Senior Lauren Martinez is the emotional dancer. Her feelings play out across her face and come alive as she moves. For her sister, Kayla, a sophomore, technique is her strength and her youngest sister, 10-year-old Abby, combines both styles in her dancing. Since they were toddlers, each of the Martinez sisters has pursued dance as a way to express themselves.

“I just like the idea of dancing and letting everything go,” Kayla said. “When I’m having a bad day, I can dance.”

Between competitions and performances, dance has become a key bonding aspect for the Martinez family. During competition season, Lauren, Kayla and Abby rely on their parents Terry and Holly to help keep them sane and on schedule. Both parents have been there to help put rhinestones on costumes and deal with makeup malfunctions. Kayla has described her father as a “dance dad” because of the seriousness he puts into supporting his daughters.

“There’s a number of friends and a group of us fathers who are ‘dance dads,’” Terry said. “We are the ones that go to every contest and competition. Any father will do whatever they need to do. I couldn’t imagine being anything different.”

Dance wasn’t always the central activity in the lives of the Martinez sisters, however. As children, Lauren, Kayla and Abby all started with soccer and softball, but gradually shifted to dancing. Because Lauren was the first of the sisters to pursue dance, she played a part in Kayla and Abby’s decision to dance.

“Kayla, when she first decided, was on the fence and seeing me do it made her want to try it,” Lauren said. “Abby just loved seeing me on stage and wanted to do it.”

While each sister started dancing noncompetitively in a studio, the decision to pursue competition dance was something that Lauren and Kayla decided on together when Lauren was in sixth grade and Kayla was in fourth. Lauren was influenced to make this decision when she saw many of her dance friends having fun through competitive dance, but she needed a little push from Kayla before diving into the glitz and glamour of competition. After seeing her sisters’ passion for competing on stage, Abby joined in at age five.

“We spend a lot of time together at competitions and with dance, we can be more honest with each other,” Lauren said. “If something goes wrong, there’s always dance to bring us together.”

As the Martinez girls have improved in their dancing abilities, Terry and Holly have enjoyed watching their daughters grow while learning important life lessons. Terry believes that his daughters are more well-rounded individuals because of their appreciation for the arts and he hopes that they will continue to apply the lessons they have learned regardless of if they pursue dance in the future.

“I want them to take the confidence, ability to pay attention to detail, teamwork and commitment and I want them to take those aspects and continue them in their lives,” Terry said.