To Dance Or Not To Dance, That Is The Question

By: Chloe Shapkauski, BDTV228 Sports Multimedia Intern

An athlete can wreck their dreams of performing in a single moment. In fact, months of intense training is forgotten when an injury poses a threat to someone’s future. Though the setback may hinder a performer’s abilities, some don’t let it control them. Gianna Ulcigrai is one of those people.

Ulcigrai is constantly thriving in the dance world; she’s been on several competitive teams since sixth grade. On top of her hours of dance after school, Ulcigrai has contributed to the Tinley Park High School Varsity Dance Team since she was a freshman. Currently a junior, Ulcigrai’s immense dedication to the sport was tested during her sophomore year.

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, the young dancer was on strict doctor’s orders because of a leap at her studio’s national competition.

“As I was rolling out of it on the floor, I came out awkwardly. When my knee hit into the floor, I knew something was wrong. But, we had a minute of the dance left, so I knew I had to get over it.”
The dance suspension stuck vividly in her mind. Ulcigrai recalls that the stage at the convention was quickly put together and made out of “weird, material floor.” Given the situation, Ulcigrai never would've pictured that one bump to the knee would tear her meniscus along with her IT band.

From August to October of 2019, Ulcigrai was forced to limit her exercise not only in dance but also in regular life. Daily actions such as walking up the stairs were avoided so as to prevent further injury to the damaged areas. Although the temporary pause disappointed the tenacious teen, Ulcigrai overcame the tough trials.

“It was hard at the beginning because I wanted to dance. Even now, it still hurts and I have to be careful.”

Ever grateful for her favorite activity, the recovered dancer was conflicted when her doctor allowed her to attend dance class once again.

“I was really excited and nervous because I was worried I wasn’t going to be as strong as before. It was mixed emotions.”

Acknowledging her doubts, Ulcigrai proceeded to class with caution. Luckily, her month-absence induced a connection to dance even stronger than before; she was more in tune with the sport and her teammates since she had longed for the contact over the mandated break.

“I was out of dance for quite some time, which killed me. I was really excited to come back after so long of not being able to do anything and having to be careful doing normal stuff at school.”

All in all, the torn meniscus and IT band could not tear Ulcigrai away from her passion to dance.

“Overtime, it just made me stronger.”

Forever in tune with her dance roots, she currently takes online dance classes for both Conquer Dance Company and the Tinley Park High School Dance Team. She commented on her training in the pandemic.

“I just have a really good feeling about this year.”

Her optimistic spirit has brought her to succeed over an injury and the struggles of COVID-19.

What can’t Gianna Ulcigrai do?