From sidebar to the sidelines: Attorney Emily briefs us on the appeal of the MLL’s Ohio Dance Machine

So how does an attorney end up on the sidelines with Major League Lacrosse’s Ohio Dance Machine? According to Emily, she and her friend Ashley, also an attorney, “were looking for places where we could dance in Columbus, and we found the Dance Machine online, looked at their videos, and attended some of their tryout clinics.”

Both Emily and Ashley made the season last year as rookies, and last summer Emily said, “I love it. It makes me happy, and I love staying in shape and (dancing is) just something I’ve always done. I was out of it for a few years while I was in law school and when I found the opportunity to be on the Dance Machine, I thought this was perfect, and I get to dance again. I get to perform and the girls on the team are wonderful.”

Speaking of prep classes and clinics, it is that time of year for a lot of leagues. Last summer, Emily briefed UltimateCheerleaders on her cheer and dance background that eventually brought her to be part of the Ohio Machine sidelines.

“Well, I started dancing when I was two and a half,” Emily recalled. “And I started cheering when I was in kindergarten. I cheered all through up until high school, for my school, and I cheered competitively on an All Star Team.”

“I started my Freshman year at Ohio University and cheered there,” Emily continues. “Then I transferred to Ohio State and joined the Dance Team through my senior year of college until I graduated. We danced at basketball games, we did pep rallies during football season, and parades. It was a wonderful experience. We competed at nationals every year, so NDA Collegiate Dance Team Nationals was a competition I’d watched growing up so to actually get to compete in that was a wonderful experience. They keep the alumni involved as well.”

And Emily’s experience in cheer, dance, and tumbling makes it just natural that she makes it just feel natural to be on the sidelines. “I did it my whole life and so you just get comfortable with it,” Emily explained. “There definitely are those times if you have a certain stunt that you’re nervous about or tumbling, but once you step out and you’re in front of people and you’re performing, at least for me the nerves go away. You just sort of turn on to perform.”

Emily is originally from Trenton, Ohio, near Cincinnati, growing up with an older sister who also was in dance and cheer. Asked about her favorite childhood memories, Emily says, “They probably all involve cheer and dance. I loved the town where I grew up. It’s a small town, I knew everyone and I loved that, but I guess all of my favorite memories involve cheering: cheering for my school, being involved in the community, competitions. My senior year in high school was the first year we had a competition team for my school and we did really well and we won state that year. Just exciting things like that.”

But dance is just her sideline now, as Emily is a lawyer, with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University, then to Capital University for her law degree.

“I’m currently a staff attorney for a judge,” Emily said last summer. “It’s wonderful. “It’s been a wonderful learning experience and I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve done a lot of different things: I work on the civil docket, do a lot of writing and research, both of which I really enjoy.” Since last season, Emily accepted a position in October with a law firm downtown doing civil litigation.

Emily, do you think, is there something about dancing since two and a half that helps in law? “Sure,” Emily responds, “I think not only just the aspect of always being busy and it really made me into a hard worker. I think that certainly obviously helps towards law, but it just builds your confidence and I think that’s important and I think it’s really helped grow who I am and contribute to my legal career.”

Perhaps, does even taking dance from a young age, learning steps, help in being able to learn and memorize in Emily’s academic career? “Remembering dances and combinations, I think that does help me in terms of memorization,” Emily answers. “I guess if I could have put some of my law school outlines and choreographed a dance to remember them, that probably would have been a good idea.”

Her co-workers like that Emily has an outlet with the Dance Machine. “They think it’s just really neat,” Emily says. “Actually one of my coworkers came to watch one of the games and she loved it. They knew that I had cheered and danced because I talked about that at work. They ask me about it all the time and think it’s really cool that I’m still involved.”

Asked about her ‘dream job,’ Emily answers, “I had a lot of corporate law classes in law school and I loved it, so I’d really love to work for a company as in-house counsel. My favorite company is the Walt Disney Company, if I could get a job for them.”

Not that Emily is in a hurry to leave central Ohio. “I love Columbus,” Emily says. “I really like it here, and being here all through college and law school, I’ve been here so long now it feels like home. I’m always looking for new restaurants when my family comes up to visit. I still feel like even though I’ve been here for ten years, I know there are still many things to try. During the summer, there’s so many festivals and activities that you can go to, so I always like to try to tell them about those and have those experiences. There’s so much going on in Columbus at all times, there’s always something to do, something neat to try.”

And one of the neat things to try is attending a Major League Lacrosse Ohio Machine game. “It seems like it’s a sport that’s definitely picking up,” Emily adds, “and it’s been really fun being a part of the Dance Machine and seeing how the Ohio Machine team works and how we play, and the games are a lot of fun.

“Lacrosse is really fast paced, and I always say, even if you don’t know anything about lacrosse, you can come watch a game and you can really get into it, have a lot of fun and get really excited.”

And some of the fans really get into the action. “They love it here, and I love seeing the kids and they’ve got their lacrosse gear and their sticks, and they know all the players,” comments Emily. “It’s just really neat to see how excited they get and to see at the end of the games, the players will talk to them and sign autographs. It’s just a really fun atmosphere and I think a really neat experience for the kids that come and love it. And all the fans, too.”

So Emily, how has pro cheer been compared to your expectations? “I didn’t know what to expect because I just sort of found out about the team and came and tried out,” answers Emily. “In terms of the experience I’ve had, it has exceeded my expectations. The girls are wonderful. We’ve just had a lot of fun. Being a part of the team and getting to come out and cheer at these games and the fans are amazing, the crowd gets so into it and it’s just been a really wonderful experience.”

And Ohio lacrosse fans can experience a home game Saturday night at Selby Stadium as the league leading New York Lizards slither into town. The second place Machine are psyched, after clinching a layoff spot last weekend. So go check out the Ohio Machine and the Ohio Dance Machine, no one will object; you be the judge!

Thanks so much to Emily for sharing her experiences during her rookie season of 2014!! She is back for season two with new coach/choreographer Alex Casola.

More photos of Emily on the sidelines are at this link.