001What is up everybody? Finn Mo up here. Welcome back to the clear sports talk podcast. Kelsey brothers coming for you. Today we got a special edition of the clear sports talk podcast. Today we have a dance interview with two of our junior dancers, Bryley Christensen. >> Hey. >> And Elena Smith. >> What's good? >> So I got a few questions for him here today. Uh start us off. Um start with Bryley. When did you start dance? And how many years have you been doing dance? I started dance when I was three years old. So, I've been dancing for about 13 years. >> Elena, >> I've been dancing for about 10 years. I was off and on in my early childhood, but then since then, since third grade, I've been dancing ever since. >> Okay. Okay.
002Elena, uh, why why dance? Why what is it about dance that attracted you to it and made you do it for two years and I mean 10 years and continue on to doing it? and like why dance over uh any of the other sports that you maybe continuing to do but maybe haven't done as long. >> Yeah. So, I kind of stuck with dance because it's honestly it's so like you get to express yourself in a different way than other sports. You learn how to be like competitive, but then you also have to be such a good sportsmanlike person because it's not just like you, but it can be just you or it's not just the team. It might be just you. It's so team sport, but it's so individual at the same time. It's
003just like it's different. >> And I know that you play soccer. Uh, so why like why dance being kind of the just the main sport? Because I know you do it competitively. Um, so why why why dance over soccer specifically? >> Um, dance just has it like has my heart. It was like kind of like my first love. Like I fell in love with dance and I just love it. It's so I keep coming back to it like I'm having a hard day. Dance is there for me. Like it's just a sport that has always like continued to fulfill me. >> Okay. Okay. Farley, same question to you. Why dance? And uh why not any other sport that kind of took your heart away or like uh just kind of why dance? What is it
004about dance? >> I mean, kind of just what Elena said, but it's just a great way to like express what you're feeling and just about your day and anything. It's just a great way to get like escape from reality. Like again like what she said, if you're having like a bad day, you can just go dance and just like be away from the world. And it's just a great thing to do. And yeah, >> I I've seen I've seen dance kind of like that before. I mean, I kind of just get bored and then anytime I see hear a song, I'll kind of just dance to it just for fun. I know. It just makes me happy. It's fun. I never I'm sad while dancing, I guess you could say. Yeah. >> Um but you
005uh like she plays soccer. You also play volleyball. So, what was it that kind of attracted you more to dance over like volleyball doing it competitively over the other? >> I mean, nothing against like team sports. It's a great thing to do, but I think with dance you can work on your own to get better. And when I think volleyball is more of a more relied on the team part rather than the individual. When dance you can go all on your own and it's all on you. >> Yeah. Um, have you choreog choreographed any dances? And if so, what kind of dance was it and what was it for? Um, I mainly just choreograph with my sister Brena because we're just like a team and we've just choreographed anything from lyrical to hiphop and all
006the in between. >> Mina, >> um, so I'm helping Kylie with this next dance that we're doing that is for our first February game. And then I choreograph my own solo. So I compete that competitively. And then I teach a dance class at my studio also. So I choreograph all the routines that goes along with the class. >> Um, so what is it about like competitive dance and high school dance? Like what's the biggest difference and uh like what what has your heart more? >> Competitive dance and dance team are so different. You would think like, oh, they're the same sport. They're going to be the same, but they're not. competitive is so it's kind of like more technique focused compared to dance team which is very just about very about the group. So >>
007probably >> um I'm kind of just say the same thing Elena said, but it's just so different with the people you dance with that you go to school with. I think that's just really special like being with Elena in school since we were very little. It's very special to be dancing with her. Yeah, I uh from experience of like maybe going to another school or doing club sports, I do I do see like how different a high school sport could be compared to a club sport and like the new people you get to meet and that new relationship and that new family you kind of build um is a pretty special family. So, >> um what is your favorite type of dance to do and uh what's the f like what's the most like favorite
008one you've ever performed? Um, I say I'm a little conflict conflicted between contemporary and hip-hop, which is like the opposites, like they're completely opposite. But my favorite dance performed was probably last year, Brena choreographed a Kendrick Lamar mix of hip-hop and I think that was very fun because our whole team just loved it and it was great. I will say when I uh hear from dancers or at least in the high school dance area there the kind of like main answer is hip-hop when it comes to what is like my favorite dance. Why do you think hip-hop is such a >> like worldrenowned like kind of favorite dance style for many people? I just think it's so like you get away from the technique and it's more about just expressing like your the fun side
