Dancing Through Personal Experiences

SPOILER AHEAD for if you haven't watched S14 of SYTYCD, if you have, please continue...

So as I was catching up on season 14- watching episode 14 of So You Think You Can Dance this past week (SPOILER: shoutout to Lex for winning!!), something really stuck out to me while listening to the rehearsal package for Kione and Kiki's contemporary dance choreographed by Travis Wall. Well...instead of trying to explain and "set the stage" for you, I'll let you listen to the rehearsal package for yourself...then I'll tell you what part I want to focus on. Rehearsal package, excuse the weird quality:

After Travis Wall (the choreographer) explains what the piece is going to be about, Kiki (the guy) says, "With this piece you have to tap into your own experiences whether they're harsh, as long as they're honest." Travis then proceeds to ask Kione, "Is there anybody that you can pretend Kiki is?" To which Kione responds, "No, of course." Travis then says, "Ok, lets put ourselves there." Kione later says that she has had a relationship like the one they are portraying and to her, "tapping into that is very heavy for me."

Being a dancer myself, I completely understand what both Kiki and Kione are saying. Everyone has exciting, joyous moments in their lives, but we also have moments that are difficult, draining and just down right exhausting. But, as someone who is a part of the arts, these are some of the most meaningful moments that we use to fuel us. These moments that leave us raw and open, often produce the greatest outcomes and we end up healing through the creating process.

That's what I love about the arts, whether it be musically, dancing, drawing, painting, sculpting- it's a healing process. There are a lot of times when I don't know how to handle a situation or verbally express what I'm saying/feeling, but somehow, I can always find a way to communicate what I need to through dancing...it's always been and always will be there for me. And even though sometimes, like in this situation with Kione, it calls for us to tap into our personal experiences, I think that's when we need to remember what Kiki said, "With this piece you have to tap into your own experiences whether they're harsh, as long as they're honest." Hold on to the last little bit of the statement..."as long as they're honest..." no one said it had to or would be pretty, as long as your honest, nothing else should matter.

The performance that you saw in the rehearsal package is below. It's definitely one of my favorites (and I'm not just saying that because Travis Wall choreographed it!) Don't be afraid of your experiences, find a way to deal with them and let it heal you, and if nothing else...be honest. Until next time lovelies!