Aledo ISD

Head dance captain representing Aledo as member of all-state dance team

Dance, a lifelong passion

Posted Thursday, February 5, 2026 11:24 pm

By Madilyn Kopec

Arianna Calderon at the TDEA Convention

Arianna Calderon

Arianna Calderon, senior head dance captain of the Bearcats Dance Team (BDT), began dancing at the age of two and competing at age five, but knew it was her passion “ever since stepping into the first space with the other dancers,” she said. “It was so me.”

Her family moved to Texas in 2020, where she continued her dance career at the Foot Works Performing Arts Center, the studio where she competes to this day. Calderon began dance classes at the school during her eighth-grade year, leading her to try out and make the varsity BDT her freshman year of high school. Calderon climbed the ranks of the BDT, becoming an officer in her sophomore and junior years and head dance captain senior year.

Calderon has been selected to represent Aledo ISD as a member of the 2026 Texas Dance Education Association All-State Dance Team. A team of dancers compiled from schools throughout Texas, each school has the opportunity to bring one all-state dancer. There were about 280 other dancers alongside Calderon when she attended the 2026 All-State Convention Jan. 7-9.

She applied for the position and was recommended by her coach to obtain the role. Calderon knew she wanted to be a part of the all-state team for the opportunity to be able to dance with new people, “especially from schools we usually go against in football, to be able to work with them on a teamwork basis rather than going head-to-head.”

During the convention, Calderon, along with her many new teammates, attended masterclasses, workshops, and choreography sessions, working from sun-up to sun-down to perfect their performance on Jan. 9, reigning successful. “It was a lot of fun to go through the process of just working on one dance and specifying the one dance to clean it and get it stage-ready,” Calderon said.

Through the TDEA All-State Dance Team, Calderon learned flexibility, patience, and teamwork. “I really knew that was going to help me because once you get into the bigger world, there's so many other dancers [who learn at different paces] that are going to be alongside you, so having to work with a lot of them at a young age really helped me mentally.”

While dancing, Calderon finds the importance in being able to express her emotions, dance freely, and grow alongside other dancers. She hopes to continue dancing in college next fall, where she will work toward her goal of becoming a forensic scientist while being a convention dance teacher on the side.