Since she was three years old, North Penn senior Emily Biddle has been fascinated by the world of dance. For three years, she has been a member of the dance team offered at North Penn High School. As captain of the team, she demonstrates leadership and hard work while she choreographs numerous performances for the school and competitions.

While she was in 8th grade, Biddle danced with a member of the North Penn dance team at her dance studio, The Dance Place. This member expressed her admiration for the team, which had her interested. She wanted to be a part of something at the high school as well, so she figured that dance team would be the perfect fit for her.

“It’s changed my life with all the opportunities it’s given me,” Biddle said. “I’ve been able to meet so many amazing people. I’ve also been able to learn different choreography that I have never done in my dance career. The memories are priceless and I’m eternally grateful.”

Biddle says the most challenging part about being captain is creating the dances for the team. Since many of the girls on the team come from different studios, they all have different techniques and learning styles. It can be challenging for her and the other captains to best showcase everyone’s abilities, but they can always find a way to pull it together and execute an excellent performance.

Through the many performances she has done at North Penn, there is one that sticks out in Biddle’s mind: the homecoming pep rally in her sophomore year. She had been used to dancing with her company at competitions outside of school, so this experience was very unique to her.

“This was the first time I ever performed with the [North Penn] team and it was such an exhilarating feeling,” Biddles stated. “It was different than performing on a stage or in front of a judge at a competition.”

Out of all the different styles of dance, her favorite is contemporary. Contemporary dance is a style in which the dancer combines the genres of modern, jazz, ballet, and hip hop into one dance. Biddle feels that she can tell a story with her technique, which she admires about the dance world.

“I love dancing to those emotional songs and really just placing myself into the music and the choreography,” Biddle explained.

Next year, Biddle will be attending Millersville University and majoring in psychology. Her plans for dance in the future is unknown, but she is thankful for the opportunities dance has given her both in and out of school.