DREAMERCAST: Excel Seniors Season 16

Listen in as Maggie, Keyra and Gaby talk about their Street of Dreams favorites, have some laughs and leave an inspiring message to our dreamers

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hey, welcome everyone to April 2026 and the Dreamercast podcast. This is your host, Miss Carly, and I'm happy you are all here and listening. I hope you all feel inspired, loved, and ready for a great lesson today. I want to welcome my three guests today, which are our three Excel seniors. I have Miss Maggie Londie. Hi, it's Maggie. Hi, Maggie. Miss Gabby Pizzynski. Hi, it's Gabby. Miss Kira Thompson. Hi, it's Kira. It's so great to have you all here. And I know so many dreamers and parents will be excited to listen to your guys' three stories and the little fun facts that we're about to dive into. No pressure. Here we go. Okay, so let's get the fun facts going, which Miss Carly loves a good fun fact. Yes. Let's start with the fact facts. Okay. How many years have you been at Street of Dreams? And how many years have you been competing? I've been at Street of Dreams for 10 years and I've been competing for seven. I have been on Street of Dreams for 14 years and I've been competing for 14 years. Um I've been at Street of Dreams for 13 years and I've been competing for 11. Wow, Zah. That's a lot. Love it though. Yeah, like talk about legacy. Here we go. All right. So talk to me about what has been one of your main lessons that you have learned, whether it was in the classroom, at a convention, at a competition, a one-on-one time that you're gonna carry with you in the future. I feel like throughout literally everything rehearsal, audition, competition, convention, I feel like I learned about my future and like how to present myself, but I also learned how to like work with people in a team and like teamwork and yeah. Um I've learned a lot about just really like showing up for each other and accountability and doing everything for each other and for your team, especially because like it is so important that we work together and just like really doing it for each other and not just yourself. Yeah. Doing it for each other and not just for each other. I feel like definitely like being open to like new people and stuff and just welcoming new people is just like a lesson. Yeah, absolutely. And tell me about what is your favorite part of the season at Street of Dreams. My favorite part of Street of Dreams and starting a new season, I feel like is definitely competition season. I think we get super like close and like connected during it, and all of our hard work like pays off, and that like first competition out feels so good to just show everything we've been working on for literally like the past year. Yeah. Um, I agree. I definitely think like competing and like getting out there for everybody, it's like really when we start getting closer as a team and like you might become friends with people you don't normally see or get to be with during rehearsals and everything. Yeah, so I think just competing is really like when we have the most fun and we get closer. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I would say competitions, especially like conventions. We always have so much fun with each other, like good laughs. It's always a great time. Yeah. And all right, here we go. Flashback. Or current, like it could be current. What was your favorite routine you've ever been in, whether it was recital or competition? I would say Beach Girls, which was my first dance ever competing when I was younger. And I definitely think it was just so fun for me since it was like so new, and I feel like that's where I really like fell in love with dance. So yeah, it was the most fun for me. Yeah. I definitely loved Spice Girls, my first year of Excel. I just remember it being so new and being with so many people and just having so much fun on stage with everybody. Like that was a nationals year, and it was just like really fun getting to see everybody. And I think definitely like more currently, I think last year, like Sweet Child of Mine definitely is an important, like, was such a great dance because it was just with so many of my best friends that are still on the team or have graduated. Yeah, I definitely think uh the Aaron Dancing was probably my favorite dance like ever. We just had so much fun doing it, even though like we wanted it a week before comp, but it's okay. That is the Carly recipe, everybody. Okay, all right. I like I like fresh and new. Okay, that dance is so good though. Every special loved it. That was a special dance. The fresh dance always makes it more fun. Yeah. Me and Maggie bugged it. And then definitely current. I think Scotland this year was so fun. Well, great fun. I love that dance. I love that dance. Sarah Bernie for sure. Yes, absolutely. Maggie was dancing. Those rehearsals are always so fun. Yeah, like yeah, absolutely. All right. Now, what was your favorite recital in all the years you've been here? My favorite recital, I would I think it's Waka because we just did so many like different dance, like it was just different. Like we had like props, and like it was like the first time a recital ever did that. So I feel like I just had a lot of fun. Yeah. Um, I remember having a lot of