How Dance Helped Shape Who I Am

Over the years I have danced for many reasons, not just because I enjoy it, but because I need it.

I have been dancing since I was four years old-- through the years I have done tap, ballet, jazz, Irish-step, pointe, and lyrical/modern. I have enjoyed them all and each has brought a new element into my life. Dancing doesn’t just serve as a fun activity or a place to hang out with friends, though it can be those things, it is so much more.

I fell in love with it because it makes me feel powerful. I feel bold, I feel creative, and I feel free. It’s like I can do anything I want and no one can judge me... I’m expressing myself in a different language that all comes from the heart.

I know everyone says it’s a passion of theirs and I would agree, but for me, it has been so for a more personal reason. It has been an outlet for me whenever I need to escape somewhere. If I had a bad day at school, got my heart broken, or got into a fight with a friend-- I have a way to turn that emotion into art. I can use that sadness, anger, and frustration to dance with everything I have inside of me.

I did this one lyrical number a few years ago to a song called “Read All About It” by Emeli Sandé. I remember so vividly hoping that my emotions would shine through when I danced to that song, almost hoping I’d have some misery in me to help me play the part. Dancing is like acting in a way... It’s putting on a show, it’s being every single part of any given emotion all at once. It can be overwhelming, scary, and hard to come back to reality sometimes, but that’s what makes it so powerful.

The love I have for dance is one that won’t ever fade. It has been there for me when no one else has and it’s an intensity that can’t and won’t ever die down.

Each dance is a new story to be told and a new memory waiting to be remembered. Some of them I will always hold near and dear to my heart.

Dance has helped me be who I am today. I wouldn’t have gotten through some sadder moments, have smiled as many times, or have developed my love for music as much as I have if it wasn’t ever a part of my life.

Who cares if you aren’t any good at it? I encourage everyone to dance if they ever want to escape to a new part of life.

I must end with the wise words of Miss Lee Ann Womack, “When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” And I honestly hope you choose to dance, it’s truly life changing.