Page 48 - Spring 2022

From left, Lauren Suggs, Michela Richards, Becca Clower, Malia Horst and Grace Burnett are full of cheer heading into competition.
‘Titan Thrill ’ goes to state Girls make legacy
of artistry, excellence and love
By Joshua Darnell
The exhibit hall of the Convention and Trade Center in Columbus was once the shop floor of a 19th-century iron works. Inside were Confederate Navy cannons and steam engines during the final skirmish of the Civil War.
A century-and-a-half later on a brisk mid-February day, the shop floor’s occupants prepare for an entirely different kind of battle.
“Who needs their eyeballs done?” asked Melissa Darnell, strolling through the ranks of her sequined soldiers, speaking over the thumping bass of a competitor’s number playing out on a ballroom stage nearby. “Hannah is available if anyone needs eyeballs.”
Makeup is judiciously applied so that smiles and cheekbones catch the light in just the right way. Athletic tape is wrapped on ankles that feel the wear of the long season’s end. Inside jokes and encouragingwordsaresharedamongtheranks.
AirPods in ears and eyes locked on a progression of unseen steps, each member of Darnell’s squad prepares themselves and each other in a way that fuses physical readiness with emotional edge. They are athletes, and they are artists. As such, they have learned that success lies at the far end of a path paved with sweat, soreness and soul. They have walked that path together, and it has led them here.
If the young women of the North Oconee High School “Titan Thrill” competitive dance team are nervous, they are not about to let it show.
“I tell them they have already done all the work,” said Darnell, who teaches dance at North Oconee High School and has coached the Titan Thrill since 2015. “You did the work in practice. You’ve done the work all season. This part—the competition—is just the icing on a cake you’ve already baked.”
The work she speaks of delivered the Titan Thrill to
sJoshua Darnell is a freelance writer and retired military officer living in Bogart, Ga. He is married to NOHS dance instructor Melissa Darnell. PAGE 46 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022
Courtesy Melissa Darnell