Personal Narrative Draft Three

Dance

            To say that dance has been a huge part of my life would be an understatement. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t dancing. I started when I was three years old and continued with it for fifteen years. There were definitely some ups and downs with it. Times when I didn’t want to make the thirty-minute trip. But now I can’t imagine never having danced or met all the people who have become such a huge part of my life.

I feel like a different person when I’m at dance. I can be my goofy, silly self and not have to worry about being judged. Dance is one of the only places that I feel like I can be myself. I get a sense of belonging when I’m there, and feel at home when I’m dancing. Some of my best friends in life are from my dance classes, and I feel like they know the real me. Dance gives people character, and I feel that dance helped to make me the person I am today. It’s given me respect for others and most importantly respect for myself.

All the different styles of dance have also been key in my personal development. Being in hip-hop class allowed me to let loose and have fun. There is no real technique for hip-hop so it was a time to just have fun and just dance with my friends. Ballet class gave me structure, technique and discipline in both class and in life. In ballet there is a certain way to hold yourself with your posture. For example when doing a plie your back needs to be straight, your butt tucked under, chest up but not sticking out, arm out to the side turned a certain way, head up all while standing in first position and bending your knees slightly. There is a specific way to everything in ballet. Lyrical dance taught me to show and feel emotion while dancing. Sometimes dances required you to show emotion or to go into character. The many styles of dance taught me different things that I apply to my life.

If it weren’t for dance I never would have met Ali, who has become one of my closest friends. I don’t remember how we become such close friends, I just know that she was in my class and our friendship grew from there. We met around four or five years ago, but didn’t become close until three years ago. It’s weird to think that I haven’t known her for that long, but now it feels like we’ve known each other forever. It’s hard to picture not knowing her now. Over the years Ali and I have done many dances together, including some duos and trios. She makes me strive to do better, and gives me confidence when we’re dancing together. About three years ago Ali and I choreographed a dance together, entered a choreography contest and came in first place. We got together during vacation and both choreographed the steps to the dance. We met outside of dance and worked for hours on getting the dance just the way we wanted it to look. When we performed our dance at rehearsal and the recital people would come up to us and ask who the teacher was that choreographed the dance. So when we told them that we choreographed the dance on our own, it was always funny to see their reactions. We were really proud that we had choreographed our own dance and that people thought that one of the teachers choreographed it.

About six or seven years ago we got a new teacher at the studio. It was a couple of weeks before the recital and I remember coming to class and thinking, “Who’s the new student?” She was tiny, blonde and could pass as one of us. I didn’t know when I first met Anne that she would become more than just a dance teacher to me. She’s my friend, teacher, and most importantly part of my family. She does more than just teach girls how to dance; she teaches them how to be better people and inspires people to follow their dreams. In 2008 she started sending out what she called “Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom.” It was an email that she sent out to a group of us girls that was usually about never giving up, self-respect, setting goals, and living a healthy life with quotes about life. She wants everyone to always try their hardest and for all her students to succeed in life no matter what they decide to do. Till this day I still get “Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom.” The latest one was about fearing to fail. This is a small blurb from a recent email about fearing to fail. Anne says, “Bear in mind that often we discover what works by finding out what doesn't work first…The road to success is paved with trial and error…We need to realize that every mistake we make teaches a lesson.  Failure is success if we learn from it.” Anne has taught me about dance and about life. She’s given me the life skills that I need in order to become the most successful person I can be. Anne is a role model and inspiration for girls. I can’t think of a better teacher to teach me.

Dance pushes me to try harder and do better. I know I won’t make a career out of dancing, but it’s one of my passions. I may not become a professional dancer or a dance teacher, but I want to be the best dance that I can possibly be. And to see how far I’ve come from when I first started fills me with a sense of accomplishment. From my first dance recital where I only stood on the stage and did one turn, to being in almost every other number in the show and doing duos and trios. I started off as a shy little girl who was petrified of being on the stage. And now I’m a not as shy girl who still gets nervous about going on stage, but loves the feeling she gets after. Dance is my home away from home. And I consider some of these girls to be my dance family.

Dance has shaped me into a better person. And Anne and all my teachers have pushed me to be a better dancer and a better person. Dance has a permanent spot in my heart, and I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have dance in my life. Dance has shaped me into the person that I am today, and it has brought so many people into my life that have become so important to me.

Now I’m continuing to dance here at Colby Sawyer, doing both the Dance club and Dance Concert. I’m hoping to have fun but also be challenged with the Dance Concert. I love pushing myself to try harder, then seeing what I can accomplish once I try. I’m mainly just doing these because I love dance so much and I want to continue with it. But also because it’s a form of exercise, and in the long run I hope to become an even better dancer than I was when I arrived here. Dance has brought so many people into my life who are so important to me, and I hope it will do the same at Colby Sawyer. Dance is, and forever will be, a part of me.