I enjoy dancing and I love expressing myself. In high school, I was in the dance club and honed my expressive abilities by trying out all kinds of dance styles, including creative dance, jazz, and contemporary. When I first saw a video of the songleading club CREAM in my third year of high school, I was captivated by their overwhelming level of expressiveness. I had thought songleading was a competition where you competed based on technique, so it was all the more refreshing. I wanted to try something new and experience the fulfillment of dedicating myself to club activities even in college! With these feelings in mind, I decided to join CREAM.

Immediately after joining the club, we focused on basic training, which was a bit confusing for me as I have a strong desire for expressive performance. However, once we started practicing the program for the autumn competition, I realized the joy of improving our performance and bonding with everyone. The atmosphere on the day of the competition was also very different from the quiet atmosphere of creative dance; it was very exciting, and I was nervous, but I felt protected by my teammates, and I was able to perform as I wanted. However, I wasn't satisfied with the ranking. From that point on, I strongly felt that "we have to translate this bond into results."

The 2019 World of Dance Championship held in the United States was a life-changing experience for everyone in our grade. As second-year students, we didn't know what to do to prepare for our first world competition, and despite our best efforts, we couldn't perform to our full potential and were eliminated in the preliminary round. That night, the entire team held a debriefing meeting from 9 pm until past 2 am. However, while the third and fourth-year students were freely sharing their opinions, we remained silent, unable to say anything. Because we had been passive and only thought about ourselves leading up to the competition, we lacked the perspective to see the team as a whole, and we didn't even know what we ourselves were thinking.

The team that won the competition was the one that had qualified in last place. Skills don't change that much in just one day. What changed them must have been their "desire" to win. If we had expressed our opinions and taken action earlier, we might have been able to change the outcome. The frustration of losing, the frustration of not being able to perform to our satisfaction, the frustration of not being able to say anything. It was a moment when all the second-year students keenly felt that things couldn't continue like this.

Since then, I've started paying more attention to my surroundings and clearly expressing my opinions and thoughts in straightforward words. Before, I sometimes thought, "I'll express myself through dance rather than talking, so just watch that!" But as we progressed to improving teamwork and our performances, verbal communication became essential. Talking reduces misunderstandings and allows us to learn about other people's values and broaden our perspectives. I think this is a valuable lesson that will be useful not only in club activities and dance, but in all aspects of life.

Due to the impact of the coronavirus, we were unable to gather and practice during the spring semester, and this year's freshmen haven't had enough experience openly exchanging opinions or relying on others. I believe that it is through such communication that we can convey what it means to "dance with others," and that is what makes CREAM special. Now that we can finally practice together again, I want to make sure I give each of my juniors individual attention and carefully supervise their practice.