Celebrating Multicultural Dance at O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival
O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival is set to have an array of guest performers, in addition to performances from MMDC. The festival will feature performances by KOSMIX, a dance group that covers popular K-pop dances around the Seattle area. MiYoung looks forward to KOSMIX bringing a youthful energy to the festival line-up. Eurasia Virtual Academy & Ensemble is another guest performer, featuring artists specializing in dance from Central Asian cultures, as well as classical Russian-style ballet. Adage Ballet Studio, founded by PNB dancer Abby Jayne DeAngelo and former PNB dancer Guillaume Basso, will also showcase excerpts from Swan Lake, including a pas de deux danced by the founders themselves. Finally, Parmida Ziaei, an Iranian American designer, performer, choreographer, and MMDC dancer, will be a featured artist/choreographer at the festival, showcasing a modified version of her work Journey, centered around the concept of immigration.
MiYoung Margolis on Connecting Cultures Through Art
Name pronunciation: Me-Young Mar-gole-is | Pronouns: she/her
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Part of what makes the Seattle area such an inspiring and vibrant place to live is the diversity embodied across its inhabitants. Throughout the region, artists of all genres showcase their unique backgrounds and help cement feelings of community through their own innovative creations. Local artist MiYoung Margolis is interested in not only celebrating Seattle’s cultural diversity in dance but also bringing multiple cultures together through art. That’s why she and the rest of MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective are presenting the first annual O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival, an event aimed at engaging audiences in an elevated multicultural performance art experience. Buy tickets for this one-night-only event on November 5th, 2022 at 7:00 PM at Broadway Performance Hall in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.
MiYoung is a lifelong dancer and artist who has trained mainly in ballet, modern, and traditional Korean dance styles. She is the creator of MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective or MMDC, a Seattle-based dance company specializing in performance art that blends contemporary dance with various cultural traditions, including those inspired by MiYoung’s Korean heritage.
The name of O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival is inspired by the Korean folk tale of Ojakgyo, or the “Bridge of Crows and Magpies.” The tale is about two lovers who are vastly separated but meet together on July 7, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, when crows and magpies form a bridge to unite them. MiYoung points out that Seattle is a multicultural city that often has community events centered around individual cultures, often in their own silos. Thus, she created the O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival as a way to “bridge” the gap between these different cultural events and bring performers together for one night to celebrate art on an upscale stage.
Poster Art by: S.L. Yang
“My purpose is to create a platform that brings these talented local artists to an elevated stage,” MiYoung says of her mission behind the festival. She hopes the event inspires performers and audience members to embrace the unique facets of different cultures while enabling explorations of fusions between traditional and contemporary dance traditions. The juxtaposition of tradition and modernity is a theme MiYoung enjoys exploring in her own choreography as well.
O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival is set to have an array of guest performers, in addition to performances from MMDC. The festival will feature performances by KOSMIX, a dance group that covers popular K-pop dances around the Seattle area. MiYoung looks forward to KOSMIX bringing a youthful energy to the festival line-up. Eurasia Virtual Academy & Ensemble is another guest performer, featuring artists specializing in dance from Central Asian cultures, as well as classical Russian-style ballet. Adage Ballet Studio, founded by PNB dancer Abby Jayne DeAngelo and former PNB dancer Guillaume Basso, will also showcase excerpts from Swan Lake, including a pas de deux danced by the founders themselves. Finally, Parmida Ziaei, an Iranian American designer, performer, choreographer, and MMDC dancer, will be a featured artist/choreographer at the festival, showcasing a modified version of her work Journey, centered around the concept of immigration.
MMDC’s choreography often involves elements of contemporary, ballet, or tango styles of dance, which are used to help facilitate the telling of Korean-inspired stories. MMDC plans to showcase three dance pieces, including a version of MiYoung’s piece “The Wind of Fate,” a dance originally set as a duet that will be reworked as a group performance. Throughout her choreographic work, MiYoung enjoys blending traditional elements of Korean culture, such as music or costumes, with more non-traditional contemporary movements to defy audience expectations.
