How Has Dance Impacted Your Life

To do something you love and want to be the best at it takes hard work, and most of it takes passion. Kurt Vonnegut once said, “To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” He is saying that you can’t go anywhere without your passion for something. That’s the same with all sports, including dance.

Dancing has been my passion since the age of three. Wake up, go to school, go to dance, go to sleep. My life was a routine of the same day playing over and over again, and I loved it. My senior year of high school I was accepted into the Commercial Dance program at Relativity School. I felt my dreams become a reality of the perfect future I had always worked towards.

“What are you even doing here? I have never seen such flawed technique in all my years as a choreographer.” The words echoed throughout the medical college auditorium. Impelled by the admonishment in front of my peers, I persevered in my endeavor to improve upon my dancing prowess and by the final year of medical school was leading the college dance team. The above mentioned undertaking further spawned an interest for the discipline of Latin Ballroom which lead to participation at the national level. The unwavering focus and persistence even in the face of unfavorable odds is more broadly reflective of my approach towards learning, both academic and extracurricular. This has been instrumental in achieving stellar academic outcomes including being ranked nationally in the top 0.0004 percent in the premedical test and the top 0.6 percent in the common aptitude test for management training.

Another one of my passions is dance. Since the age of three I have been dancing. Whether it is on stage, at a competition, or just in front of my family, I found a love for this art. Around the age of thirteen I began student teaching; because of this, I found a liking for helping people become more confident in themselves and their dance technique. Not only did I learn to dance, but I also built confidence, learned great stage presence and to have respect for everyone. These are all lessons that will remain with me for life.

Dance is one of the major things that defines my identity and it is an interest that had become so meaningful, that without it my application would be incomplete. This has been able to shape me throughout the years, from discipline and maturity all the way yo leadership and teamwork. I find dance as an art work, that it is easy to make mistakes and fall, you just have to learn from those mistakes and get up twice as strong as from where you started. Dance is to look above and beyond and just let everything fall into place without hesitation.

Dance has influenced my life in many ways, but one experience I will never forget is when I earned Senior Feature Dancer. As a dancer, a person, and the woman I am becoming dance has always been so important to me. It immediately caught my attention because it was my escape and my happy place. My passion for the sport is what gave me motivation to do better and gain confidence that I lacked. I was able to make friends who would last me a lifetime.

Abby Payne at Lake Travis High School claims her team is all about the show. They do football, contest, and spring show but spring show is the team’s favorite. One thing that seemed unique about her team is that they devote an entire group or the “Elite team” to preparing the dancers who want to dance collegiately. This is a great idea when you are in an area like Lake Travis because those dancers work hard in both academics and dance so they are more likely to attend prestigious schools that have excellent dance teams. It is a wonderful that Abby is taking steps to set them up for success in their future. Another thing that is interesting to me is that Abby encourages them to be in other organizations and to involve themselves in other things besides dance team so they can build their resumes. From my experience a lot of directors prefer their dancers keep the dance team as the number one priority and to not make too many other time commitments that take away from their devotion to the team. It’s very generous of Abby to allow the kids to take these opportunities to further prepare them for their future. The thing

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 have been dancing since the age of two. When asked about my career aspirations, there is no hesitation before saying “I want to be a dancer.” Being a dancer means putting all other distractions aside, and focusing on my craft. Currently, I dedicate over forty hours a week to dance, which is a schedule that requires sacrifice. When I am dancing, the rest of the world fades away, slipping out of my mind with relaxed importance. For that moment in time, I am completely free, wholly focused on my goals, letting me know dance is what I’m meant to do. With this realization comes a responsibility to myself and the work I have put into improving my craft thus far, and I know I must seek out the best opportunities for growth and continued learning.

I danced at Tina’s Dance Studio in Eldridge, Iowa for 12 consecutive years before I graduated high school. There I studied in ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, lyrical, tap, jazz, hip-hop, musical theater, gymnastics and clogging. I was also a part of the competition team for eight years. We not only did local competitions and conventions, but we traveled and went to nationals in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. I also danced in shows in Disney World and on a Carnival Cruise Ship. In high school, I was on the varsity Dance Team winning three state titles in pom and lyrical eventually traveling to Nationals. A few summers ago, I trained with Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago with their summer intensive focusing on modern, contemporary and ballet. During my senior year of high school and this past summer I taught classes in jazz, tap and contemporary for students 8-16 years old. I also self-choreographed three competition solos. Here, at Ohio University, I am a member of the dance team doing dances at football and basketball games.

My passion for dance transitioned into high school and college. My role as a cheerleader in high school aided in the maintenance of my physical and mental well-being. I feel most empowered when I am performing on stage, and when I am

Dance is a unique sport because it combines the grit and sweat of sporting events, such as track and field, with the style and extravagance of a fashion show (D.Fowler, 2000).

Whether rooted deeply through generations of a family or formed through an experience, passions and fascinations are what drives us, humans, to be who we truly are. At this point in my life, I do not want to reach comfort or perfection, but rather feel composed and confident in what I chose to merge my ballet skills with. When I dance, I escape reality and feel a pure exhilaration.This sensation shapes my curiosity and interest in the human anatomy. From the elements that make it up to ways in which people individually move their bodies, the human body is absolutely fascinating. Specifically, I am passionate about teaching ballet to younger students. By introducing ballet to kids early on, they will experience the same joy almost all dancers feel for a longer period of time. When I’m dancing I’m challenging your mind, releasing endorphins, and working hard. I am also eager to own my own business linked with teaching that will provide people with affordable dance equipment, and even more crucial, advice on what suits each person's personal needs. I know as I grow old my body will not be as capable as it once was, but I’m dedicated to spreading my appreciation of ballet to others. Overall, my passion for ballet and how I can utilize it to positively impact society as an entrepreneur has developed through the inspiration of my grandparents, the creativity of my former dance teachers, and my interest in the human bodies relation to ballet.

I am on my school dance team, the Pacesetters. We are known nationwide for our consecutive national wins, and our slightly eccentric spring show. Having this reputation didn’t come without hard work and sacrifices. Pacesetters along with the other extra-curricular activities I have participated in, taught me principles that will help me achieve my long term goals.

I have always loved to dance. When I was in my younger years I used to frequent dances. I was even involved in my high school’s show choir and my high school’s musical every year. So, it’s a no brainer that I include dance as part of my exercise when I’m fulfilling my twice a week, 30 minutes of activity. Walking your dog or sprinting around your house can get boring so I use dancing as a way to shake it up and have fun with my exercise. Because I love to dance so much, I wanted to dive deeper into how beneficial it really is for my body and possibly my mind.