fun as the through the years, like kind of time recital. Cause I just remember like having the opening and just having like so much fun on stage with everybody. Yeah. Love that. Yeah, no, no. Yeah. I would say greatest showman, just because I feel like those costumes are so memorable, and I just like remember that recital like so very clearly. Yes. I remember standing off on my little sweet spot, stage right and watching Rochelle in the opening piece with Excel in the opening number. And I could still play that in my head, and I still remember that feeling. So that was iconic to me for sure. Yes. Yeah, that was a great recital book. Yes, greatest showman, great. Yes. All right. Let's talk about who has been a teacher or an educator at Street of Dreams or in the Street of Dreams timeline here that has impacted your life. And tell me why. I mine would be Miss Meg because I feel like she has just been like honestly, like the greatest leader and role model. I feel like she definitely like doesn't just care about us as dancers and like our technique and all of that. It's more about like the human side of us and like who we are. And I definitely think like she's played a big impact on me. I also think Miss Justine has always been there for me no matter what. And I feel like I could go to her for anything. So those are my top. Shout out, yeah, Miha. Yep, absolutely. Yes. Um, I think all the teachers have really like all given something like special like to me. I think Meg is definitely a big part, like not only in our rehearsals, making sure our dances look good, but also just like caring about us and what we do. And I also think Kara has been really great. Like, I didn't always love ballet as a kid, and I remember telling my mom when I was younger, like because I remembered Kara from like when she was on the team with us, like those first couple years. Yeah. And I would always tell my mom when I was younger when Kara would come sub that I only liked going to ballet when Kara's on. So like getting to have her every week now is so special because she was the only time I ever liked taking ballet when I was a kid. Agreed. I would say Miss Tristine, just because I started at Street Dreams with her and now I'm ending it with her. So it's like a very full circle moment with her. She's been there with me, like watched me grown up, so that's been great. And then Miss Carly, obviously, you've just taught me like so much of like how to be a great person. And you're so sick. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. All right, talking about impact. Tell me about an alumni dancer from Street of Drinks that has also impacted you, and tell me why. Mine would be Sophia Farisi because we just grew up together so much, and like she was the first, I feel like one of the first girls to really like welcome me in as being like the youngest compared to all of them. And it was my first year ever doing it, so it was definitely like new. I also want to give a shout out to my friend Izzy. She's literally my best friend, and like even though we found each other like later on Excel, and like in the last two years, like I found like a friendship that I will literally have forever, and our moms will have forever. So it's like perfect. For sure. Go ahead, Maggie. I definitely think the first one that came into mind is also Sophia. She is just my absolute best friend. I talked to her every day. I've talked to her this morning, I talked to her yesterday, I talked to her every day. And she's just like my best friend, and I love seeing her and hearing from her. And I also will always remember Shelby, like my first couple years. She was one of those older girls that definitely when I was like 10 or like 11 on the team and didn't really know anyone, that would always like talk to us and help us. And I think that she was always a great, like, big sister to have on the team when I was little. Yeah. Sophia and definitely Shelby have that big sister like aura about them. Like they just want to bring you in and love you and make you feel seen, like you're a part of the team no matter who you are. I love that. Go ahead, Gabby. I would definitely say Kennedy because my first here on the ball, she helped out so much. She was always there, like every rehearsal, and she was such a big sister to all of us. Like, I remember we would like sit for snack time and she would like literally share every all of her food with us. It was like she'd like be like asking us like what's happening in our lives always. And then Sarah and Addie last year, they're just such great role models, like to look up to, and they call it. Yes, it I couldn't agree more with everybody's answers for sure. Yes. Okay. So I'll try not to cry, but tell me one thing that you're definitely going to miss once you graduate from Street of Dreams. Mine will for sure be just like the environment here. Like I couldn't imagine myself not coming into the environment with the people and just knowing that every Saturday morning I get to come here and spend my time here. It's just like I literally made my best friends through dance, and it's like literally family to me. I spend more time here than at my own house. And I like love it though, so it's definitely gonna be a big thing. It's literally the second home to me.