On September 10th and 11th 2022, MMDC performed during Chuseok, a traditional Korean mid-autumn harvest festival in honor of the full moon. The dance company’s performances in Gig Harbor and Tacoma, Washington acted as a preview of what to expect at the O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival in November.
Poster Art by: S.L. Yang
In the coming years, MiYoung hopes to make the O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival an annual event. And in the spring of 2023, she plans to organize another Seattle dance festival centered around solos and duet performances. Stay tuned to MMDC’s social media for more information.
Be sure to buy tickets for the first annual O-Jak Bridge Dance & Art Festival on November 5th, 2022 at 7:00 PM at Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle, Washington.
About the Author
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Beyond the Artist: Exploring Identity Outside Dance
Dance is just one part of our identity, one culture that we belong to. It’s important for dancers to understand this, and it is important for them to feel affinity with other parts of their identity so that they understand they have other identities and other communities where they belong. It’s about finding balance. So, invite both your or your child’s dance and school friends to birthday parties, take a night off dance to spend time with your family, spend the summer trying a new sport or movement style— it is okay to take time off, it is okay to try out different interests, and it is important to make sure dancers understand this because the only constant in life is change and we need to prepare our young dancers to be flexible when change occurs so they can process it with strength and grace.
By Brittni Bryan, DWC Ambassador Alum
Click below to shop the look:
I was scrolling through TikTok today when I swept up to a video about finding your identity outside of dance. TikTok user gabimorando responded to the question “Do you ever miss ballet?”. Her answer brought me back to my senior year of high school when I too was trying to figure out who I was if I wasn’t going to continue dancing.
As I’ve written about in the past, dance and I have had a precarious journey, but what I want to talk about today is the familiar struggle I think all dancers have as they move through different phases of their lives and their relationships with dance change. In her video, gabimorando describes how she struggled with injuries for most of her career as a dancer, and when her injuries became chronic, it was clear that her body needed a break from dance. She said that while she doesn’t miss ballet physically, she does miss dance emotionally, explaining: “… I do miss the security and the identity dance gave me…”. When I tell you I felt that— WHOA. During my late teens and early twenties, I experienced an identity crisis. I wasn’t certain what my sexuality was, my mental health was turbulent at best, I was at war with my body, and I had no idea who I was or who I wanted to be. The one solid thing I had was dance. So, when it stopped bringing me the same joy it once had and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep dancing anymore, I was left facing the question: who was I if I wasn’t a dancer?
In her video, gabimorando explained that when she left dance to care for her body she had an identity crisis, and I understood perfectly what she felt. She described her journey saying, “… dance was my entire life for over a decade, and when that was gone, I had no idea how to define myself anymore”. Neither did I, which, I think, brings up an important but not often discussed mental health issue in dance: identity. Dancers usually start their careers early in life. At the studio where I teach, dancers can start class at the age of three. I started dancing when I was four years old. By the time a dancer is six or seven, they will often decide if they want to pursue dance more seriously or remain a recreational dancer. Whether at a ballet-focused studio or a commercial/competitive studio, choosing to pursue dance seriously requires taking class multiple days a week, performing seasonally, and training during the summer. It becomes your life. I started competing when I was seven years old. Between January and April, I spent most weekends competing at dance competitions or taking classes at conventions, in addition to my weekday classes. I trained Monday through Thursday for four or five hours a night. School ended at 3:25pm when I was in elementary school, and I would start class at 4:30pm. My mom would pick me up at 8:30 or 9:30pm. I trained like this from kindergarten through tenth grade. I had school friends and I had dance friends, but I always felt closer to my dance friends because I undeniably spent more time with them than I did with my friends from school. Birthday parties were always a social disaster because I had to decide if I wanted to invite school friends, dance friends, or both; what if they didn’t get along?
