I grew up an only child. But I have a cousin, also an only child, who is 7 years older than me. She has been more like an older sister; and everything she did, I wanted to do. So if she danced, I danced! If she sang, I sang! We have some hilarious home videos of the two of us putting on shows, my cousin, who was skilled and talented was true entertainment, while I would follow with my best shot. At least I had the cute factor working for me. But I came to love dance, and have enjoyed many positive outcomes from my experience.

Dancing was my first experience working on a team. Yes, dance technique is built on self-discipline. But performing is a group effort. Not only do you rely on each other to make the proper formations (and sometimes even more closely with coordinated lifts and partner dancing), but you feed off of each other’s energy. I think for this reason, some of my dance friendships have grown rapidly and have stood the test of time.

Dance provides incredible discipline. You want to get your splits? Hold a stretch that HURTS, breathe through it, HOLD it much longer than you want. Train your body to do things it shouldn’t (but in a safe and controlled way) because it’s fun and you can! When it was clear I had serious interest and talent in dance, I enrolled in a summer ballet intensive. I know I had potential, but I needed more instruction and wanted to see progress quickly. (At the time, I had reasonably bad posture as well.) However, I didn’t take the word “intensive” seriously. At the Ballet Arizona summer intensive, ballet was 8AM, pointe or variations (where you learn real choreography from real ballets) at 10AM. An hour break for lunch. Stretching from 1-2, Jazz from 2-4, and Flamenco from 4-5. Literal dancing all day. That snapped my posture into shape, helped my technique find new heights, and got me ready to make a big switch to a new very serious dance studio returning home. But this short time of long days, working hard, showed me that I was capable. Suddenly, I was being cast in trios, leading roles, and able to handle the physicality of modern dance in high school.

I’ve learned a lot, and been through a lot, through dance. During my high school years, dance was not considered an official sport. This meant that in order to pass my physical requirements in high school, I had to take a quarterly swim test to prove I was fit. Thankfully, things have changed. In 2011 Gatorade announced that it considers dance to be a sport. When putting professional dancers to the test, they said that the amount of time and dedication that dancers put into their work and the amount of muscles they work out during one practice is higher than those of a professional football player. And it’s true! Anyone care to disagree? I would be happy to talk you through the correct ballet positioning, just the positioning, and perhaps you may change your mind.

Apart from respect and strengthening for my body, dance is also about balance. Not only the physical ability to balance on the point the size of a quarter, but the balance between flexibility and strength; the balance between pushing to your limits but not getting hurt; the balance of rise and fall. Literally learning how to fall. I could go on. But most importantly, at this time in my life…as I’ve decided to not go on to become a professional dancer, I still take myself to dance class. To get a workout. To balance my life and outlet my emotions. To be immersed a group of people I wouldn’t otherwise. My boyfriend also dances and has brought a new world of dance into my life: ballroom and social dancing! And we have great time busting out west coast swing at our friends weddings (or randomly while we’re cooking dinner or walking the dog). Family dance parties are a thing in this house! And though we’re both trained dancers, everyone can dance. Everyone should dance. And enjoy the sense of life it gives you.

Feel free to check out some of my dance videos below!