Last Blog Post

These past months in Advanced Newswriting, have been filled with challenging assignments and an understanding about what my career will look like. Although I still have another year until I graduate, this class has definitely prepared me for what it’s like to cover a beat. In the process of writing my beat, I have learned writing techniques such as resorting back to the main focus of the story frequently. The more I progress, the clearer the picture is about what my career is going to entail. I still have much more to learn in my last couple of classes and my internship this upcoming summer at TheGreeley Tribune.

High points this semester certainly involved my beat and being so drawn into dance groups in Greeley. Unlike other school assignments, I didn’t feel obligated to be involved with going to dance events because I enjoyed it so much. I think the only thing that was missing was that I only got to spend four months reporting. The JMC classes that I’ve taken thus far have taught me the extent of what it takes to be a successful reporter. Though I do wish there were more available elective classes for news-editorial emphasis students. Even though these classes have shown me what it takes to be a successful journalist, I think that I still have much more my senior year. After my internship and experiencing a real-life newsroom, I think I will be much more prepared to work in today’s journalism field. This semester, and the last couple I have to complete, will be the last push into the “real-world” of being a journalist. I can’t wait!

Blog Post 3

Since January, I’ve been covering a variety of stories about Greeley dancers. I have been to various performances and talked to people that I would have never met if it weren’t for journalism class. I am a dancer myself, so immediately knew I wanted to cover local dancers. It’s been an adventure thus far, and for these last months of the semester, I will continue to keep up on the dancers and see what makes them so inspiring.

Although I have only written a couple of stories for class, I have been exposed to much more. My first story was a day-in-the-life about a UNC student who is a member of UNC Dance Alliance and I discovered what it’s like to be a full-time student while participating in a program with peers who also love to dance. My most recent story was a profile about an event called Day of Dance. I got to meet many new faces and learn about how much dance means to this community.

I think my main investment has been learning about these dancers through watching them perform and gaining information through what I see, and talking to the dancers while they’re in “performance mode.” Something I need to do is focus more on practice and less on performance. I just wish that I understood before that Greeley dance community is like a small family. There’s competition, but that doesn’t stop the relation between them. I love seeing first hand how each group of dancers are so different, yet so much alike. What I dislike is that there’s so much going on with each one that sometimes attending all the events seems impossible.

My next story is going to be a column. I’m looking forward to attending practices at Dance Factory and the Conservatory, to see what goes on behind the scenes.

During the Spring season, dancers seem to never stop and are as busy as ever. The majority of dance studios are rehearsing for their Spring or Summer recitals. This sometimes means rehearsals will run nightly until the recital date. Along with recital practice, competition season is still going strong. One studio in particular in the Greeley area is The Dance Factory. This upcoming weekend of March 2^nd-4^th they have a competition they’re attending called Starquest. The competition will take place in Thornton at Horizon High School. Not only are they spending three days at the competition, the night before they leave, there’s a mandatory competition rehearsal that takes at least a couple of hours. The competition groups include: Jr. Company, Starbound, Rising Stars, Shooting Stars, Sr. and Jr. Hip Hop Crews. Each of them will have a chance to compete in their division this weekend. Competitions tend to be much more stressful than recitals because of the fact that there’s a winner and a loser, and every studio wants to hold the trophy that states them as the winners.

Also this upcoming weekend, on March 3^rd, the annual event of “Day of Dance” is being presented by The Spirit of Women organization at the Greeley Family Fun Plex. This is a fun opportunity for dancers and community members to go and get educated about the health benefits of dancing. A handful of studios from the Greeley area and other dance groups will be performing at the event. This is an enjoyable occasion where people can go have fun and see how dancing can help improve heart health and altogether fitness.  This upcoming weekend is full of events for dancers and proves that a dancer never really has time to stop, they just keep doing what they do best, and that’s dancing.

The Greeley dance scene can go unnoticed by the community members if they're not related to one of the dancers. Dance programs rely on publicity in order to succeed. Extremely talented individuals are in Greeley and deserve praise for what they're doing. My purpose in writing this blog is to attempt to give these amazing dancers the attention they deserve when they dance.

Although I have never covered a beat or had a blog I am confident in my topic. I hope to get a better insight about the community and how all the programs compare to one another. I’m preparing for a UNC Dance Alliance event which I’m especially excited for.

After taking several journalism classes at the university I have developed many skills that will become an advantage after I graduate. My strength is that I find it easy being in the center of the action, which helps me get the details. My weakness is adapting to an unfamiliar situation. This shouldn’t hold me back when covering my beat because I am familiar with what it’s like to be a part of a dance community.

I’m extremely excited to have a blog. What scares me the most is missing an event in my area. I’m most confident about my topic because I’ve always been highly involved in what dancers in my community are doing. I will learn about what it takes to be a successful dancer in Greeley. I can’t wait to meet amazing dancers along the way!