Click below to shop the look:
I was always introduced as a dancer. Tell us something about yourself. Well, I’m a dancer. What is your favorite sport? Dance. Dance conflicted with opportunities to spend time with friends from school. I can’t come to your birthday, I have a dance performance. I can’t go to softball camp with you, I have dance class. I wasn’t upset about this, I loved being a dancer. In fifth grade, we went on a cruise to Mexico because my studio performed on the ship. I went to Las Vegas annually in the summer to attend national dance competitions. I was constantly traveling for dance conventions and competitions, and what 9-12 year old doesn’t love swimming in hotel pools, eating room service, and playing in the sauna? I loved it. But… it became such a big part of my life that I didn’t know who I was without it. So, when I started struggling with depression in middle school and high school, an existential identity crisis took hold, and I know I am not alone in this experience.
Click below to shop the look:
Be it mental health, injury, age, location, lifestyle, etc. there comes a time in every dancer’s life when our relationship with the art changes. There is a grieving process we must move through when this occurs. I think a lot of dancers navigate this grief alone, but what if we didn’t have to? We live in a society that sees humans as what they do: she’s a lawyer, he’s a teacher, they’re an athlete. It’s understandable that our children adopt that same identification process. However, we are more than what we do. Our identity is made up of our biology, beliefs, abilities, language, national origin, culture, and personality. Dance is just one part of our identity, one culture that we belong to. It’s important for dancers to understand this, and it is important for them to feel affinity with other parts of their identity so that they understand they have other identities and other communities where they belong. It’s about finding balance. So, invite both your or your child’s dance and school friends to birthday parties, take a night off dance to spend time with your family, spend the summer trying a new sport or movement style— it is okay to take time off, it is okay to try out different interests, and it is important to make sure dancers understand this because the only constant in life is change and we need to prepare our young dancers to be flexible when change occurs so they can process it with strength and grace.
Dances of Spain’s Jackie MacLin on Exploring the Rich Cultures of Flamenco
Jackie believes that a way to tackle this issue is to get more men and boys involved in dance at younger ages. She has noticed that in some areas boys are discouraged to join dance because it can be “too feminine.” Jackie would love to see more schools and companies open up more dance classes for boys to allow them to experience dance. “Let them experience it and hope that they don’t see it as something boys can’t do, but something extremely exciting and really powerful,” Jackie shares.
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by Janette MacKay
Flamenco is a vigorous rhythmic style of dance that comes from the southern tip of Spain. This highly-expressive art form is not only beautiful to watch but leaves the mover feeling powerful. Local flamenco instructor Jackie MacLin has been performing this invigorating dance style since she was young and knows the importance of passing on her knowledge to her dancers. Read on to learn more about Jackie’s dance journey and her mission in the world of flamenco!
Jackie started dancing when she was just 5 years old in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California. One of her family members was a former dancer and started a dance studio in her home. “She would move her dining room table out of the way and we would dance around,” she recalls. Jackie remembers her first performance where she wore sunglasses at nighttime and she shares that she couldn’t see well. She kept peering over the top of her glasses to see the audience and their reaction was laughter and applause. At that moment, she remembers instantly being hooked on performing on stage. From then on, she knew she wanted to dance.
Her teacher taught Mexican folk dancing and traditional Spanish dancing, which Jackie primarily did. In her hometown, there is a yearly fiesta that occurs called Old Spanish Days which is a celebration of the culture of the area. Jackie has always been involved in the fiesta, but when she was 16, she auditioned to be fiesta spirit and got the part. In this role, she represented the city and got to lead the parade, which was a very big honor for her.
Later on, she started teaching within the studio and she shares that she discovered flamenco after seeing it performed in Los Angeles. “I immediately said, ‘What is that? I need to do that, whatever that is I need to do that because it just spoke to me,” Jackie recalls, laughing. She and her dance mates would drive to go and take flamenco lessons, and she has been doing it ever since. She shares that despite the big milestones in her life like marriage and children, she was still continuing to teach and dance. Once she moved to Washington with her family, Jackie looked around the area for flamenco studios so she could continue her craft. She later started her own company Dances of Spain and has been teaching there ever since.
