All-American for dance is an achievement dancers earn by demonstrating excellent showmanship. To be nominated for All-American, Dancers must have leadership qualities that make them stand out among their peers. Being selected for All-American is a great accomplishment and earning it multiple times in a row is even more impressive.
“To be selected to the All-American Team, you have to attend a camp where instructors can nominate you to audition for the team,” said coach Rachel Neil. “You have to be nominated to be eligible to audition and instructors nominate dancers based on displaying the qualities of technique, showmanship, spirit, and leadership. After nominations are received, dancers audition by performing the team routine they learned on the first day of camp in small groups of 5-8 and camp instructors select the team from the audition as well as evaluation of the qualities displayed leading up to the nomination (technique, showmanship, spirit, and leadership).”
This year, Abraham Lincoln had four dancers make All-American. Senior Ella Schmitz and Junior Allissa Baumbach are first-time All-American team members, senior Sonia Fitch is a second-time All-American, and senior Taylor Ebertowski has made All-American for the fourth year in a row.
“I was so proud of myself for my work ethic and my determination to complete my goal for this year. All-American has been such an accomplishment and achievement for me,” said Baumbach.
Allissa Baumbach and Taylor Ebertowski agreed to discuss their experiences and the steps they took to earn such a great achievement.
“It feels amazing to be an All-American for the 4th time but even more amazing that I got to spend my time at camp and getting that All-American with all of my teammates on my team this season,” said Ebertowski.
Strong leadership traits and excellent showmanship are important parts of being an All-American. But what other personal factors go into making the cut? The girls were happy to reveal what they did to ensure their spot on the All-American team.
“I have learned so much from camps in the past and I put all the techniques together and I achieved my goal this year! I think becoming an upperclassman this year has put a step in my leadership for the team which is a key point for an All-American,” said Allissa Baumbach,” I have also worked all summer before we went to camp to be the best I can so I could achieve this goal and I prepared myself before.”
The dancers used different strategies to get to this accomplishment.
“The biggest thing I did every year in high school at camp was staying positive. I also made sure to step forward and be a leader even in the earlier years when there were other seniors and leaders. I tried my best to dance the hardest I could the whole time I was there and show off my skills as much as I could,” said Ebertowski.
While making an All-American in general is a challenging task, making it four years in a row is an incredible accomplishment. It’s very uncommon for dancers to get All-American every year of their high school career. Every dancer who qualifies had the option to take a trip and dance in celebration or event depending on what is offered that year. In order to celebrate her senior year and her fourth year on All-America Taylor Ebertowski got to go to Rome and dance in the New Year’s Day parade and was the only All-American dancer from Abraham Lincoln who got to take the trip.
“There were a lot of amazing things in Rome. I think the history In Rome was the best thing about it. I got to see many things including the Pantheon and the Colosseum. I also got to see a whole different culture while in Rome. Everything was completely different. The people I met during the All-American trip were amazing. I got to meet tons of people from all over America including New Orleans and even California. I participated in the New Year’s Day parade and that was such a cool thing to experience. Their parade was nothing I’ve ever experienced before. The parade was around 1-2 hours long and I got to dance in the street of the Vatican City which was beautiful. I am so thankful for the experience and everything to come along with it including the friends I made. There were many many people cheering us on throughout Rome during the parade. It felt amazing just because there were so many people in Rome cheering the All-Americans on.”
Abraham Lincoln is honored to have four dancers who have earned All-American displayed technical excellence, superior showmanship, and spirit which are the necessary qualities presented by The National Dance Alliance.
