It's important to plan ahead when crafting such an intense research paper. I found my sources a couple of weeks before I had even started typing my paper out, and I made sure to dig around for some important quotes! Career as a Dancer. Institute for Career Research, 2006. Retrieved on April 01 from Lamson Library What goes into a professional dance career and what makes up a professional dancers day/life. Very helpful article, as it opened up a bit of what my career could look like in the future! Discipline: Dance Courtney, Ben. “THE DANCE.” The Dance: Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D.,. Retrieved on April 02 from www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/. The beginning of dance history and ancient dance. How it evolved and progressed into what we know as dance today. Helpful to look back to the origination, yet was shocked to realize there is no "beginning" of dance. Discipline: History of Dance Halliwell, Rachel. “Why Dancing Feels so Good.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 29 Apr. 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/good-news/seven-seas/why-dancing-feels-good/.www.telegraph.co.uk/good-news/seven-seas/why-dancing-feels-good/ The emotional aspect of dance, and what happens mentally/emotionally when we move our bodies in such a vulnerable way. Helpful to my RA paper because I had hoped to look into the psychological aspect of dance briefly, and this article connected to how I personally feel when dancing. I wanted to express that in my paper but wanted evidence to back it up. “History of Dance.” HISTORY OF DANCE. Retrieved on April 01 from www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab82. Another piece of text discussing the history of dance, stating the significance of our ancestors and how they helped shape dance today Meekums, Bonnie. Dance Movement Therapy: A Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. SAGE, 2005. Retrieved from Lamson Library A brief overview of Dance Movement Therapy and Therapeutic Dance, and what the difference is between the two. This text was very helpful because it opened up another door for dance careers. I wanted to be able to give another example of what you could do with dance, and this is such an important career as well! QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
"Our ancestors painted their cave walls with pictures of dancers. Even babies instinctively Jig in time to music. Dancing feels good- and while some societies ban it, there is no culture on earth that doesn't possess an urge to dance." (Why dancing feels so good) “Dancing is probably one of the oldest arts. As soon as man was man, he without doubt began to gesticulate with face, body, and limbs. How long it took to develop bodily gesticulation into an art no one can guess--perhaps a millennium” (career as a dancer)
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Holy cow. I graduate THIS WEEK!! It feels like just 2 weeks ago we were assigned our capstone projects and had to start thinking about what we wanted to create.... To begin, my Interdisciplinary contract is titled Theatre Dance Performance and Production. With this major and focus in studies, I wish to pursue dance professionally. Crazy talk, right?! I don't think so, in fact, i'm thrilled to see what's coming up in my next chapter! This program has helped me sculpt a unique major for myself, allowing me to be fully immersed in my studies. With this major comes a final capstone project. We have a large applied project along with a hefty research paper. I ultimately felt overwhelmed with the idea of such an important project, and ended up coming up with some pretty boring ideas. After getting started on a mediocre project, I completely switched gears. Rather than hosting a workshop, I decided to create a dance video. This video stemmed from my recent love of improvising. I love to go to the dance studio and set my laptop camera up in front of the room. I'll throw on some music and just start moving. After a couple hours, I go over the film and post clips on my social media accounts. By doing so, i've noticed an increase in viewers and followers. Putting yourself out there is key! This whole world of improvising and stepping out of my comfort zone has brought back some promising results. With this being said, I wanted to create something more interesting and exciting. The same video angle in the same room was getting old. I had Josiah Parry, a close friend and talented videographer, help me film a improv session in the Universities Black Box Theatre. What an experience!! To read more about my project, head over to this link and read a brief background on how went from despising improv to doing it everyday. In the meantime, the final video is below! The second half of my project was a research paper. I knew right away I wanted to look into how dance started. I was interested to find that there isn't really a "start" to dance, it's more of a natural feeling and instinct that humans have had since...forever. This paper talked about an array of things. I bounced around from the history of dance, to the professions in the dance world such as being a dance therapist or professional dancer, and then spoke of the emotional aspect that comes along with dancing. I ended the paper discussing my personal attachment and goal with this passion. Check out the final paper HERE!! This project has allowed me to blossom as a student and creator. The