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04/09/2020 12:00 AMArianna Zambrano felt a little nervous when she tried out for the East Haven pom-pom team as a freshman. Even though Arianna had been a competitive dancer for a few years, the Yellowjackets performed a dance with which she was unfamiliar. However, once Arianna started to perform, Head Coach Megan Butler knew that she belonged on the squad.
Arianna made the team in her freshman season and went on to lead the Easties as a senior captain this winter. In Butler’s six-year tenure as head coach, Arianna is just one of three athletes who competed for the pom-pom team in all four years of high school.
“Arianna started out as a very shy person. You could tell at her tryout that she was nervous,” Butler says. “Arianna grew every year, and the nervousness that I saw in her would slowly go away the more comfortable she got. Her shyness started to go away by sophomore year, and her dancing got better as she got more comfortable.”
With the exception of senior year, the athletes on the East Haven pom-pom team have to try out every season, even if they were on the team the year before. Arianna made the cut all four years and finished her career by leading the Yellowjackets’ nine-person competition team this season.
Arianna stared dancing at The Dance Connection in East Haven. Arianna’s mother Ines was a dancer when she was younger, so she wanted to follow in her footsteps.
“I always wanted to start dancing. I’ve had the interest since I was little,” says Arianna. “I tried to get my mom to put me into hip-hop or lyrical. Growing up around my mom made me want to dance.”
Arianna did get to focus on the hip-hop and lyrical genres at the outset of her dance career. However, once she made the pom-pom squad, Arianna had to learn an entirely new style of dance that she describes as a “mix of hip-hop and jazz.”
“When I started with pom, I didn’t really know any of the arm motions,” Arianna says. “Most of the arm motions are really sharp. When I was dancing at my other studio, it was more flowy motions. I definitely had to learn how to move my arms and the different techniques of pom. I’ve definitely gotten better over the years with the arms and jumps.”
Prior to her freshman tryout, Arianna had just three days to learn the pom-pom style of dance, but she worked hard to earn her spot on the team. Once she found out that she’d made it, Arianna’s jitters started to dissipate.
“I was so nervous, but when I made the team, it was probably the most excited I’ve ever been,” says Arianna. “When we started practicing, I started talking to all the girls, and they were all so nice. It became a really easy transition.”
As Arianna got acclimated to the team, she kept improving her dance moves and grew more comfortable. Arianna always enjoyed the bus rides to and from each event. Even more so than the competitions, Arianna says those bus rides are what she will remember most from her time with the Yellowjackets.
“We would always bring speakers and would sing and dance,” Arianna says. “No matter how we did at the competition, we would always have each other’s backs, and no one blames anyone for anything. It was just that sense of family that we all had with each other.”
Arianna was the only senior on the pom-pom team this season. In East Haven’s final practice, its athletes surrounded Arianna to give her a chance to lead the group one last time. While most practices are serious, this one was more laid back as Arianna and her teammates reflected on all the fun they’d had while their bond grew strong through the past few years.
Coach Butler says that it was truly a joy to see everything come together for Arianna as she prepared for the final competition of her career.
“Arianna was very comfortable with the team and with the girls. It was nice to see them all having fun,” Butler says. “Usually, everything is structured, and that was the first time I really saw Arianna open up and enjoy herself and not be as nervous. Going into our last competition, she just stepped up and became someone I’ve never seen before.”
Arianna plans on attending UConn after she graduates from East Haven. While she doesn’t plan to continue dancing in college, Arianna says that she’s experienced an abundance of positive memories during her high school career.
“It’s really important to me. Even though I’m probably not going to continue in college, it really shaped me to be who I am,” says Arianna. “I met a lot of new people. I figured out something I’d like to do for fun. I’m really happy that I did it.”
Even though Arianna has competed in her last meet with East Haven, Coach Butler isn’t going to forget her any time soon. Butler says that when you watch Arianna dance, it’s unforgettable.
“Arianna is somebody that you have to remember,” says Butler. “It’s the way she dances, it’s the way she has a smile on her face. She’s just a memorable person.”