Personal Narrative: Becoming A Dancer

My whole life changed on October 29 of 2012. Before this date, I was just practicing hard like any other dancer would. Two days a week and two hours a day, sweat, sore muscles, and all my work poured into my dancing. Dancing provides knowledge, emotion and dedication. Recognizing that I have built that from when I was young is a huge feeling of accomplishment, like the first time riding a bike without training wheels.

Between the ages of 6 and 12 I wanted to purse a variety of careers. I can always remember wanting to be a dancer and a singer. I believed both occupations were a strong possibility for me because I knew I had a good voice and even better dance skills. My dance teachers, as well as numerous family members, always complimented my choreography, my passion, and my skill for dance. Also, I always sang at family functions and events and I enjoyed all the compliments I received. At some point I took a liking to teaching because I loved school so much. I often played “school” by myself, as I enjoyed creating assignments.

Have you ever wanted to know what happens in a bBreakdancing competition? Well, last summer, me and my friends all signed up for a competition for breakdancing. It was at the Silverback Open., That is where dancers from all over the world come over for a competition. We went to dance at the SilverBack Open to see if we couldcan win the breakdancing title. The breakdancing event was broken down into three parts, the tryouts, then the main event, and the finals or /rewards.Add how the experience impacted you.

It is obvious that all of our memories are not accidental. Every memory together makes the personality of a man. Therefore, they are the pieces of the one whole entity. The most emotional and brightest ones for me are memories about me playing with my father, then having first solo ballet performance and finally attending Coldplay’s music recital in Barcelona. Recalling all these makes me shiver with pleasure.

As a result of the coaches, the dynamics between the dancers throughout this last season were superior over the other seasons I was on the team. For instance, during the first three seasons I danced on the team, before competitions started, at least two girls quit each season, and some even quit multiple seasons because they remained unsatisfied with the same issues from past seasons. However, this season, not a single girl quit because of team issues, which shows this season's superiority. Another example of improving team dynamics is the way we all grew closer throughout this season. In fact, one dancer even said, "Because of this team I have found my real friends." For example, at the beginning of my last season, some girls disliked

As a musical theatre major, dance is equally as important as acting and singing. It is known that ballet is essentially the foundation of all mediums of dance. At many auditions, choreographers use ballet terms to explain steps and movements for combinations. As the theatre world keeps evolving, more and more musicals are full of energetic dance numbers and extreme attention to detail regarding technique. I believe that having a strong foundation in ballet allows you to fully comprehend demanding choreography in high energy dance heavy musicals. As a dancer of 9 years, I had the opportunity to audition for the professional level dance track. However, I chose to take Studio Ballet I because I feel that it is important to increase your technique and knowledge at the most basic level. You can still learn a lot by being in the an “easier” class. I also am taking Studio Ballet as the opportunity to get a lot of the technique I may have lost over the last couple months back, having to stop dancing to accommodate college auditions with my academic, work, and artistic schedule.

I have chosen Misty Copeland for my research paper. I am not what you would call a fan of ballet on any account. The only ballet I’ve attended was the Nutcracker during my sixth grade year. The tickets to the performance were donated to the Methodist Home and I was part of the lucky group of girls that were picked to attend. I enjoyed getting off campus for the field trip, but admit I did not feel inspired by the ballet. Although, I am not what you would call a fan of ballet, I have chosen Misty because her particular story does inspire me. I am mainly interested in finding out more about her journey and the trails she faced that led her to become the first African-American female principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater. I am fascinated

It all started when I was in 6th grade. My friend Lyric and I decided that we wanted to try out for the competitive dance team at our studio. We had been in dance together for two years prior and we thought we were ready to try out. As the day of the try out approached the nerves started ascending. The level of talent on the competitive team was so advanced. I remember my coach saying that even some of the people on the team that year were on the limb of making the team again, people that I thought were amazing dancers.

Every time that the town of -------- is mentioned, my thoughts trail off to my dance recital in the year of 2010. Back then, I was a dancer at a studio called Dance Mania. My closest friend at the time, --------, and I were the only students enrolled in that class. We beamed about the recital since day one. We pondered over who would be in the audience and how we would receive this immense trophy with our names in cursive engraved on a gold strip across the bottom. I have to tell you, the costume had everything a girl in the second grade could ask for: a fluffy pink skirt lined with black sequins, all accompanied by a pink neck tie and a long sleeved shirt attached to the skirt. Just a couple weeks after the costumes were distributed, we got our pictures taken; when both of my arms were used to emphasize strong emotion to form a statuesque obtuse angle in the

Twelve years doing the same thing, and it never gets boring. Dedication, commitment, and perseverance are are the most important qualities to achieve any dream. Becoming a ballerina is no exception. Natural abilities help the process, but not having them makes it even more possible. Some people are born to succeed, naturally do good, but they never have to work for their dreams. Me on the other hand I learned from a very young age I was not like them, I had to have passion to succeed.

I enjoy dancing, I was part of the cheerleading team in high school, I also did one year in college and I occasionally participate in my sororities stroll team. With my years of experience in choredographed dance, I have been able to choreograph routines and teach them to my sorority sisters. I have the patience to explain and show someone how to move even if they don’t have rhythm. There is a popular move that we use, which requires upper moment as well as lower movements at the same time. Some people have a hard time being able to move one section of their body let alone coordinate both at the same time. I explain that it is easier to learn the lower body movement first and follow by the upper body; after a few tries people are able to master

Shortly after the studio had opened, I took my first class at Visceral Dance Center. It was a typical snowy day in Chiberia and I was in Nicks jazz class with one other person doing abs to "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John. Years past and I found myself returning to Visceral more often, involving myself more and more in the community and finally my senior year, when I had the opportunity to be a part of the Studio Company. This dark and windowless building people see from the outside is filled with open passageways for information and contagious passionate spirits to ricochet off the exposed brick walls, dark apparel and perspiring bodies and into our containers of knowledge continuously being refilled. This space and all that exists 'within' has been a part of my life for the past 8 years and without it i am not sure who I would be.

There are certain things in life that can be equated to dancing with the devil; in my case, I mean, most literally, dancing. The first time I set foot in the basement of the salsa club Ceviche, I was only twelve years old. My parents and I had been taking lessons at the ballroom dance studio Cheek2Cheek for the past year or two. An instructor from the studio also taught group lessons at this dance club and upon learning this, my parents decided to check it out, and they brought me along. Back then, the place was less than impressive: the dance floor area was small, dismal carpeting lined the outer ring, the walls and ceiling were dingy and stained and the people looked nothing like the stunning individuals seen on “Dancing with the Stars.”. I did not know it then, but Ceviche was to be a place where I would feel incredibly drawn; this venue was destined to be a whole new world that would allow me to discover a part of myself I had not known before.

My personal aesthetic would be described as being calm, but strong. I feel this aesthetic goes well with my down to earth personality, but at the same time preferring something that is bold. The styles of music I prefer is hip hop, R&B, and pop, since these styles are very popular nowadays, while having beats that are very appealing. The styles of entertainment I prefer is comedy movies, reading, and baking. I find those styles to be very enjoyable.

I've always struggled with staying consistent. This started happening since I was six. I remember I wanted to be a ballerina. I would spend time in my room twirling around, and dancing (with bad form of course) until I was actually part of a class. I immediately became uninterested. It was just so boring learning about positions and posture, so I left, and tried tap dancing. I never got into a class, but I got over it quick anyways. Another important experience was when I was twelve years old. I found this portuguese song that I really liked. It made me want to learn portuguese. I was actually staying on top of my game, then I just fell off, and forgot practically everything I learned. The point is I hated how I could never push through, and