Throughout my life, I have experienced numerous awesome days and I’m very grateful for that. However, the day that stood out for me was the 27th of March 2022. I’m going to explain why.
I have been dancing for almost four years now. The 27th of March was the day I started dancing. I usually memorize all interesting dates; therefore, I remember what happened on the 27th of March. Even though I remember the exact date, that is not important in this case. What is important is the love that was born that day. There are many dance styles. I dance hip hop and next year I will start doing contemporary dance. For many people, dance might seem boring, yet I feel like it is my whole life. I have been dancing for fun my entire life, it was just a matter of time before I started doing it professionally. I used to dance with my friend and we both decided to take a dance class. For the first dance class, we could just come to see how everything works and then decide whether we will go or not. I was scared because I did not know anyone there. I came to the dance class and I loved it, but there was a problem. My friend did not like it and she did not want to continue training. Even though I was sad, I decided to continue because I loved it. I listened to myself and not to anyone else. I was, and still am, proud of that. I knew who I was and what I wanted and made it happen.
At the beginning, it was really hard. I had no friends and everything was new to me. Whenever it felt hard, I would remember why I continued dancing. It was because I felt an overwhelming amount of love and all good emotions when I danced. We started having performances and competitions. I remember that the first competition I ever went to I was placed first. That is one of my most precious memories. If I could say something to myself when I started dancing, I would say to never give up because everything gets better. Dance has become a part of my identity and everyday life. Whenever I introduce myself to someone, I always mention dance. I cannot go a day without dancing. If I do not have time to go to dance class, I dance at home. I just need to. It helps me both mentally and physically. Dance also changed me as a person. It taught me patience, passion and dedication. I find purpose in dancing. When I dance, I feel like myself. Someone once asked me if there is a difference between dancing as a hobby and dancing as a lifestyle. The answer is yes. Dance as a hobby is when you do it at home from time to time or at parties and maybe to draw attention to yourself. When dance is a lifestyle, it is a lot different. Dance as a lifestyle means dancing for example while cooking, in the shower and simply all the time. By definition, dance is moving your body in the rhythm of music. I think that definition does not contain emotion. If you asked me the right definition should be: "Dancing is moving your body in the rhythm of music while feeling the best you ever did, enjoying and feeling every single move by heart." At least that is how I feel in my case.
As a dancer, sometimes I have dance classes twice a week and sometimes seven. It depends on the season. If it is “dance competition season” then we have more classes and everything is much more intense and demanding. Sometimes it is mentally hard to process everything that happens. Whether it is being sad that a competition is over or being so stressed because you have a competition in a week and the choreography is still not done. As dancers, sometimes we have to make certain sacrifices. For example, getting a bad grade in school because we didn’t have time to study or getting injured because we worked really hard to do a certain move. Every dancer has their own story. Each story is unique and special. Behind every dancer there is a very hardworking background. The first two years of dancing I was in the same dance club. Two years ago, I changed my dance club and I love it so much more than the last one. In this one I became a better dancer and achieved more goals. I do not think badly of the last one but this one is better. One of my big goals since I have started dancing was to have a duo or trio. Usually, the best dancers from each group have a solo, duo or trio. This year I had a trio with my best friends, which made it even more special. That is probably my biggest accomplishment in dance so far. At my first performances I had a lot of stage fright, but the more that I danced, the less stage fright I had.
Nowadays, when I have a competition or a performance, I feel confident. Before I go on stage, I just keep myself calm, pray and believe everything will be alright. A few times I forgot the choreography while being on stage, I just free-styled and pretended nothing happened. That is the best way to handle the situation. One of the biggest things dances taught me is confidence.
In dance class, the most important thing is warming up. If we do not warm up, it can be very dangerous to dance and we can get injured. A thing I had to learn the hard way is that if you want to learn a choreography, you have to dance it numerous times until you get every move right. That can be hard to accept, even if it is reality. It can be hard to balance school, dance and social life. Sometimes I get really stressed and it can be overwhelming. When I win in a competition, I feel a great amount of joy. When I lose, I’m never sad. I look at it as a way to get more experience and learn new things. I also feel like the audience does not see struggle dancers have to go through in order to be successful. Often it is extremely hard to do everything at the same time, like combining school and dance, for example.
One of the most important things in dance for me are friends. The friends you make at dance are always the best friendships you ever experience. I am very grateful for them. Those people see the good and the bad sides of you, and still stay. They are truly real friends.
I want to continue dancing in life because I love it so much that I cannot imagine my life without it. I hope people can see the hard work I put in and I hope I will have enough strength to improve more.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my biggest passion that was born on 27th of March 2022.
It truly was a day that changed everything.