009of yourself when every other style is more about you got to do this technique and you got to do this right and do this straight this leg point that toe when hip-hop's just more have fun with it. That's the main part of it. >> Would you agree with that, Alina? >> Yes, I would agree. Hip-hop is very it's also more energetic and it definitely gets more crowd involved. It's very inclusive because everybody's like, "Oh, I can do that, too." and it's so it's more inclusive and so yeah, >> what what is your favorite type of dance and what's the uh your favorite one that you've ever performed? >> Um I love doing contemporary by myself, but I love doing hip-hop as a group. So definitely hip-hop probably. >> And out of like high school and
010competitive, what's like your most favorite one you've ever performed? >> I couldn't pick. There's too too many. Last year I just hit my hundth dance per dance performance at a basketball game. So >> that was pretty special. >> It's crazy. Yeah, it was it was a really cool moment because it's just like how can you perform that many times like and it's crazy. >> Um who who or what is kind of like your biggest influence as role model? >> Um I'm going to say my sister because I think she's also the one who got me into dance. Like when I was three, I would like look through the window and watch her dance and be like, I want to be just like Brena. And then growing up dancing right next to her and her coaching
011me through it and helping me, it was just really special and she just always been beside me. So >> yeah, you >> I don't have one person in particular like that's it's just kind of like I see different things out of every different teacher or coach or peer I've had. So, it's honestly I like taking I like taking inspiration from everybody I'm around in the dance world. >> Do you when you take inspiration uh maybe not even just like a person that you know personally, do you kind of like maybe go to social media or to YouTube to kind of also find like you know little things to take from other people's uh dances? >> Yes. And a big thing I love watching dance because like watching a collegiate level dance just it makes you
012open your eye to the level of dance and you get so much inspiration just like UDA nationals just started today and so there's so much inspiration cuz those dancers are so so amazing. you. >> Oh, >> do you use anything like do you use social media or YouTube to help you help you and Bruno or just you choreograph a dance? >> Yeah, we definitely watch Tik Tok obviously because those have little dances in them and then just like there's like dance shows on TV and those professional dancers are really inspiring so we just watch them and then take little pieces from them. >> Like Dancing with the Stars. >> Yeah. Um, any any challenges throughout your dance career that any hurdles you've had to hop over to kind of like pursue or maybe like bumps
013in the roads? >> Um, honestly, every day is a challenge with dance cuz you're like, "Hey, I want to try this." And it might take you a year to get a trick. Every day comes with it challenges. So, it's ongoing. What would you say your favorite move you can do is or a move that you've been dreaming to do and you haven't or like just the best move you could do like maybe like a 10 out of 10 move you have? >> My favorite move is a headspring and then my dream move is to get a 540. >> What what would be a 540? >> Um it's a type of jump. So >> is that like a when I think of like jumps and spinning and stuff and you put a number into it, I'm
014thinking like you're spinning. >> Yes, you spin. Yeah, you're you jump up and you take your leg and you like whip it across yourself to like spin. It's so cool. >> Sounds pretty fun. What about you? >> I also bond with the headsp springs and the kip ups because our team definitely loves to do those. If you will see them and you have seen them in our dances. >> I would I would I've always tried to do a kip up and I think we've only ever done it once. It is pretty hard. >> Hey, Dy has a kip up. >> Little did you know. >> Shout out DL. >> Um for real. >> Shout out Dy. go check out the boys tonight. Buer, um, who is our who is our high school head coach? Um,
015like what's a little bit about her and, uh, how do you guys feel about halftime dances during basketball season? >> Uh, so our high school coach is Emily Free. She has coached here for what, 12 years, something around that. She's been here for a while. And I mean, she's just the best coach you could think of. She's here for more than just dance. She's here for our lives. and she gives us literal life lessons every single morning. And I don't know, we just love her. >> She's great. >> She's a stay-at-home mom. She just had Jaylen uh about a year and a half ago. So, she's just she's always there for us everything. She was there at our CNA pinning. So, she's like she's just like so close to our hearts. Like she's so special.
