Mia Garcia is one of the many seniors on the Bonita Vista High (BVH) dance team, Get to The Pointe! (GTP). On top of this, Garcia also works at Eleve School of Dance to help teach children how to dance.
Garcia has been dancing for 14 years and has been a part of GTP for three of those years. Being a part of the dance team comes with many responsibilities and requires one to learn new skills. Garcia emphasizes how dance has helped her improve her patience when learning new things.
“I’ve definitely learned quite a lot throughout my years dancing. One of the most important skills [I’ve learned] was patience. Perfecting the skills that I have now was no easy job, and it took many months or even years to achieve, which is why I’d say that I hold a lot of patience,” Garica said. “It allowed me to understand that I won’t always get it on the first try and to not be too harsh on myself.”
Garcia was able to make connections and meet new people throughout her years of dance. She had been a part of several events such as an annual event called “Trolley Dances”, where she was able to meet professional dancers from San Diego and surrounding areas.
“She is very involved in her dance studio that she trains at. I think it’s great when kids can do something for work that is not some random thing they’re not interested in. She loves to dance and I feel like it’s a perfect match for her to be able to use that ability [in a job],” GTP, Dance 1, Dance 2, IB Dance and Physical Education (P.E) Dance teacher Christine Timmons said.
Although Timmons expresses how experienced and dedicated Garcia is in dancing, she encourages her and her other students to pursue their interests. She is able to prepare them with skills they can use after high school, no matter what they decide to do.
“Mia’s situation is kind of unique in that she already had dance training at a studio prior to meeting me. But in general, I encourage students to follow their passion and any interests that they have,” Timmons said.
Dancing has always been a large part of Garcia’s life and her progress has been recognized by those around her as she grew. One of the many people who observed Garcia’s growth throughout her time on the dance team is junior Toya Luna.
“She’s really accurate with her understanding of choreography. Whenever anyone needs help, she’s the one that’s able to lead and teach the choreography. She’s a really good teacher. She’s detail oriented [and that] is the biggest thing that you notice about her dancing,” Luna said.
Even though Garcia does not plan on continuing dance after high school, Luna acknowledges how much she has done for the dance team and assisting the others. However, there are also challenges that Garcia faces when dedicating time to dance and GTP. She emphasizes the toll that dance can have on her physically and mentally.
“Dance has always been physically and mentally demanding, so there [has] been quite a few challenges that I’ve had to overcome. Managing stress levels was definitely one. I get stressed easily, and being the perfectionist that I am, I had to learn how to regulate it whenever a routine wouldn’t come out the way I wanted it or if I made the slightest mistake,” Garcia said.
Dance can be a very demanding activity and even more so being a GTP member. However, Garcia has been able to stick through the demands of being a dancer and find ways to manage the stress and the other challenges that she faces in a leadership position on GTP. Luna emphasizes how she pushes through difficult moments to continue her passion for dance.
“Not only does she stick with [dance] through tough times, but she also never stops working so passionately and so hard for dance. It shows and it spreads to everyone on the team, especially to me,” Luna said.
Luna admires Garcia as a dancer and greatly respects her effort that she puts into it daily. She had to learn how to balance keeping up with the demands of dance while taking care of herself, which can be a challenge in and of itself.
“Learning how to take care of my body was also another challenge. I used to skip meals quite a lot, and even though I still struggle with this from time to time, I slowly learned how to prioritize food and a balanced meal in order to perform well during my practices,” Garcia said.
Garcia adds how she was inspired by her mom and brother, since they were both dancers like her. Hearing stories from her mom and watching her brother encouraged her to dance as well. Graduating high school gives her new opportunities to explore other interests and she wants to pursue that opportunity.
“Part of me still wishes to pursue dance professionally, but I also want to venture into other interests of mine. I’ll try to find any dance class near me, or even keep my job at my studio, but as of right now I’ll take a break from it,” Garcia said.
Garcia plans on majoring in chemistry at University of California San Diego (UCSD) where she wants to pursue a career in Forensic Toxicology. Since dance has been a large part of her life for many years, she encourages anyone and everyone to start dancing if they are interested as it is never too late.
“The first dance class that I took was when I was about three to four years old in my hometown, Tijuana. From the moment I stepped inside the classroom, I didn’t realize how far dance would take me. At first I just found dancing really fun, but as I grew older I think my love for it grew bigger as well,” Garcia said.
Through Garcia’s time while teaching kids at the studio, she faces ups and downs of working with kids. Especially when learning something new, it can be difficult to keep the attention of the students. Garcia expresses how it has been stressful and hard to teach the kids but also rewarding where it has changed her as a person.
“Working with [the kids] has changed my perspective as a person and dancer. Realizing that these kids look up to me makes me more motivated to become an even better person for them to look up to and to inspire them to keep dancing,” Garcia said.