freedom that was given to me to create anything I wanted was refreshing. I'm taking a blurb from the end of my research paper, as I feel it speaks of my major in regards to this project. "When I dance, whether it's on stage, in the dance studio or in my living room after moving all the furniture, I feel the most strong and free. There is nothing like getting to wake up and go to an 8:00am advanced modern class at school. Getting the opportunity to wake up and start my day by feeling the air around me as I dance in a space with creative and caring people. I can't imagine a world without dance, and so I wish to pursue it. With my Interdisciplinary contract, I was able to further discover my passion. My major has me looking at the business and logistics side of the dance industry, but I also have a strong emotional connection that allows me to dive deeper into my training." With that, I wish to thank all of my amazing colleagues and professors for an intense ride. I wouldn't be shaped into the person and student I am today without each individual I met along the journey. ADIOS, PLYMOUTH STATE! What's a PLN? This stands for Personal Learning Network. But what is it? I would describe it as a platform to put your work out there. You can receive feedback and engagement from viewers, which helps you build a network with other people! In order for people to discover you, you have to put yourself out there. Today, linkedIn is beyond popular. Another example of a PLN is Twitter, Instagram, etc. Any social media platform that allows you to engage with followers will help you build your network and career! I use a few different sources. I love to use instagram, and find myself engaging with dozens of followers a week! The more often I post, the more followers I gain and the views I have on my dance videos and pictures! I have set my instagram account to a business account. By doing so, I have been able add a career to the top of my profile. I have chosen to add that I am a Dancer. The perk of having this feature is that I am able to view all statistics on my profile. This includes how many people view my profile everyday, the percent of females viewing as opposed to men, the age range of viewers, their state, etc. I love seeing the engagement in my profile, and seeing what types of things draw in more viewers! On top of my instagram account, I try to post a few times a week on my Twitter account. I follow a lot of students also in the IDS program, and I find that they're very helpful in sharing my work. Professors and peers favorite and retweet my posts which helps me build my educational network! My final semester of college is wrapping up, and it's really starting to feel real as I share my final applied project. This has been an important project, and has felt more personal than I imagined it would. I am an interdisciplinary studies major, with my contract titled Theatre Dance Performance and Production. This major has allowed me to expand my dance training at Plymouth State University. With this training and passion, I plan to further my training in the LA based area. This project sprouted from my latest hobby of improv dance. I have always been so scared of improvisation so I pushed it to the back of my mind. When asked to improv in dance class, my heart would drop. I HATED it. Now, the last 9 months have been full of improv. I have made it a goal to set my laptop up in front of the dance studio and record myself dancing on the spot with no plan. It was tough at first and I hated what I was watching. But I knew the only way it would become more natural was if I kept trying. Improv is one of my favorite things now. I wanted to incorporate this new growth and idea into my applied project for the end of the year. But how could I make it more professional and interesting than just putting my laptop in front of me? I decided to reach out and ask my friend Josiah Parry (click to view his portfolio) to help me film! It felt really important that I include the lows of an improv session as well. I didn't want to only put in the star moments, I wanted to show my on the spot thinking process. I have felt an immense amount of growth through this process, hobby and project. This opened another door in my improv world. Having Josiah in the small theatre with the big lights, having him follow me as I dance around, it all made it very hard at first. I had to leap out of my comfort zone. But i'm happy I did. A new goal has now sprouted from this; I plan to improv in front of a camera/person more often. I'll continue to set goals as I progress down this scary road called adulthood. Check out my video below! My AP project is really exciting to work on, as I will be creating a dance video of myself improvising/freestyling. I have been dancing for 19 years, and up until this year, I despised improv. When we were asked to freestyle across the floor, in the middle of a circle or in the beginning of a combination, I panicked. Improvisation is so scary to me because I have always hated not having set choreography. Making it up on the spot as it comes to you makes you feel out of control. This probably stems from my need to always have a plan. It has made me feel uncomfortable and nervous, so I decided to shove it away and not focus on it. My last 2 years as an interdisciplinary major have shifted this mindset. I'm finally feeling like i'm getting the most out of my education at Plymouth State, and I want to show this