Why Is Dance Important To Me

People are shaped by their surroundings. These influences come in the form of anything from elementary school teachers to religious awakenings, from mission trips to news articles. For me, these influences come in the form of dance, God, and opportunity.

Unexpectedly, dance has made a major impact on who I am. Though I started at age three, I've been dancing at a Vaganova-style ballet academy for seven years. Apart from the physical technique, dance has developed my identity and given me some useful skills. It has given me independence and self discipline. Dance teachers can give corrections to one student and the entire class is expected to apply the instruction. This gives dancers like myself the self control and self discipline to correct themselves when they falter, to admit their faults, and to take correction without insult. It also gave me the ability to sew and use my resources. Dance has also given me an appreciation for and understanding of the fine arts. I have the opportunity to experience the arts and understand the amount of tedious preparation which goes into performances. Dance has also taught me to balance self …show more content…
My father left when I was three. I saw him once at age five and phone calls and birthday cards were scattered. The open ended questions, "why," and "when can I see you," never were far. When I turned eight, he sent a birthday card with a picture of his new family including his new baby girl. I believed he replaced Emily, my full sister, and me with this new family. Until this point, I wanted to see my dad; but then, I was angry and remained that way for four years. That period ended one summer night when the girls were talking about letting go of what holds us back from experiencing God's joy. This was an emotional night, to say the least. God showed me I needed to forgive my dad, let go of my anger, and focus on those who were there for me; doing this felt like having a great weight removed from my