Dance Community

As a youth, I engaged in many forms of dance expression. I studied tap, jazz, and ballet for fifteen years. During these formative years, I choose to forgo many youth experiences so that I could participate in advance dance programs. The hard work paid off when I received a college scholarship to a performing arts

I started dancing at the young age of two years old. My parents tried to enroll me in many different activities. Such as soccer, play ball, judo, horseback riding, basketball, and more. Yet, there was nothing I loved more than being able to dance and prance through the studio, in my pink bodysuit, tights and shoes, during ballet class.I started as a Mini, then was moved up to junior level, then to intermediate. That’s when my parents starting asking me if this was for sure something I loved to do, because this was the level where the nights started getting later, and the costs increased. Of course, my answer was yes. My love for dance soon greatly grew, I started taking tap, jazz, and then started moving into taking more challenging styles, such as lyrical, and pointe. Dancing makes me happy when I am down, relieved when I am stressed, and I can honestly say that I have made friendships that I will cherish for the rest of my life through dance.

I lost so many friends when I quit dance and they all lost respect for me. Before I quit, I had been dancing since I was three and I was really good at it too! When I was ten I was asked to be on the competition team and was asked to be pulled up but none of my friends were. They all lost respect for me because they knew I was a great dancer and I turned down the opportunity to participate with more advanced kids. I knew my friends would kill for the opportunity that I had but to me it was just a huge that I wasn't willing to go through with. Whenever I stepped foot on the dance floor I felt as though I could do anything and that was the best feeling on earth. Throughout the years I quit dance I have lost that feeling of confidence that made you feel good inside and now I am constantly worried about if I am doing something or not. I also lost that feeling of accomplishment after working my butt off and doing a great job. I a huge part of my work ethic, when I decided to quit and now I am lazy. If I didn't quit dance I probably wouldn't try to take the easy way out of everything like I do rather than put my all into what I am doing. I have lost a lot in this decision and I can't say I have gained a

I’ve been able to travel to places I’ve never been before, to bond with ladies who share the same passion as me, and of course to grow as a dancer. One of my most memorable dance experience’s was competing in my first national dance competition my sophomore year in high school. I was able to compete with thousands of teams from across the United States and even a few teams from other countries. I love the competition atmosphere and the moments I have to bond with my teammates. There’s nothing that can compare to dancing in front of thousands of people underneath those stage lights. The adrenaline rush I get is indescribable and to know that I’m sharing the dance floor with thirty-four other ladies that have the same goals as me is unbelievable. One of the best moments at the competition was walking away as third runner up overall when we competed against over 200 teams. Another memorable dance experience was when I went to dance camp at Oklahoma State university my senior year. I remember the very first day of camp they ran out of food and we had to order pizza to our dorms. The worst part about this was that we had to be performance ready within an hour and try to eat at the same time. It was extremely frustrating and stressful but at the end we performed and received our bid for nationals in Orlando, Florida. I honestly believe that the most excellent

My mouth hung open as I watched the gorgeous, graceful girls leap and twirl across the gym floor during their annual summer mini-camp. From that point forward, I knew that I wanted to be a Chiefette. I studied up on the history of the team, watched every one of their public performances, and enrolled in dance team preparation classes. Each year, the Chiefettes got better and better, and during each dance, their pirouettes and jetes grabbed my heart and carried me with them through their emotional journey. Their movement quality astounded me; I wasn’t exactly sure how a team of so many girls could dance in unison with seemingly effortless grace. I knew from talking to the girls on the elite team that they maintained excellent grades, participated in other school activities and sports, and volunteered within the community. These girls were my idols, and I thought that the only way to have a positive high school experience was to join the dance team. There was no question in my mind that I would be on the team all four years of high school, and because I had prior dance experience, that I would be one of the better dancers on the team. Throughout middle school, I dreamed about the day when I would finally be able to call myself a Chiefette, but I soon realized that I had no idea the amount of hard work and talent that it took to earn that

For the past six years, I have been dancing at Shirley Matta Dance Academy. I have been taught many dances of different variety such as jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, etc. The studio has recently begun offering Pointe classes, which I also attend. In addition to attending the studio, I also assist in teaching dance and gymnastics classes there. This has been an experience that I will never forget, especially since I spend most of my time at the dance studio. It has helped me in so many ways. Not only have I improved immensely as a dancer, my communication and leadership skills have skyrocketed as well. In fact, every Tuesday, I currently teach ballet to a group of about fifteen girls between the ages of 7-10 year all by myself. In

