My parents first enrolled me in my first ballet class when I was 3 years old. They knew this was an activity I was interested in because at my cousins dance recital, I stood up and ran down the aisle of the theater and tried to jump on stage to join the dancers! Since then, I’ve been doing nothing else other than dance. I would spend six days a week and almost 4 hours a day in the studio, continuously training to gain strength and endurance. I was never into any other sport other than dance. It was truly my life.
Growing up I would often get asked, “Why do you dance?” It’s easy to say that it’s a fun way to keep in shape, but dance has always been something more to me. Dance saved me; it brings me into a brighter place, when I feel that my life is in darkness. I was always known as the “quiet girl." I was never that outgoing and always shy. I hid most of my inner feelings inside so never knew how to express them. Dance has shaped me into a better person. I don’t know where or who I would be without it.
Dancing is primarily telling a story without using words. Whenever I’m performing, I want to tell my story. Being someone who has never been able to speak up, dancing was perfect for me. Most people do not get to meet the real me until I dance. It always amazed me how I could never stand up in front of group of people and talk, but I could get up on stage and dance my heart out.
When I turned 13, I decided to turn my room into my own little dance studio so that I could practice and free myself from any burdens in my life. I got a ballet barre for Christmas that stands in my room for me to warm up, and the free hours when I’m not at my real studio, I’m at home dancing for my own freedom. Growing up, I felt like I was cursed because even personal things going on in my life, things that I needed to get off my shoulders, I never was able to escape and talk to anyone about them. Whenever I was upset, angry, confused, or even just overjoyed, I would go in my room, turn up the music and tune out the world.
Dance made ME a stronger person. There were multiple times in my life where I almost quit dance because it became a lot to handle sometimes. But, while I contemplated fleeing from the dancer life, I remembered why I dance in the first place. I dance to free myself and to escape. Junior year of high school I went through a very dark point in my life. I felt as if I had no one to talk to about it, so I took my emotions and I put them into a full-length dance. I choreographed a piece based on the thoughts that were tangled in my head. Doing this, gave me a sense of peace. No matter what, dance will always be a part of my life. Even though I don’t dance as much as I used to, I still continue to dance at home and occasionally at Centenary College.
Being a dancer has shaped me into an overall better person. I walk a little taller, and I carry myself with grace because of the countless days in ballet. I also watch the way I eat, and try to live a healthy lifestyle. Dance has really helped me to be in tune with my body physically and emotionally. I could never see myself playing any other sport besides dance. I don’t think that I have the aggressive drive to play other sports. I was born to be a dancer.
The most important thing that dance has taught me is that I need to believe in myself. Dance can be very competitive, but just believing in yourself can take you places. Dancers can be perfectly trained, but without confidence, they won’t shine. Personality in performance is everything. The emotion portrayed on stage when dancing will be spread to the audience, whatever you feel, they will feel.
Every dancer has a story (some longer than others) ,but every story comes from the heart. My story that I try to portray when I dance is the story of a girl who never believed in herself, but who found herself through dance. It’s amazing how a simple activity can become a lifestyle or sometimes just your entire life. I was never a perfect dancer and I never will be, but I know that when I dance, I’m free. For me, dance was never about the competition or trying to be better than everyone else. Dance was always about the feeling it gave me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the rush of adrenaline that I would get from dancing on stage, in the studio, or at home.
Although I used dance as an escape, dance will never escape from me. I noticed over the years that I dance at any possible moment that I can. I tap under my desks at school, I do tondues while putting on makeup in the morning, and I even can’t resist moving to the beat of a song on the radio while driving! Dance is not just something that I do, it’s something that I am and always will be. I think that everyone should experience dance at least once in their lifetime, because it releases all the negativity and brings in a rush of positive energy. I’m so thankful that I became a dancer because it really helped me discover who I am. I know that because of dance, I am a healthy, happy, and free person.
