The gymnasium fell to a whisper as the first set of dancers, English teacher Elaine Lawrence and her professional dance partner Edgar Tarango, took their places. It was time to recall on all that practice, and put on a show for the student body. This was only part of Lawrence’s experience in Dancing with the Stars: Teacher Edition.

“I was nervous about performing in front of the student body,” Lawrence said. “(But) I was glad that I was first to perform so that I could stop worrying.”

Lawrence said fellow English teacher Joni Bomar was a judge and invited Lawrence to participate.

“I spent several weeks preparing by going to dance rehearsals,” Lawrence said. “The practice was fun because the dance instructor (was) so talented, encouraging, and easy to follow.”

Although Lawrence said she enjoyed herself, she experienced some challenges as well.

“The stressful part was (having to) remember where in the dance I was (so I could) do dance movements on my own,” Lawrence said. “I was (also) nervous about performing in front of the student body.”

According to Lawrence, she enjoyed the performance, rehearsals and overall experience.