unknown 10:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Um, I think definitely like the people, like my friends, I'll still see them, but it won't be the same as like having that routine of coming here every week on the same days and seeing the same people. And I think just like the people here is what's made it so special all these years and like why I've stayed so long. And I just like appreciate everybody here and I think I'll miss them the most and seeing them. Yeah, I would also say the people I mean after like a bad day at school, or like I know I can always come back here. And I have like so many friends here that will be there to like help me through any bad day I'm having. So yeah, I agree. Dance friends are definitely like different compared to school friends. I'll always say that. I feel like the relationships are like just different, like you're just like closer to each other. Yeah, it's like we share a passion of something so special. So it's like you want it just as bad as they want it. We're here for the same reasons, whether it's crazy Saturday or oh, you know, a Wednesday where it's comp season, it's like that bond is so hard to find. Not that it's not findable, but dance like I just think about you know my relationship with Meg or my relationship with Rochelle. Like this is 21 years of friendship and and being by each other's side because we share the one thing. We love it. Yes. All right. What's your next chapter after you graduate? Well, I'm going to the University of Alabama to study sports marketing. So I definitely wanted to go in like advertisement for sports. I mean, I've always had a passion for that, yeah, other than dance, but I definitely do want to keep up with dance in like some sense. I know I'm not gonna do a team there, but whether it's coming back here when I do come back, even though I am far, I definitely do want to come back and dance or teach or do something. Absolutely. Yeah. My next plans are to go to college and I'm planning on committing to Grand Valley, Michigan. I'm planning on ma majoring in business in sales. I definitely want to dance in my future, so I definitely want to like whether it's coming back to the studio or doing a club at college, which Grand Valley's pretty good at hip hop. So maybe I don't know. But definitely gonna see like just how it plays out because I feel like everything will happen for a reason. Absolutely. Go ahead, Maggie. I definitely plan on going to a college. I've been pretty between UW Madison in Wisconsin and Purdue. I've been like my main two. I'm not sure like exactly what I'm gonna be doing there, but I think I will definitely find some sort of dance, whether it's like a club or anything, because I just can't see myself leaving it quite yet. No, no, it's not really any of you for sure. All right, so last message give a message to our current dreamers, whether they're just starting their competition journey, whether they're just starting their first class here, whether it's going they're going into their senior year next year, leave a message to our dreamers, your footprint. What would you say to them? I would say that it's very everyone says this, but I think you really need to like soak up the time you have while you're in it. You don't know how like fast time goes. I feel like I was just a five-year-old doing competition dance and like thinking I had so much time, but now I'm almost 18 and like the time's gone on the team. I would literally do anything to be the freshman on Excel, like loving dance and like just like having like the strongest passion for it right now. Like I would do anything to be in their footsteps, so it definitely goes by faster than you think, and just to like have fun with it, and like even when you want to take it so serious, just remember like it's something you love and it's like a passion. Yeah. I think as like cliche as it is, that having fun is really like that important. I think it's never really gonna be as serious as you think it is. Like, even if you don't point your toes or you don't like hit your skill on stage, like you're gonna have fun with it and you're gonna remember all of that, and really to enjoy like the people and the memories and everything that you learn from here. I think that it's important for everybody to really do what they want and not to go for and do everything that they want to do because you don't want to get to the end of your dance and have any regrets and wish that you could have done something differently or wish that you would have gone for something that you never did. Yeah, and I think just really go for everything you want to do, do everything you want to do. Everything you want to do. That is the quote. Yes, come on. All right, Gabby, go ahead. Um, I would say don't forget to celebrate like your success and like your hard work because, like Maggie said, like there is a lot of pressure on you, and sometimes you forget to just like hatch on and and take that all in. So you and you always have people to like help celebrate your success, like while there's getting a new trick or getting into a dance you want it, like there's always like people there and to help you. Yeah. Well, I thank you girls for your time. Thank you, everybody who is listening. Here is to the rest of a successful season 16 with all of you. Love you, and this is the Dreamercast.