change and growth. I have been improvising/freestyling at least 5 times a week for the last 9 months. I usually stick my laptop on a stool in front of the room, go back to the footage after an hour of dancing, then post clips on my social media. Since integrating my dance clips into my various social channels (mainly my instagram account), I have seen an increase in followers and viewers! Through this, I have seen the growth that has emerged from me as an artist. Listening to the music and letting it tell you how to move your body is a powerful thing. I have been able to carry over this passion and drive into my dance classes, and I see myself flourishing because of this change. For my applied project, I will be receIving help from a videographer to make a more professional and creative video of myself dancing on the spot. Inside this video will hold an interview portion where I talk about the experience, and what improv is for me.On top of this, I have taken to my social media to ask friends to come up with some questions about this style of dance. I'm excited to dive deeper into this challenge! Below I have posted a few of the improv clips that I have shared on social media last week. The history of dance is a fascinating topic because of its foggy beginning. No person can say exactly when dance was invented, in fact, can it even be said dance was “invented?” Scientists and researchers have concluded that it is a natural physicality humans have possessed since ancient times. The natural feeling to want to make a rhythm, beat sticks against a rock, chant in unison, jump in a circle, etc. These are examples of ancient and historical rituals that flourished into what we know as dance today. But how did we get to the point of making dance a viable career? What goes into a successful dance career? As we dive into questions answered by professional dancer and head of Plymouth State Universities Dance Division, Amanda Whitworth, we get a glimpse at that vision. That's not it, because we're going to step outside the business mind and examine the emotional aspect of dancing as well. “Dancing is probably one of the oldest arts. As soon as man was man, he without doubt began to gesticulate with face, body, and limbs. How long it took to develop bodily gesticulation into an art no one can guess--perhaps a millennium” (The Dance, chpt. 1). According to the book Career as a Dancer, the oldest recorded dancing appeared in India around 6000 BC. A multi armed being, balanced on a single leg is known as The Hindu god Shiva, The Lord of the Dance (Institute for Career Research), which is shown in the image below. Traveling back to the games at Olympia from the 8th century in BC, dance is shown as temple virgins inaugurate the sacred occasion by performing in a circle to honor god (historyworld, 1). Fast forward to the 6th century and it’s seen as the centerpiece of Greek theatre (historyworld, 2). Dancing before god is an important part of history, as most cultures practiced this habit worldwide. Even cave paintings have patterns of dancers on the wall, which is fascinating as it integrates two forms of art. Dance has been around forever, even before anyone knew what to call it. In Egypt, women will dance around the coffin and burial site at a funeral to demonstrate their grief (historyworld, 2). This type of emotional connection to dance is what has blossomed the art into a career. While dance has been used as a healing mechanism and spiritual voice in the past, it flourished into a hobby and even a career. It is safe to say that the emotional outpour that is felt while dancing, can heal. This bridges the way for careers such as Dance Movement Therapy and Therapeutic Dance. While these are similar and overlap in skillset, a Dance Therapist is required to have a therapy license and sufficient training, where a skilled dance teacher can teach a form of therapeutic dance in a prison or school. Dance Movement Therapy, as defined in Britain, is as: “the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance through which a person can engage creatively in a process to further their emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration’ (ADMT UK, 1977, Meekums, 22). Circle Dance is a technique taken from ancient times that is used in Dance Movement Therapy today (Meekums, 100). This is based off folk dances from around the world, and is said to hold healing properties. More can be found about this type of therapy in Bonnie Meekums book, Dance Movement Therapy: A Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. Interview Dance Therapy is gaining popularity in society today, along with dancing professionally. Molly Stone took the time to interview Amanda Whitworth, who is a "teaching artist residing in central New Hampshire with a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration and networking. She continues to work as a performer of dance and physical theatre with choreographers and organizations both nationally and internationally. Ms. Whitworth is committed to diversifying her work and collaborates with partners on large scale projects" (Tributarydance.com). Molly has worked under Amanda for two years, and has trained under her for four. Here, readers will begin to see how someone got involved in dance, and where they went with it next. Molly: Amanda, how did you first get involved in dance? What was your first impression? Amanda: My middle school had an arts program and I decided