Dancers weigh in on trip to Vegas

Senior Jessie Shaw and freshman Danielle Gelin attended the JAMZ nationals, spending five days in Las Vegas last week. 

“When we weren’t competing we went snow-tubing. There’s this mountain probably an hour away and it’s covered in snow and that was really fun,” Shaw said. “And then mainly we just walked on the strip and went to different restaurants.”

Gelin, however, has strong feelings about Vegas.

“Vegas isn’t kid-friendly to begin with, so I’m going to say there’s only certain parts that I like. I love the architecture and that stuff especially the Bellagio, the fountains, Planet Hollywood and Caesars Palace,” Gelin said. “The bad thing is you have to get off the street at a certain time or it gets really crazy. Oh and the smoke is awful. It’s just smoking and gambling is the only thing that they do, and it’s a bunch of old people too.”

Gelin also faced some struggles on her flight home as the girls are not allowed to check the bags with their costumes in them.

“When I was coming back my suitcase was apparently too full to fit in the overhead compartment,” Gelin said. “They told me I had to put it under the plane and I was getting really worried cause it’s not just a couple of costumes, it’ s worth thousands of dollars. Luckily my friend’s mom had an extra bag, so we put the costumes in there.”

Shaw said that overall she enjoyed the time in Vegas.

“I love it. It’s really crowded and the air’s really dry up there,” Shaw said. “It’s a lot different from Florida, and it’s a lot harder to breathe. Other than that, it’s really fun.”

By Katie Perez