Expressing Myself Through Dance

If you like dancing, you can dance anywhere, standing in front of the mirror alone, out at a party with friends, or in a dance studio. The only requirement is to have fun and let your mind and body run free. Dancing to express myself is my favorite way to dance; in any emotional state I am able to show my feelings through movement. One of my favorite dances is a dance I choreographed for a school fundraiser, my senior year of high school. The dance was an upbeat performance full of energy with a mix of songs and different types of movement for a group of six girls. Throughout the whole five-minute dance we were all full of energy running, spinning and jumping around the stage non-stop until at the end we all collapsed. When I was on stage I couldn’t stop smiling and continued dancing seeing my friends and family in the audience, so proud of me. After I finished the dance, even though I should have been exhausted, my adrenaline was pumping. This is the way I feel after every time I perform on stage.

My aunt is a dance teacher, and owns a dance studio so I have danced for as long I can remember. At age three, I was in my first performance. I preformed in two pieces. The first dance was a creative movement piece about paint brushes, different colors of the rainbow, and what emotion or theme each color stands for.

In the second piece, I was featured as a sleeping child. The older dancers passed me around and danced with me. I do not remember much of this, but I know that it made me feel very special to be dancing with the older dancers. I became very comfortable dancing with older people. Most of the classes and performances I did were with older, more experienced dancers. Throughout the last six years I have performed with a professional dance company Headlong, as well as an Opera at the Kimmel Center with Vox Ama Deus.

Another important part of my dance career was teaching creative movement class. I enjoyed teaching younger, inexperienced dancers how to create movement while incorporating their feelings. Sometimes I forget how important it is to be teaching these young children. But when I see them on stage at age four, putting all their bodies and souls into the dance, I couldn’t be more proud to be their teacher.

Teaching dance, performing with different companies, and even just dancing with friends at school has taught me a lot about myself. I have learned the power of emotion and that words are not the only way to show my feelings. Dancing is my way of expressing myself. When I am on the stage I feel more comfortable than in any other place in the world. I believe in dance.