SEPT BLOG: Compare the beginning of college last year with this year...
My oh my, it's been a real switch of lifestyle this semester when I look back at the beginnings of my sophomore year here at UT!. For one thing, I feel like I have grown as an independent individual as well as an artist these past months. This semester I am taking more dance courses, like dance history I, Choreography I (my favorite class by far!), Advanced Ballet, PDPR (Projects in Dance Performing Repertoire, our dance company so to speak), Dance Pedagogy Theory, and Pilates theory and practice (best elective I've chosen!) with the only exception being Introduction to Astronomy at a grueling 8am. This makes a total of 20 course hours, which is the most I have taken so far in my college career. This might sound like too much to bear, however it is a good opportunity to test my skills and know how much I am able to handle since I am beginning to realize that the career of an artist can get VERY busy, either as a professional or as a dance educator.
I think Junior year is the time where you will most develop your independence as you find yourself making arrangements to observe classes, teach (if you are on the weekends like I am), make time for homework, see friends outside of dance (we all need those days!), go to football games, and of course number one priority being to spend time with family, since they are the back bone of my support system and encourage me to push further past my limits mentally and physically (on top of that we moved to a new home this year, so it truly feels like a new chapter in my book). Overall, this is definitely the year that I have learned the most about my major since I am now in between the threshold of student and dance educator. All this is to say that I am happy to have a hectic life so far. I feel like I am learning so much my mind is about to explode, in a good way. But it's difficult to apply everything I'm beginning to understand right away (philosophically, physically, mentally, spiritually, and wholeheartedly) so I'll take a step at a time and take it with a grain of salt, as people say!
As a dancer artist, I'm beginning to see the deep, complex history of dance and what it means to find my own voice through movement without falling back into a "default" type of style when choreographing or teaching classes well as learning what are makes a great universal teacher and role model for children who want to be dancers or even pursue it professionally. Even though I do identify myself as a classical ballet dancer, I have fallen in love with the world of dance: afro-brazilian, Barhatanatyum, Flamenco, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, etc… I used to only draw back into a "bunhead" mode in the past, but as the dance department continues to present us with guest artists and master classes that come from different backgrounds, styles, places and such, my love for movement has only gotten bigger now that I have opened my mind I am willing to do and try anything that has to do with movement; it is important to be versatile and explore the unknown parts of dance that not everyone follows or even understand. I do believe that as compared to last year I am able to say that I have a greater admiration for movement and have grown to have an open mind about anything that would come my way as much as a growing adult as a professional artist. As one of my idols, the former principal NYCB Wendy Whelan, puts it: "I can't be a ballerina for my whole life. But I'm a dancer. I can be a dancer for my whole life." This I am able to take away from that: a dancer is so much more than what you think.
My oh my, it's been a real switch of lifestyle this semester when I look back at the beginnings of my sophomore year here at UT!. For one thing, I feel like I have grown as an independent individual as well as an artist these past months. This semester I am taking more dance courses, like dance history I, Choreography I (my favorite class by far!), Advanced Ballet, PDPR (Projects in Dance Performing Repertoire, our dance company so to speak), Dance Pedagogy Theory, and Pilates theory and practice (best elective I've chosen!) with the only exception being Introduction to Astronomy at a grueling 8am. This makes a total of 20 course hours, which is the most I have taken so far in my college career. This might sound like too much to bear, however it is a good opportunity to test my skills and know how much I am able to handle since I am beginning to realize that the career of an artist can get VERY busy, either as a professional or as a dance educator.
I think Junior year is the time where you will most develop your independence as you find yourself making arrangements to observe classes, teach (if you are on the weekends like I am), make time for homework, see friends outside of dance (we all need those days!), go to football games, and of course number one priority being to spend time with family, since they are the back bone of my support system and encourage me to push further past my limits mentally and physically (on top of that we moved to a new home this year, so it truly feels like a new chapter in my book). Overall, this is definitely the year that I have learned the most about my major since I am now in between the threshold of student and dance educator. All this is to say that I am happy to have a hectic life so far. I feel like I am learning so much my mind is about to explode, in a good way. But it's difficult to apply everything I'm beginning to understand right away (philosophically, physically, mentally, spiritually, and wholeheartedly) so I'll take a step at a time and take it with a grain of salt, as people say!
As a dancer artist, I'm beginning to see the deep, complex history of dance and what it means to find my own voice through movement without falling back into a "default" type of style when choreographing or teaching classes well as learning what are makes a great universal teacher and role model for children who want to be dancers or even pursue it professionally. Even though I do identify myself as a classical ballet dancer, I have fallen in love with the world of dance: afro-brazilian, Barhatanatyum, Flamenco, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, etc… I used to only draw back into a "bunhead" mode in the past, but as the dance department continues to present us with guest artists and master classes that come from different backgrounds, styles, places and such, my love for movement has only gotten bigger now that I have opened my mind I am willing to do and try anything that has to do with movement; it is important to be versatile and explore the unknown parts of dance that not everyone follows or even understand. I do believe that as compared to last year I am able to say that I have a greater admiration for movement and have grown to have an open mind about anything that would come my way as much as a growing adult as a professional artist. As one of my idols, the former principal NYCB Wendy Whelan, puts it: "I can't be a ballerina for my whole life. But I'm a dancer. I can be a dancer for my whole life." This I am able to take away from that: a dancer is so much more than what you think.
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