Senior drill team lieutenant Tawnya Jones auditioned and made the 73rd line of the Tyler Junior College Apache Belles. Jones will attend TJC next fall and begin Apache Belle training this July.

“I was [filled with] tears of joy and excitement,” Jones said. “The best feeling was being picked for the Apache Belles because I knew that my dreams were finally coming true and that all my hard work and hours spent dancing had paid off.”

The Apache Belle audition is a two-day process. The first day is a preliminary round to showcase each girl’s skills. If the girls make it past the preliminaries, then they learn the four dance combos for the tryout. There is also an interview, circuit workout, introduction and improvisational dancing across the floor. The second day is the official dance tryout.

“The most challenging part of the audition process was the circuit workout,” Jones said. “We had to do a workout that included ten different circuits and did the whole thing twice. The hardest part was trying to keep a positive state of mind and to keep going when your body is screaming at you to stop.”

After finishing the dance tryout, Jones and the other girls auditioning were brought into the Belle studio at TJC to open their letters that stated whether they made it or not.

“Being picked for Apache Belles was the most amazing feeling I have ever felt,” Jones said. “I was full of happiness and love because I knew that I was about to start the most amazing journey in my life that is full of love and sisterhood.”