to try dance. I loved the teacher and I really loved moving. I loved the freedom of the movement and how it could be an individual pursuit or a group experience. I enjoyed the difficulty of the physical task. The teacher encouraged me to try dance “for real” after middle school. M: When did you decide dancing was what you wanted to do with your life? A: My junior year of high school I decided that it was what I most enjoyed. I wanted to learn more tools so I could move forward. I wasn't challenged by school but I was profoundly challenged artistically and physically in dance. It gave me something to reach for! I continued to NYU Tisch School of the Arts. M: Did you ever feel frightened that you wouldn’t be able to make ends meet once you left college? A: I still feel frightened! And yes, my parents came to New York City for my graduation. I remember breaking down with ugly sobs in the hotel room before going to commencement. I was terrified. M: Did others try to steer you away from this career? A: No, my parents have always been super supportive, and I choose to surround myself with people who lift me up. M: What was some of the best, or most memorable advice others gave you? A: "Never stop training." "You don't deserve anything, you must work for everything.” "There is always someone who wants it more that you." "Be kind.” "Don't be a dick." M: Will you chat briefly about how you got your gig on Broadway? A: I had a friend who was in the Broadway show Hairspray, and when I picked her up from one of her rehearsals, she had broken her leg. Long story short, she got me an audition and I got the job! M: Lastly, any advice YOU have? A: Dance encompasses so much more than just performing and training. The process and practice of dance technique aligns beautifully with advocacy, education, and entrepreneurship. When you recognize that dance is less about you and more about the energy you have learned to give, your world opens up. Amanda Whitworth is a bright star in the world of dance, as she chooses to make good out of everything. She’s a humble person and won’t speak about her accomplishments often, but has flourished in the dance world. She has been a part of multiple professional dance companies, trained alongside Broadway choreographer Jesse Robb at NYU, and even got her gig on Broadway at a tender age. Amanda pushes for others to go for what they want, even if it doesn’t seem so realistic. While others may tear down the idea of making dance a career, she will help you see how you can make it work. Society needs more encouraging people like Amanda, in fact, the arts need more people like Amanda. Thinking less about ancient dance and more about modern dance, let’s dive into this career. Today, there are dozens of dance styles. These range from jazz, tap, ballet, modern, contemporary, afro-fusion, hip-hop, aerial, musical theatre, ballroom, etc. Most modern dancers have been training since before they could read. They have been taking classes from a young age and starting auditions by late teenage years. There are numerous colleges that offer bachelor and master degrees in Dance, and pre-professional dancers will eventually audition for companies which will ultimately hire them. Today, the options are almost limitless. However, professional dancers don’t have very long careers. Most will retire by their late thirties, as their bodies can no longer keep up with the gruesome training regime and strain. "Our ancestors painted their cave walls with pictures of dancers. Even babies instinctively Jig in time to music. Dancing feels good – and while some societies ban it, there is no culture on earth that doesn’t possess an urge to dance." -Rachel Halliwell Dance can be so much more than just a profession, it's not just a way to make money. It has a strong network of emotions that come along with it, too. Dancing releases the largest amount of endorphins compared to other forms of exercise (Halliwell, The Telegraph). It allows you to feel emotions ranging from happiness to sadness. For some, they cry when moving in such an expressive way because of pent up emotions. One particular experiment has been particularly interesting to me: University researchers from York and Sheffield have taken a group of people into a lab to listen to music for five minutes. Each person then had to 3 options: to sit quietly and listen, to run on an exercise bike, or to stand up and dance. After the five minutes was up, they were given tasks to complete. Dr. Peter Lovatt explained that “...all those who chose to dance displayed improved problem-solving skills afterwards. This same study also found that the mood levels of the dancers went up. It shows that dancing along to music even for five minutes can boost happiness and improve creative-thinking patterns” (Halliwell, The Telegraph). Bottom line? Dance is amazing. Dance can open so many doors. When I dance, whether it's on stage, in the dance studio or in my living room after moving all the furniture, I feel the most strong and free. There is nothing like getting to wake up and go to an 8:00am advanced modern class at school. Getting the opportunity to wake up and start my day by feeling the air around me as I dance in a space with creative and caring people. I can't imagine a world without dance, and so I wish to pursue it. With my Interdisciplinary contract, I was able to further discover my passion. My major has me looking at the business and logistics side of the dance industry, but I also have a strong emotional connection that allows me to dive deeper into my training. Work Cited Career as a Dancer. Institute for Career Research, 2006. What goes into a professional dancers career. Retrieved on April 01 from Lamson Library Courtney, Ben. “THE DANCE.” The Dance: Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D., The beginning of dance history. Retrieved on April 02 from www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/. Halliwell, Rachel. “Why Dancing Feels so Good.