Though the statement “practice makes perfect” may be overused, more than a little truth can be derived from it: when hours of hard work are poured into something, results are sure to follow. Oak Park High School dance team senior captain Lila Winsick can attest to this fact; over the past four years, her dedication to the team has not only improved her dance ability, but also shaped her into a strong leader.
Winsick’s road to captaincy wasn’t easy by any means. Though she began dancing at a young age, she stopped for a long period of time, eventually starting back up in eighth grade.
“In eighth grade I was terrible, to be honest,” Winsick said. “I was not very good. I actually didn’t make it on my freshman year, and then I retried again my sophomore year and ended up making it on the team. I actually started as an alternate, and then I slowly progressed, and eventually this year I was able to get captain.”
One of the primary factors as to why dancing for OPHS was so difficult at first was Winsick’s unfamiliarity with hip-hop, which is the primary style the dance team employs.
“When I first started dancing, I did a lot more, ballet, contemporary, jazz,” Winsick said. “I was only introduced to hip hop during my high school experience. It was super weird at first. I was like, not good at it at all, and couldn’t pick it up really well.”
But Winsick was–and still is–committed to her craft. Throughout her freshman and sophomore years, she danced both in school and at a studio, committing an immense amount of time to the sport.
“I was at a studio in Westlake and the combined hours between the dance team and the studio was probably around like 25 hours [a week], and then I did a lot of competitions,” Winsick said. “Then I eventually got better: I was able to pick up choreo better and become more of a leader on the team.”
By her junior year, when the dance team switched to competition (and thus, a more rigorous schedule), Winsick was ready to give it her all.
“Going into the harder schedule, I ended up having to quit my old dance studio team, but honestly, I love competing and I love the stuff we do now,” Winsick said. “And even though we have practice at 6:45 AM, it’s so worth it.”
While early morning practices may be tiring, the long hours spent together have forged a family within the team that is irreplicable.
“All of us are very close. We’re all very playful with each other and there’s never really been drama on our team,” Winsick said. “You find your [specific] friends, but as a whole, we’re all close and we can all joke around and have fun together.”
This close bond also enables Winsick to act as an intermediary of sorts between dancer and coach: to her, this is her most important job as captain.
“Just being there to mend the relationship between the dancers and our coach,” Winsick said, when asked what her priority as a leader is. “Being able to be a voice for our dancers, I feel is very important, because I understand the point of view of not being able to talk to the coach. I always want to be someone that can help them, talk to them, help fix relationships on the dance team or help with any kind of worries that are going on.”
Now, Winsick will be honored during the team’s senior night on Thursday, Oct. 30. She’s feeling bittersweet in the leadup to the event.
“I’m excited [for senior night],” Winsick said. “I’m a little sad. It’s weird that it’s senior year, but I’m really excited, and I feel like it’s been a long time coming, which is fun.”
To the younger members of the team who look up to Winsick, she echoes the words she’s heard during the last four years.
“As our coach always says, hard work and dedication will get you where you need to go.”
