Since I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with anything related to dancing.
My journey as a dancer began about 12 years ago when I was a little girl, about the age of 3. I had a book about a little ballerina, called I Wear My Tutu Everywhere. I also danced around the house more than I walked, so it wasn’t long before my mom realized my interest in ballet. She got me a dancing dvd so I could practice at home, and looked for ballet flats for my little feet, but couldn’t find any, so instead she got me thin house shoes that resembled ballet shoes.
As my love for the art of dancing grew, my mom decided to put me in dance class. She put me in a dance school which I danced at for one year, until I was about five.
We eventually moved across the state to a small town. One of my kindergarten friends took ballet classes at a nearby ballet studio, and her mom recommended the studio to my mom. My mom contacted the studio about a year and a half later, and I remember going into it as a 7-year-old for an interview with some of the staff members. Sometime while I was there for the interview I watched an older level in class, and I remember my awe as I stared at the students working hard, and not only then, but for a long time afterward I longed to be one of them. The interview was simple enough, and later we found out I was accepted into the school to continue my barely developed dance training.
I started out going to the studio right away, in the middle of the year, one day a week for 45 minutes. I adored my new studio and looked forward to each class. As the years passed, I grew stronger and more skilled as a dancer, and was promoted to the next level about every year. We ended up moving to the town where my dance studio is, which makes it a million times easier to travel back and forth between classes since I am currently going four days a week for hours at a time.
One memory that stands out to me was when I found out that I had not been moved up in the fall, and I was devastated. Yet I was determined to prove myself worthy of the next level, so I worked hard, which ended up paying off because about two weeks later, we got an email from my studio with the news that I had gotten promoted to the next level, at which I was overjoyed.
Another one of my favorite memories was when I moved up in the middle of the year with a friend. This is a long story about a semester that suddenly presented new challenges in dance that I’d never faced before, and a story I will share in a later post.
I’m writing this after seven and a half years at my studio. This past year I danced in the level before Apprentice, which is the last level before Company. This year (2020-2021) will be my eighth year at my current studio. This year has had many huge milestones, especially in dance, which I will be sharing more about soon.
I am now an advanced ballerina, and I have experience in ballet, pointe, contemporary, hip hop, tap, swing dance, and am looking forward to learning new types of dancing. I’ve participated in over 25 performances and recitals, at least 8 summer workshops, and have taught two summer workshops of my own, which I am looking forward to blogging about in more detail soon.
One of my favorite things about dancing is that I can worship God through it while doing something I love. I’m so blessed to be part of a studio that is centered around God and where my teachers help me grow not only as a dancer, but also as a Christian.
I’m starting this blog to share my love for dance, God, and life, and I hope it brings encouragement not only to dancers but to anyone who reads it!
Dancing4Jesus
Psalm 149:3~ Let them praise his name with dancing. (NIV)
Contact me here: dancing4jesus20@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment