Dancing For A Cause by Issy Perez
Sure, football season was fun and basketball season had its moments, but for the Miracles, nothing matched the energy and heart of competition season. That was when the real magic happened. Competition season usually kicked off in mid‑January, and the Miracles began traveling to different exhibitions. One of their exhibitions this year was Dance for A Cure, an event hosted at West Shore Jr./Sr. High School and organized by Purrfections Dance Team captain Ava Hulbert as her senior project.
Hulbert had danced on the Purrfections for six years and had a total of 16 years of dance experience. Dance for A Cure served as her senior project, raising money for local breast cancer charities. She put in significant effort to bring the event together. “A lot of volunteers and a lot of help. I wouldn't have been able to do it without my supportive teammates, family, and friends,” Hulbert said. Hulbert is a dance instructor also “I’m also a dance instructor at Nicole Cote School of Dance”. She also faced challenges along the way. “West Shore is hosting because I had problems with other venues… they basically didn't believe me that I was a nonprofit. They were trying to charge me about 4000 dollars, so Westshore offered to host here instead.” With a venue secured, the event moved forward.
Bella Gonzalez, a junior on the Miracles dance team, attended the exhibition. Gonzalez had danced on and off for most of her life. Exhibitions helped the team prepare for major competitions such as UDA, DTU, and MA. “Exhibitions help us see what needs improvements and make competitions feel less stressful because we've already run the routine in front of an audience,” Gonzalez said. She appreciated the feedback the team received. “We talk about the feedback in practice and work on cleaning up details so we can improve our scores and perform better as a team. Nerves can be the worse for a dancer so these exhibitions are helpful for her, “They help calm my nerves and let us perform in front of people before it really counts”. After the exhibition, Gonzalez felt more prepared for the competitions ahead.
In the end, Dance for A Cure did more than give the Miracles another chance to perform—it reminded them why competition season mattered so much. The event highlighted the dedication of dancers like Hulbert, whose hard work turned a senior project into something meaningful for the community, and teammates like Gonzalez, who used the experience to sharpen her skills and build confidence. With exhibitions like this behind them, the Miracles headed into the rest of competition season stronger
Caption:
WHY WE ARE HERE: Senior Ava Hulbert steps up to speak at her “Dance For A Cure” event in the West Shore gym, a place where she had spent six years growing as a dancer within her 16‑year journey and had chosen to turn that passion into a senior project supporting local breast cancer charities. She had overcome unexpected venue setbacks — including being quoted nearly $4,000 elsewhere. She had relied on volunteers, teammates, family, and friends whose encouragement had carried her through every challenge. “I couldn’t have done any of this without the people who believed in me and stood by me every step of the way.”. Photo by Issy Perez