Kyndall Johnson

Senior Mia Caldwell started dancing in middle school, and has been in dance ever since. She tried out for Celebrities in her freshman year to be a rookie and made the team. Caldwell was a line member and then tried out for a line officer position sophomore year. She was on the officer line as a lieutenant junior year and then became a captain her senior year. 

Caldwell said she will miss a lot of things about dance, as the dance team spends an endless amount of hours together and has become very close confidants and something very close to family. She said the team has set the bar high for who she will spend her time in the future because the dance team has been the utmost loving and supportive group of girls she could ever align herself with, and knows that she will be chasing this kind of community for a little while.

“Some small memories that encompass this sense of community are all the times we have gotten ready together,” Caldwell said. “Every single morning after practice, we get ready next to each other. We talk about everything, share clothes, laugh, play music, and soak up each other’s company. This is something small in the moment, but has gotten to be such a constant and something that I have looked forward to during my three years of Celebs. I will miss how well we all know each other.” 

Every year, the Celebrities have a spring show as a culmination of everything they have worked all year for and to show off to their family and friends something that they all love and put their effort into.

 “As it is our last time performing together, we all revel in the emotions and perform for each other,” Caldwell said. “It is so fun to bring all of our dances together and put on a production for our loved ones in the audience. One of my very favorite moments each time I’m on stage, especially during my captain’s solo this year, is the way everybody stands and cheers each other on in the wings. It’s not for the people in the audience; it is for us, a great representation of how we cheer each other on through everything, getting so much joy from being there for one another.”

Although she said she feels very sentimental about leaving dance, specifically leaving the team environment, Caldwell will not be pursuing any dance teams after high school. She plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin for a major in education.

 “I am sad to leave dance and my place on this team, but I am very excited to explore other things,” Caldwell said. “I am nervous for graduation, it is something that I have gotten to watch others do, and my mind I’m wrestling with what it will be like for it to be my turn to be in this stage of life. I am very excited to be a Longhorn though. I have grown up with the University of Texas and the sense of belonging I feel there is something I’m excited to embrace.”