The Ties That Bind

in Featured Articles by Kevin Railsback — January 10, 2010 at 7:56 pm | 0 comments

After more than a year of filming, I’ve decided that there are two types of Spirits. Those that will always be Spirits no matter where life takes them and those that were once on the CR Spirits team.

One such “Spirit for Life” came into the studio this past Wednesday with a new addition to her family. Little Jacob Wayne DeBoer was oooh’ed and ahhh’ed over by all the Spirits.

It was watching the Spirits as they came in for practice and saw Carla that made me realize that this team transcends dance. Lifelong connections are made that time and distance cannot fade. Carla will always be a Spirit whether she decides to come back to the team or not. I know she misses the team terribly and they miss her as well.

I think it’s one of the reasons that Tiffany and the Spirits have been so successful over the years and why even bigger things are looming on the horizon for them.

I do know that Tiffany’s personality is infectious. You can’t help but have a great time at practice. I’ve seen girls come in not feeling well or upset about this or that. But after a short time of dancing you can see that’s all been erased. It may still be waiting for them when they leave for the night but for those few hours, they’re whisked away to a place where none of that matters for the moment.

But how is that different than other dance studios? Quite a lot of the Spirits have dance on other teams yet the Spirits is where they have laid down their roots.

Whatever it is, it’s amazing sometimes to watch the transitions as the night evolves.

There is certainly something special in the air when it comes to the CR Spirits. If you’re lucky enough to be enveloped by it you’ve become a part of something that will stay with you the rest of your life. And that, is very powerful stuff.

Don’t believe me, well look at the picture below. It even makes Emily smile!

I think these pictures speak for themselves. There’s a connection here that goes way beyond dancing.

I hope I’ve breathed in a little of whatever it is in the air because the Spirits will always be a part of me. Whether it’s something as simple as running into Jes at Hy-Vee or egging on Michelle cause I’m way ahead of her in Mafia Wars. I feel like I’m in a small way a part of something larger than myself. I can never be a Spirit so I’ll never have that connection that some of them have, but just knowing a little of that magic rubbed off on me brings a smile to my face.

Tags: Cedar Rapids CR Spirits Dance Team Escape to the Music featured Iowa Professional Dance Team Routine Tiffany