Caitlin Hoffman

Kyla Caitlin ( ())

My hero is my dance teacher, Caitlin Hoffman. She is always a big help in my life and she always knows the right things to say to put a smile on your face. She is the one person I look up to because she has helped me with dance and without her I probably wouldn't be where I am today.

Caitlin Hoffman right now is 23 years old and graduated from UNL back in December. She was born in Overland Park, Kansas and moved to Lincoln when she was eight. She is currently an eighth grade math teacher at Mickle Middle School. In addition to teaching, she works at Grandmother's Restaurant as a server and also at a nursery on Sunday mornings. When she is not doing all of that you can usually find her at the Capital City Dance Shack, or as we dancers/cloggers call it CCDS. She has been dancing since she was eight. Her grandmother enrolled her in clogging when she was eight and doesn't plan to stop now. She also dances on the Senior clogging competition team, Tap This. Tap This is the nation's top clogging team, two years running. In addition to teaching at the Dance Shack, She also drives to Fairbury and teaches at a studio there, and this fall she was asked to teach in Crete, Nebraska.

She is very close to a lot of people in her life. Friends and people at the studio are among the ones that she loves spending time with and sharing the happy times. However, the people that she is closest to and who mean the most to her is her family. Her mom is super supportive and supports her in everything she does, especially dance. Her dad always brings a smile to her face. He is one of the funniest people she knows. Her sister, Hannah and brother, Parker are always there for her. Hannah is there for her, especially their passion, dance. Parker is just one for the company and some good laughs. Her family is so Charismatic and loving.

She says what motivates her most is the kids at the dance studio. She loves all of the kids so much because she can see how much they love and enjoy doing dance which is what she loves to see most. Whenever she is having a bad day, the kids sure know how to make her smile. All of the kids at the studio are so supportive of one another and you can see it in their eyes that they really love spending their time together at practice. When she sees the kids having fun and working hard, that really motivates her - whether that motivation is for dance, school, getting things done, or simply motivating herself to be a better person.

Caitlin said she didn't realize that clogging would consume her life and she would be so involved. She never dreamed that she would be on the team that she is on today or the fact that she would be teaching so many kids and at so many different studios. Joel, has been a great mentor for her. She really looks up to him when it comes to Tap - this and choreography ideas. Joel is an amazing dancer and she enjoys working with him. He has pushed her and pushed her and it's definitely paid off. She gives him a lot of credit because without him she wouldn't be where she is today.

If Caitlin wasn't a dancer she would still be doing everything she is doing to this day besides the dancing part. She has a full time job at Mickle Middle School teaching eighth grade math. Ever since she was little she wanted to be a teacher. She enjoys working and learning with kids. They bring so much excitement and always makes her day special/memorable in some way. Even if she wasn't dancing She would still be teaching just maybe not in Nebraska.

Her hero(s) are her parents. Without her parents she wouldn't be where she is today. They have always been there for her and have inspired her to become a better person. They have always taught her to do her best and to push herself in all areas. They have supported her through school, work, and dance. She loves her parents and thanks them for everything.

Clogging has taken her to all kinds of places. Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Hawaii, Tennessee, etc. Clogging competitions are so amazing. You spend all these months preparing four or five routines and you have one shot on stage to give it your all. The adrenaline is insane! She loves traveling and seeing new states. At clogging competitions you see other dancers and teams and meet a lot of new people. These teams are always at the same competitions as you, so it's cool when you finally get to see them, even though it may only be three or four times a year. Traveling together definitely brings all the dancers and even the parents together. It's like we are one big clogging family.

She has danced with the Capital City Cloggers. Within the last three years we have changed our studio name to the Capital City Dance Shack. We now offer clogging, hip hop, and power tap. She loves the studio and everyone that comes with it!!

One specific emotional obstacle that really sticks out to her is when she lost four of her best friends from one of the teams she danced on. They were called the Fab Five and had been dancing with each other for years and years.  They were all inseparable at the studio and outside the studio. They literally were like her sisters, they were always together. As they got older, the commitment level to the studio and dance wasn't there. They began to get more involved in high school activities and high school graduation. She was so sad when they said they were quitting. She felt like they betrayed her and couldn't understand why they didn't love dance as much as she did. She felt like if they left, they wouldn't hang out as much as when they were a part of the studio and would eventually drift apart. It was a really hard time for her. However, things happen for a reason and she moved on to a team called Whiplash and then Tap This.

           She doesn't know if she regrets it or not, but after she graduated high school, she really wanted to move away and go to school. However, if she moved away that meant she couldn't dance. She had to choose between staying in Lincoln and dance or move away and not dance. As you can see she stayed. She truly believes that all things happen for a reason. She is glad she stayed, but she thinks it would have been really cool moving away to a new place and start all over.

           If today was her last day to live she would want to spend it all day with her family. Since she is very busy, she tends to neglect and take for granted family time. She would love to have her dad make her favorite breakfast, french toast, walk her dogs, read outside on the patio with her mom, have a family game night, and then walk and get ice cream with her brother, sister, mom, and dad.

As you can see I think that Caitlin is a very good role model and when I'm older I hope to be as good of a dancer as she is. She is like our team's mom, we love her to death and she helps us through our injuries and our happy moments with our team. I can't wait for this year to roll through with all of our competitions and bonding time.