance team. She is trained in all styles, but focused primarily on ballet throughout middle school and hip hop and jazz throughout high school.
“My mom put me in ballet classes when I was little, and then I just never quit,” Delino said. “I did a lot of other sports but quit them all for dance because it was always my favorite. It came naturally to me.”
Throughout middle school, Delino spent over 20 hours each week dancing and was on her studio, School of Dance and Music’s, elite competition dance team. However, freshman year, she joined Costa’s varsity dance team instead and is now on Costa’s competition team.
“When I was a freshman, [the upperclassmen on dance team] were so welcoming and it made high school seem smaller,” Delino said. “I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. It’s such a family environment, and a big part of the team is bonding, social events and having fun.”
Delino began teaching private dance lessons in the summer of 2020 when one of her senior dance team friends graduated and offered for Delino to take over her lessons. Over the past two years, Delino has taught around three lessons a week.
“I’ve become really close with the people I teach,” Delino said. “It’s really nice to share something I love so much and be a mentor to younger kids. I’m almost an older sister type of figure in some of their lives, and it’s really fun for me. I like it so much.”
Each of Delino’s lessons serves a different purpose, and the focus of each varies. For some, Delino just teaches dance basics, but for others, she works on specific audition pieces or preps them for Costa’s dance team.
“Most of the people I teach, when I started teaching them, it was their first time dancing, so I would teach them the basics, and we’d work from there,” Delino said. “Some people will come to me if they have an audition for a studio or competition team, so we’ll work on dances, and I’ll give them tips for that.”
Once Delino graduates, she plans to hand down her students to a younger dance team member. With her personal dance career, she is excited to finish her last semester of high school on Costa’s dance team and hopes to continue dancing in college.
“I’m excited for these last few months on the [dance] team to have fun,” Delino said. “It’s nice doing something I love for the school because dance has always been apart from my school life.”
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