When something pushes you to your breaking point, it’s difficult to continue participating in whatever it is. Sophomore Ashton Davis has been pushed on the dance stage to be the best she can, ever since her first dance class when she was 2 years old.

“[I dance] because I love it, it keeps me in shape, and it’s very fun,” Davis said.

She danced at Washington Dance Studio in Manhattan until seventh grade, when she joined Dance Factory out of Topeka. Dance Factory is a successful studio and she is the only dancer at Manhattan High who dances for them. Part of this is probably attributed to the fact that it is based out of Topeka, making the trip hard for anyone from Manhattan, but Davis doesn’t let this stop her. Distance is no obstacle on the way to doing what she loves.

In addition to being on Dance Factory, Davis is also a part of the Manhattan High dance team, adding to her true love for dance. She often takes part in some sort of dance activity seven days of the week. Davis finds a way to put dance in her everyday life. Most days after school she heads to Topeka to go to dance practice and gets back to Manhattan late at night. On Fridays, she goes to the basketball or football games to dance. In some cases, she goes straight to Topeka after games to get ready for competition weekend.

With all the practice that the dancers do for Dance Factory  on top of their school teams, they are often successful in many of the competitions that they attend. The most recent competition being on Jan. 6.

Davis’s studio attended a regional dance competition, Tremaine. This took place in Kansas City where around 20-30 studios in attendance each with several dances to perform. Dance Factory competed hard all throughout the competition and came out on top.

“It went really good,” Davis said. “We won first place overall and got into the faculty show.”

Every weekend during competition season, she goes and competes anywhere from Kansas City to other states,  making her dedication to dance apparent.

Aside from all the competitions with Dance Factory, Davis still finds time to compete with the Manhattan High dance team. Back on Oct. 8, she attended a competition at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with the Manhattan High dance team. Prior to competing at night, the dance team spent the day with Classy Cats, where they learned different tips and pointers from them. They then performed for the K-State band directors and were given many suggestions on how they could improve and make their routines better. The band, including the dance team, ended up winning first place in the competition.

Davis’s dedication to dance leaves her busy all the time, yet somehow she still finds the time for school, friends and family. Davis gets to spend her days doing the thing she loves most even if it means making some sacrifices. Dance for Davis is truly not just a phase; it’s a lifestyle.