Chase is a track runner, competitive dancer, and enthusiastic EXPLO student. He loves the sense of freedom and agency that he experiences in all three of these venues.
I run track competitively. I am a long distance runner so I do 5Ks usually. I ran my first one when I was nine years old for my school’s charity. I also dance competitively 14 hours a week. I won a bunch of titles in a competition in Boston recently so I’m going to Orlando after EXPLO for the Dance Awards. I started dancing when I was six years old, so this is my seventh year dancing and I got really serious about it two years ago.
I like running track and dancing because I like to stay active. It helps me get some energy out. I think they’re important to keeping some balance in my life. It’s an exciting activity versus the academics of school. It makes my life more fun! The most fun thing about track is that you can run as fast as you can and no one cares. It’s just you controlling you. Dancing is similar because it’s just free movement and it’s not really up to anyone else — unless it’s choreographed. You can really do what you want. I need to get good grades and do sports all the time, so having that freedom is nice.
I feel like I get that same freedom here at EXPLO. It is still structured, but you get to choose what you want to do. I really like my classes. I’m taking Creativity Challenges, Cooking Challenges, and Dodgeball. I learned a lot of time management in cooking. Creativity Challenges has taught me that you can take things that you would never expect and make them into a beautiful piece of artwork.
Ally Marcino