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 29 Apr. 2016, The emotional aspect of dance. www.telegraph.co.uk/good-news/seven-seas/why-dancing-feels-good/.www.telegraph.co.uk/good-news/seven-seas/why-dancing-feels-good/ “History of Dance.” HISTORY OF DANCE, The history of dance from ancient times. Retrieved on April 01 from www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab82. Meekums, Bonnie. Dance Movement Therapy: A Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. SAGE, 2005. Dance Movement Therapy and Therapeutic Dance. Retrieved from Lamson Library Understanding How to Survive Off The Arts I've been dancing since I was three years old, but never thought about dance being anything more than a hobby until I started looking into college. So when I started looking at it as a serious career choice, I was concerned with how I would make it work. "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life," right? I'm interested in researching how dance became a viable profession, and when it became socially acceptable to pursue it as a full time job. Beyond this, I would love to research how professionals in my field have made a sturdy living, as well as the do's and don'ts of the daunting task of starting your career in the Arts. This topic is important to me because I feel as if the Arts are just transforming into a profession that is being taken seriously. I still find that when I tell people I study dance, they become skeptical of how i'll make it work. "What are you going to do with that?" I'm ready to sit down with professionals who are already successful in this field, and figure out how they did it! I believe this will start to open more eyes to the possibility of making a viable living off of dance, or even theatre and singing! But before I can see how it works, I need to understand how it originated. Even just 100 years ago I doubt dancers were looked at as real working women, and if they were, the image was a stripper or taxi dancer. I want to break this image. I believe that understanding these topics better will help me become a successful dancer once I graduate. If I can understand the origination of the career, and how it has progressed into where it is today, then I will know how to maneuver my way through the profession. Once I understand this, I can apply my conclusions from interviews with professionals (such as Broadway Choreographer, Jesse Robb, whom i've worked with before www.jesserobb.com/ ) in New York City, Chicago, and Boston to understand what will make a successful post-graduate life. I'll be adequately prepared on how to get my foot in the door in one of these cities! My timeline to make sure I complete this research paper will include the following: Week 1: Gather a list of professionals I would like to interview (minimum of 3, each from a different city) Create a list of questions for interviews (keeping them similar for each interview) Week 2: Follow through with 1 interview over phone or email Create spreadsheet of answers and info gathered Week 3: Finish 2 other interviews Continue with spreadsheet on answers received Week 4: Begin looking into history of dance as a career Find sources in library about the Arts 100+ years ago (3 sources by book or scholarly article) Week 5: Begin a ROUGH outline and draft of research article Bring to writing center or IDS office Week 6 Revise paper off of critiques Begin draft #2 Week 7: Bring back to IDS office and speak to Bonnie or Robin about where it's at Bring to writing center for grammatical checks Week 8: Submit! Connecting The Community Through Dance Last year I was involved in an Empowering Youth Through Movement class, where I held a workshop for troubled youth. This wasn't solely a dance workshop, but more of an active day to get kids out of their homes and moving. We played a lot of ice breaker games, and let them choreograph their own movement piece at the end. Here is the video from the past workshop, demonstrating one of the groups self choreography ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzdpg452abQ ) ! It was so fun to watch them create this and perform it. The end turnout was amazing, for me and the kids. I saw so much joy in them, and saw some kids come out of their shells by the end of the 4 hours. I would love to hold a similar workshop for my applied project, but make it more dance oriented. I want to bring in some fellow dance friends who are also elementary education majors, so that I have others present who are more aware of a child's psychology and mannerisms. I feel as if dance is very competitive in society today. You have to be able to flip and kick your face, or drop into splits on command. While I want to make sure the kids are moving and dancing throughout the workshop, I feel it needs to be mainly fun and easy-going for them. I want to send the message that this can be a way to relieve stress, even a way of communication through the body.
