Rachel Dunklee has a theory on why her parents first introduced her to dance.
“My mom just signed me up for classes to get me into cute costumes and get some good photos of me,” she says.
That was when Rachel was 2 years old. Fast forward 16 years, and while the costumes may not be as “cute,” dance has become a part of Rachel’s life past, present and hopefully future.
“Every year after that, I didn’t stop,” she says. “In third grade, I was invited to join the competition team at Dancer’s Edge. I have been a part of that program ever since!”
Rachel also is part of the very successful Dexter HS Dance Team. And while there have been some unique challenges this season, the Dreadnaughts have been in step with one another on and off the mat.
“I love this team,” she says. “We all have gotten so close and love spending time with each other. They are my second family, I love them. We can bond over dance, but also anything outside of dance as well.”
But Rachel admits that “this season has been difficult.”
“Most of it has been on Zoom, so it was difficult to bond in the beginning of the season,” she says. “Other dance team traditions like camp and nationals have been difficult for us, too. Instead of going to a university for the weekend for camp, we had two UDA staff members come to our studio and do a mini camp. For nationals, we unfortunately are unable to travel to Orlando, Florida to compete. We will be competing virtually.”
It’s not ideal but Rachel and her teammates are making the most of it.
Earlier this month, Dexter participated in the Pistons Classic Competition at Little Caesars Arena. The Dreadnaughts won the Pom Division, took second in the Jazz Division and brought home the highest overall score in the Small Varsity Team Division.
Becoming a dancer at a studio such as Dancer’s Edge or competing on a team as talented as Dexter requires a high level of dedication and commitment. There is a lot of hard work that goes into what people see out on the mat.
Rachel, 18, says training is “intense.” Let’s take a look at how intense.
“On Mondays we all take a three-hour technique class at Dancers Edge to build our technique and skills,” Rachel says. “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have two hours of DHS varsity dance team practice. On Wednesday, most of us on the varsity team have our rehearsals for our studio competition dances for about two hours, along with a 1.5 hour conditioning class.
“Almost every other Sunday, we have varsity dance team practices at the DHS gym to work on formations and cleaning for our competitions and nationals. In those practices, we use wrist weights to strengthen our arms for Pom.”
With all that effort comes rewards and memories.
“One moment from dance team that I will never forget is watching us dance backstage at UDA nationals after performing Jazz in the Preliminary round,” Rachel says. “We looked so strong, and I was so proud of our team. We all were crying and hugging. All our hard work was paying off. Later on, they announced that we would be advancing to the semifinals. We all were screaming and I will never forget that.”
A senior at DHS, Rachel is the daughter of Mary Beth and Mike Dunklee, She is a longtime member of the Dancer’s Edge Competition Team and also enjoys singing, playing guitar and songwriting. She also has a 3.8 GPA.
She is planning on dancing her way onto a college campus.
“I have been applying for college all year,” she says. “I am planning to go to school to dance, and hopefully dance professionally in the future.”
First, though, she has a lot more training to do and more memories to make with the Dexter Dance Team.
