NOVEMBER POST: What are you grateful for as a dancer? (something you can't live without, or what dance does for you, what has dance brought to your life, who are you grateful for, etc)
I am grateful for the
people I have met through dance. Some of
my best friends are fellow dancers and I can’t imagine my life without
them. I also love to meet new dance
teachers and learn what they have to teach.
If I had not met my very first dance teacher, we called her Miss Joan, I
don’t think I would have liked dance as much as I do. She was a teacher of creative movement at
Ballet Austin and unlike the other teachers she let us dress up for our end of
year recital. Normally at Ballet Austin
the students do not have costumes for their recitals, the philosophy being that
it is distracting to do so. Except Miss
Joan let us make our own costume, aka our Moms made them, and what little girl
doesn’t like dressing up! Miss Joan
showed me that dance could be fun, and I am grateful to her for that.
Although there are some
teachers I had disagreements with and found it hard to work with them, I still
find myself being appreciative of them. Cheryl Copeland is someone I was lucky to meet. She is tough on her
dancers but without her help I don’t think I would have been able to branch out
of my strict ballet background and into the world of contemporary and jazz. For that I give her thanks.
I credit the beginning
of my thirst for drill team to Denise Cochran, my middle school dance teacher who
encouraged me to try out for Westwood High School’s JV drill team. I feel gratitude since I really knew very
little about drill team until then. If
not for her I may not have even dreamed of trying out for Strutters!
There are so many
teachers and students of dance that I am thankful for and I am glad that I
met. Dance is such a big part of my life
that the list could go on and on. So in
the spirit of Thanksgiving I am grateful for the way that dance has led me to
meet and connect with the people that have shaped me as a dancer and a
person. I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
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