The goal for this event would be to bridge kids in the community to an exciting and RELAXING (also free) day of dancing. Kids will make new friends of all ages, learn some new moves, and even get to make up their own combinations/choreography. Everyone moves differently, so it's important to let them express their individual movement! I think this will help me grow as an educator and mentor in the dance world. I enjoy teaching classes to youth at dance studios in my spare time, and working with choreographers in musicals. This workshop will make great practice on interacting with the youth in the community, as well as picking up skills from my elementary education friends! Creating a safe and fun environment for these kids will be really important. Allowing them a day to get out of the house and dance around could make a world of difference in their lives. While I wish to dance professionally when I leave Plymouth State, it's really important to me that I spread dance to others. I would love to continue teaching and assisting with classes once I move to the city. I can see myself teaching classes for some side money while getting started, so understanding how to organize something like this will be vital. On top of this, it is on my radar to possibly open a studio once I settle down in my 30's and can no longer use my body to the degree of professional dancing. Allowing others to share the passion of dance is going to help children grow up to be happy and healthy adults. They'll have an outlet for their emotions, because you CAN communicate through movement. Timeline to make sure project goes smoothly: Week 1: Find a space to hold workshop Dance Studio on campus? Acting Studio on campus? HUB courtroom? Get permission from building managers Week 2: Gather a list of dancers from Amanda Whitworth and David Lynch Go through my studio contacts and send out emails regarding dancers interested in taking workshop Contact Elizabeth and Erica Morrissette to create a poster for the event Set a list of classes that will be taught (ballet, musical theatre, jazz, improv, choreo class) Week 3: Create a webpage to allow an easy signup for workshop Pick a deadline for signups Week 4: ADVERTISE!! Reach out to Jess Simpson, Kendra fox, Emily Middleton, Ashley Marsh (other education/dance folks) to help lead workshop classes Follow up with kids signed up so far VIA email Create the waiver to be signed in person at drop off (to allow pics to be taken) Week 5: Hold workshop! Have participants take survey at end Week 6: Create ePort post about workshop Send out follow up emails to participants to thank them for joining! RELAX I'm an indecisive person, so choosing one solid idea for my senior capstone project as an interdisciplinary major is tough. After putting some thought into my research article, I realized I don't really have any idea how dance as a career originated. When did it become acceptable to pursue dance as a full time profession? When did equity become a large part of a performers life? If you think about someone moving to New York City or Chicago to pursue dance professionally to pay the bills, that doesn't seem like something that has been possible for even the last 100 years. When I think about dancing in the 1900's, my mind goes to strippers or dancers who were solely dancing for men. I'm interested in how we got past this stigma and decided it was acceptable to dance on Broadway as a career or to have your goal be dancing in the Boston Ballet. When did it become an option as a major in college?
When thinking about my applied project, I knew immediately that I wanted to do something physical. How could I incorporate dance into something that will benefit others? I thought back on a previous course, Empowering Youth Through Movement, and remembered how we collectively designed a workshop for troubled youth in the area. I remember hearing about how much the youth enjoyed the workshop, and how it gave them something fun to do for a whole day. It gave them a free outlet to express themselves, and even allowed them to make some new friends. This was empowering for me to see how soothing dance can be. I feel as if dance is looked at so competitively in society today. If you're dancing you have to be the best turner, the most flexible, or the highest leaper. I would love to provide youth in the surrounding areas the opportunity to come take free dance classes to relieve stress and just have FUN. I hope to incorporate my friends/colleagues who are majoring in elementary education and also take dance classes or enjoy dancing. This way, I have leaders nearby who are aware of the psychology of children and will know what can help make the day a more positive experience. Most of my childhood memories revolve around dance. At age 3 I discovered how much I adored this art form, who knew 15 years later I would decide to go to college for the Performing Arts. I have a specific picture in my mind from one of my first dance classes at my very first studio. The space was old and worn down, the walls needed a new paint job desperately. Ceiling tiles were missing, and the little corner bathroom was cold with dripping pipes. After the hour long class was over, my mom had me stay after to take a picture in front of the old wooden barre in my pink tutu, holding a simple passe position. I remember learning these foundations that day in class and feeling encouraged and excited to do simple tendu's, it only made sense that I wanted to show it off to my mom as soon as I finished with class. My teachers were thrilled at how I took such an interest to the basics. While other kids were running around with the attention spans of normal children, I wanted to keep learning new moves. I remember the classroom being filled with about a dozen other children, and two young teachers. I don't remember ever feeling nervous, only eager to move forward with the class and lesson. This is how I am feeling as I leave my last semester as an interdisciplinary major. I once again feel encouraged and eager to move on with my education and career choice. It's interesting to me that I chose a path that revolves around dance so heavily. At the time of my first class, I didn't have a single thought that this would flourish into such a strong passion - pushing me to study it in college at PSU. Looking back on this time of my life brings me joy and confidence. Confidence because I knew from such a young age that I loved to dance.
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