016Special. >> That's great. That's great to have like that uh a coach that is uh very involved and is more of a coach figure and is more can be more of a mother figure of some sort um and like a s older sister kind of. Um so about halftime dances during basketball season. Uh how do you guys feel about those? >> I love them. Like there's just something about like watching the whole student section just like they sit down and they watch us cuz they're entertained by us and that just it makes my heart happy because they know that or they love like what we love like they love watching what we love doing. So it's just so special. >> Just a random question thinking about the halftime dances. What's like you guys have I
017guess many attires you've worn throughout your three years so far. What's like your favorite attire you've worn so far? Well, we got new jerseys this year and I really like those. We usually wear jerseys with our like joggers, so that's like our hip-hop outfit. But then I also like for our jazz dances, we wear like this navy top that has like a blue sea on it. And I think that's probably all of our favorites, >> but it's definitely a classic for us >> staple. >> So, how do you uh feel about the halftime dances? >> I absolutely love them. When someone mentions basketball season, I gush up. I actually love it. And like what Elena said about the student section, I love like watching the cheerleaders come to the very front and whenever we waved,
018like Right Burger says our name and we wave, I can always hear a lot of people like extra screaming for our names because it's just and we feel that love and it's great. >> Yeah. There's a many sports teams out there who um obviously have halftime performances by their cheerleaders and both of you are cheerleaders during Is that true? You're Are you cheerleading for all season? Not during football because I do volleyball. >> You're cheerleader doing football season. >> I Yes. This year was my first year doing football cheer and helping with halftimes. Not help helping and doing halftimes. >> Would you want to see an a change in the future? Uh since this is your third year, maybe even next year, maybe even beyond for the people um the dances behind you. It would
019change where maybe dance team is a separate thing from the cheer squad and you kind of have your own dances. You perform at halftime and it's kind of like an interchangeable thing. like this game we'll dance at halftime and then the next home game the dancers will do it or maybe you guys could choreograph something that can fit in to both times and kind of both could do it. Would you guys want to see something like that in the future? >> Our cheer and dance team is definitely combining this year a lot. We're doing a lot of things more together. If you see like during intros and halftimes, cheer and dance is going out there sometimes and we're doing like the fight song together. So, we're really coming combining this year and we'll definitely do
020it more next year. Yeah. >> Yes. So, upcoming with the football cheer and dance is dance is actually might not be out, but it is definitely happening. Dance is going to be performing during football halftimes, too. So, our dance team is looking for more opportunities to get involved. >> For sure. Yeah, I've uh I've noticed that throughout my uh few years here in Clear Water and then the four years here in high school that the dance team I feel like doesn't get uh much chances to be involved other than just basketball season and although there are a lot of basketball games that and home games specifically compared to like football home games. Uh, I just feel like they uh should be shown I guess a little more and like have a more time of the
021year should be more like cheerleading and dance and then like combining you said I think because they're pretty similar in like at least the high school aspect because I mean I've been to colleges and watch games and their dance team is there on the soccer field. So I'm just like thinking like if their team can be on the soccer field why can't our team be there you know on the football field during a halftime performance. But speaking of school, are you guys excited for your future in dance? What what that may be? Maybe more competitive, maybe off to college, and are you excited for next year being um in more of a leader role? Because you guys are a star in your leader role right now, I'd say. Um and helping choreograph dances with seniors.
022Um so, what does your future look like in dance? And are you excited for your senior year? >> Yes, I'm very excited. I've attended five college camps and just looking for my next step, like what is next for me. So, I actually am talking to the Barton coach. So, I'm going to go there at the end of this month and then maybe pit day after. >> I've heard some good things about uh Barton dance. I have I know I've known a girl who actually went here and went there. So, um currently heard pretty good things about that. What? So is would Pittsburgh be like your dream college to go dance or is that just like your dream college like you know at like at this moment you know like like what's your dream college to
023go dance? Are you worried about that? >> Yes. Like I would love to go to pitch straight out of high school but it's just as a I'm going to be a premed major so I have a lot of school to go forwards and now they're like making I don't know college is way expensive. So, I just think that community college is just a great like in between before I go to a 4-year college. So, that's why I'm thinking to go to Barton before I go to Pitt. And Barton is such a growing dance program there. So, it'd be really beneficial for like a next step before I go to PIT because PIT did they're a big dance team and so it's definitely my dream dance team to be on. >> What are you really? >>
024Um, I'm not fully decided on a if I want to dance in college or not. I think it'd be great, but I don't I can't really find a program that I am like loving yet. I'm looking at UMKC right now. So, Kansas City, and I'm kind of liking that, but I haven't gone to a clinic yet because I haven't had one, but they do have one in the spring and I'll go to that. Hopefully fall in love with it and then hopefully go and dance there. >> That's great. Are you you guys are excited for your senior years? Are you guys >> Yes. Are you guys already kind of having a little bit of senior eyes ready to get out of here? Are you just ready for uh the just senior year kind of uh
025>> in general? >> Um I think the senior ice isn't really there yet. I think I'm still soaking in the amazing high school experience >> and then with dance team I never want it to end. So senior night I will be balling my eyes out because I do not want that to end. It's a great thing to be involved in. >> I'm very excited for our senior year. I think our senior year like dance team is bright. I just like Brley said, I don't want to leave. Like I don't want to leave the dance team behind. It's not something I don't want to do, but it is what happens. >> Okay, final little question as we wrap up here today. Just a little fun question. Um, if a person were to come to you today
026and say you are allowed to come dance anywhere in the world, where would that dream place be? >> Honestly, I think I'm gonna say the classy cats. the Kate Classy Cats. I think that that or like if it's really anywhere like professionally that'd be great on Dancing with the Stars. >> Yeah. What about you? >> I don't know. New York City might be calling my name in the Rockett soon. That would be a dream. >> All right, guys. Thank you uh for coming in today, Elena and Bryley. Great to have you on today. Had a great time. >> And uh we'll catch you guys next time on Clear Water Sports Talk podcast.