Stillness through Movement

The other day someone posed the question,

"Why do you dance?"

And for me there are lots of reasons.

But I guess what it boils down to, 

is when I walk into a class or I 

step out on stage, the only thing 

in the world that matters in that moment
is that moment.

via

It's cool for the whole world to just stop.
Three or so minutes of pure peace.
Clarity.
Stillness surrounded by movement.
Stillness through movement.
It's a strange concept.
But the world just slows.
It's a rare moment when this crazy life slows down
and you feel complete and total happiness.
But that's the way I feel when I dance.
Nothing else matters.
The world stops.

Music has always been a part of my world.
I like feeling the pain or the joy in the artist's voice.
And as a dancer, I can convey those feelings.
I can tap into those feelings within myself and deal with them in a way
that I otherwise couldn't.

The sadness, the hurt, the bad, the joy, the laughter, the smiles.
All of it can be spoken.
But if you ask me, dancing it is a whole other level.
It's speaking without words.
It's painting without color.
It's feeling in it's simplest form.
Think about it, as a child, we have to learn to speak, read, write, paint,
but movement, that is within us.
While dancing takes training,
movement is a part of our lives from the moment we enter the earth.
Dance & movement can translate a more raw form of emotion.
It requires less thought.
It's feeling the emotions rather than just expressing them.


via

I'm not the best dancer in the world, I'm not even close.
But, it doesn't matter.
Think about the pure joy you see in a child's face as they dance around their house.
They have no training in the world, yet they are overcome with happiness
as they spin and jump and wiggle.


via

And there's something really beautiful about being able to push myself.
 Testing limits.
Reaching new boundaries.
Setting new standards.

And while dance can be all of these things for a single person.
It can also be these things for a group of people at the same time.
I've danced many different places with many different individuals.
And no matter the dance, the style, the stage, the costume,
the thing I remember the most are the girls standing by my side.
It takes a certain level of trust to dance with a group of girls.
You have to be able to count on those around you and know that they
are as excited as you are.
You have to know that they want it just as badly as you do.
They have to be hungry and eager to do their best.
The fight that is within them to reach their highest potential has to match yours.


via

I can truly say that I never felt that until a year ago.
I felt my own passion when dancing, but I'd never been
surrounded by a group of people who felt that passion
just as much, if not more, than I did.
I found not only a studio, but a home.
And it was hard because the group of people who were there
had known each other their whole lives.
And I came in as a senior, knowing that I only had one year to be there.
But despite that, I met some really great people.
And I felt a new form of happiness.
One that you can only find when you surround yourself with
people who are as passionate about something as you are.
And I've recently found that feeling again through my dance company at Tech.

But at the end of the day, when the curtain closes and the lights fall.
You're the one left standing alone.
And for me it all boils down to the stillness and the movement.
The complex balance of the two.
That all comes together to be what we know as dance.