I did recreational dance for 2 years and then the 3rd year I finally talked my mom into letting me do competition. I did competition for 2 years a this one studio. That was also the studio I did recreational at for 2 years so I danced at this studio for 4 years. In the middle of the year I was talking to my mom about how I not really in love with this studio there’s too much favoritism and so I wanted to move. When it got towards nationals I didn’t want to go and I was having some drama at the studio so it made it even worst. I wasn’t excited for nationals at all and at the time my brother had state baseball in St. Louis and I really wanted to there. Then the season was over and something incredible happened. There’s these twins that danced at my old studio and they are the nicest people ever and they are so positive, young and have all the new styles instead of old stuff. They opened up a studio. When they announced it I knew that I wanted to go there then and there. So yet again my path changed

What is the definition of a sport? A game played with a ball or someone running around in tight, little shorts? What about “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against one another or others for enjoyment”? That is the true definition of a sport. Not only does football, baseball, basketball, and soccer fit this definition, but so does dance.

Dance has always been a part of my life, and it was always fun to look back at old pictures and reminisce about all of the dance issues I had when I was younger. But as I got older and better, the growing stopped. I wasn’t learning as much new stuff, just perfecting old choreography. Ballet has never been my favorite dance style, my studio is more invested in lyrical and performance styles, like tap, jazz, and musical theatre. I originally only wanted to take ballet here because I wanted to be in the Nutcracker because it was something my studio doesn’t do. But this class brought me back to ballet basics, and I have seen major growth in my ballet technique, enough for my mom to notice. I’ve gotten a lot stronger at certain ballet barre warm

These past two years have been crammed with so much new knowledge and understanding of dance that I could never be taught at a studio, for example, I have been told many times about my neck being pushed forward if I can recall I was called “turtleneck” but that's beside the point just knowing that I started to notice other things that aren’t correct with myself and I have been able to start fixing it which improved the quality of my dancing tremendously.

I started taking dance lessons at the age of three and once I started you couldn’t get me to stop. I was at the studio more than I was at home, if I wasn’t dancing I was watching the older girls, wishing I could be as good as them. Although I almost quit when I was eight, after my mom left. She said she just couldn’t do it any more and the next morning she was gone. After

In the documentary “Dance Exchange” by Liz Lerman I did not see any signs of the abundant community at first glance. However, after viewing it a couple more times I started to see some of the characteristics of an abundant community, as described by Peter Block in “The Abundant Community.” The first one that came to my attention was when the group was sharing what certain words meant to them. By doing so, the group should be able to break the ice, open the lines of communication, and establish stronger bonds. The second sign of an abundant community was when they all came together with a common goal, came up with a plan, and executed it. Additionally, I agree with Angela Rodriguez in that the they were not just dancing but that it was art,

Dancing has never been a huge learning experience for me and I never saw the potential influences it would have on my life. Believing that teamwork or leadership meant nothing when it came to dance, Only it could have just been my ignorance as well never actually spending time to develop myself in this art. Until I reached high school where I joined dance class and started to become more

I first emerged into my dance career and training at age of 13. What started as an hobby immediately turned into a passion of mines unexpectedly and from that point I desperately wanted to continue my passion of dance. I first trained in hip-hop, contemporary, ballet, West-African and improvisation. All together my dance director and former Urban Bush Women Valerie Winborne- Anderson combined all these styles together forming the dance fusion company V2W. In the 8 years of training with V2W I developed a deep connection in dance my dancing. This experience shifted my original perceptions of dance and I must say that this experience helped with foundation and the development in my pedagogy and teaching philosophy.

Anyone who has heard of “Dance Moms,” would look at someone who says, “I’ve grown up in a dance studio," with horror. I’m here to prove that sentiment wrong. When I was eight, I enrolled in my first dance class at Buffa’s Dance Studio. Nine years later, the studio director offered me a job. This opportunity soon became much more than a typical high school part time job. I worked side by side with the studio owner; each year registering 500+ dancers for their annual classes, order thousands of costumes and producing six recitals, complete with lighting, sound, and special effects. Although not realizing it at the time, she had offered me much more than a job. It was there I would spend my summer days and nights, working with and learning