¨Giving up is not an option. You have to work hard and strive to be the best you can be. It is the only way you will get better.¨ On the first day of class every year this is the very first thing that my inspiration says to us. Kristine Brockhoff has been a great mentor and an outstanding role model for girls of all ages for many years. She has been a dance teacher at the New Prague Dance Company for over 25 years and still continues to teach there for many hours a night. Every day after she is done working as a waitress, she hurries over to the dance studio to start her classes for the day. She teaches a variety of different dance styles, but she does not just teach these girls how to dance. She helps them learn and become better dancers. Not only has she impacted the lives of many young girls but she has also greatly impacted my life. Kris has impacted my life and the lives of so many young dancers because she is hardworking, determined, and caring.

Kristine Brockhoff impacts the lives of many dancers because she is hardworking. In class Kris is fun but strict. She makes the classes fun so that we, the dancers, want to be there and want to learn the dances but she does it in a way where she can accomplish her goals. To start out the two hour class, Kris begins with five minutes of warm ups and stretches so we do not injure ourselves by pulling a muscle. She turns on the music at a low volume at first so we can talk to each other for a short period of time before we start learning new choreography. She only allows five minutes for stretching so we can get to work on our dances right away and have as much time as we can get. Not only does Kris use up as much of the class time as possible to put the masterpieces together but she also uses her own personal time to create new combinations that she choreographs into the routines. Kris is the type of person who sleeps, eats, and breathes dance and she does it for her dancers. She takes time at home to go through each of her classes and finds new tricks and steps to add in along with the music. She also spends extra hours in the studio by herself going over all of the routines that she teaches trying to piece things together so she can teach them to us the next time she has us in class. By using up as much time as possible in class and taking personal time to work on the dances, Kris is showing all dancers what hard work looks like.
With hard work comes success, but hard work is not the only thing that factors into that. Determination also plays a huge huge part in success. Kris is not only a hardworking individual but also a very determined teacher. No matter how difficult the song is or how many girls are in her  class, Kris always finds a way to get everything finished in time and make it look good. When she first chooses a song at the beginning of the year, she finds one she likes and one that has a good beat to choreograph a dance to. After she makes her final decision, she sticks with it. She never second guesses herself and no matter how difficult it turns out to be, she works hard and always has the dances done by the time competitions and recitals come around. By staying extra hours in the studio and using her own personal time Kris is showing that she is hardworking but also determined. Staying in the studio extra hours is showing that she is determined because she isn’t required to stay after hours. She chooses to do so because she knows that it will help classes go by a lot smoother and it will make things easier when she is trying to teach us the dances. Things are a lot easier when you are prepared. Kris is known to be determined person because she is always on time and prepared.

Kris looks like a very hardworking person and that fools a lot of people because everyone always thinks that she is going to be rude and cold but in reality, Kris is the most caring person I know. She pushes every single one of her dancers to their limits and that makes her seem like a strict person but she is doing it for us. She knows how happy we are when we win awards for our dances and she knows how great it feels to accomplish something. She is proud to have us as her dancers and she shows us that by pushing us so hard. At the end of each class we all feel dead and worn out but that is a part of what makes us better dancers. Kris wants the best for us and she shows us that by not letting us give up. We know that as soon as we walk into the studio, turning around and walking away is not an option. Kris also shows us that she cares by never letting her dancers give up. When she is teaching us a new combination, whether it be turns, leaps, or tap routines, she doesn’t let us stop until we get it down. If we need her to explain it or show it to us she does. She shows us how it is supposed to look and makes us practice it until we have it down perfectly. After we all get it down and have the right timing, it is time to learn the next combination.

Kris shows that she is hardworking, determined, and caring because she does everything she can to make the classes fun but she does it in a way where she can also get things done. She also proves that she only wants the best for her dancers. Kris has taught me that if I work as hard as I can, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. She has also taught me that caring for people and caring about something you love so much can leave a huge impact on the lives of so many people who look up to you. Kris has influenced so many peoples’ lives by caring for her dancers, committing to her passion for teaching dance, and never letting her dancers give up. Do you have a person like Kris in your life?