Photo by Janette MacKay
When asked about what her favorite thing about dance is, Jackie shares that she wouldn’t know what to do without it. In her experience, dance requires lots of physical and mental strength and she relates this to the connection between the upper body and lower body in flamenco dancing. She also shares that one of the things that she loves about flamenco specifically is its longevity. “As long as you can stand and move, you can still dance flamenco,” Jackie says. The small movements in flamenco allow the mover to completely take control of their emotion and that is something that Jackie really loves about this style of dance.
Because Jackie owns her own dance studio, she has found that one of her biggest struggles as a teacher is being able to give her students what they need. She shares that she learned flamenco in an untraditional way, meaning in the U.S., as others travel to Spain to get fully immersed in the culture. When learning flamenco, she just learned choreography, not the connection and feeling of the music. Because of this, Jackie didn’t understand what that all meant when she was teaching. In the end, she just wants to be able to explain flamenco clearly to her students and let them know the reasoning behind the movements they’re doing.
One of the biggest things that allowed Jackie to learn more about flamenco was asking questions when she was unsure. Because of this, she emphasizes the matter of being able to ask questions if dancers or teachers don’t understand something. She shares that in our time today, the internet has loads of information that dancers can turn to if they need help. She even says that she directs her own students to certain flamenco videos for reference as well. “Do your homework and really study your craft so that you really understand what it is that you’re doing,” she stresses.
While dance is slowly becoming more equal, Jackie would still love to see more men involved in dance, especially in flamenco. She shares that men play a big role in flamenco dance, as their movements are representatives of matadors and bullfights. Flamenco is a mixture of many different rich cultures coming from the southern tip of Spain, so men and women approach the movements in different ways which have been constantly evolving over the years.
Jackie believes that a way to tackle this issue is to get more men and boys involved in dance at younger ages. She has noticed that in some areas boys are discouraged to join dance because it can be “too feminine.” Jackie would love to see more schools and companies open up more dance classes for boys to allow them to experience dance. “Let them experience it and hope that they don’t see it as something boys can’t do, but something extremely exciting and really powerful,” Jackie shares.
Photo by Janette MacKay
Earlier this summer, Jackie just got done with her sixth annual flamenco showcase with Dances of Spain at Meydenbauer Theater on July 30th. Now in the fall, Jackie is hoping to focus more on the technical side of flamenco with her dancers in class. While running her studio, she also is a member of a non-profit, Espacio de Arte, where she is hoping to do some collaborations with other flamenco instructors in the area, so stay tuned for those announcements!
Be sure to check out the Dances of Spain website here for classes in flamenco dance!
About the Author
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Getting to Know Director of Inventory Riley Hendrickson
Riley says that there are countless reasons why she loves working at Dancewear Center, but one of her top ones is the community that’s come along with the job. She appreciates that she gets to work in a comfortable space where young people are given the opportunity to learn and grow free of judgement and excessive pressure. “I’m supported, genuinely cared for, and encouraged to put myself first,” Riley says. She says that as a general manager, Samantha’s care for DWC’s employees shines through, allowing staff members to pay her kindness forward towards customers and community members.
A Community Member on Dance and Inclusivity
Name pronunciation: Rye-lee Hen-drick-son | Pronouns: she/they
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Discussions of inclusivity in the dance world cannot be completely comprehensive if they don’t acknowledge how dancers with disabilities are treated in the industry. DWC Director of Inventory Riley Hendrickson shares her desire for dance spaces open to folks of all abilities and retells her own journey with dance and Dancewear Center. Read on to get to know this beloved member of the DWC team!
Riley started dancing ballet and tap around age three and expanded into contemporary, jazz, and hip hop genres throughout high school. After her first dance studio closed during her middle school years, she enrolled at Body Language Studio (formerly known as Cornerstone Studio). “It was very intimidating for me at first but I quickly found my people,” Riley says of switching studios.
“It was never about being the best and becoming a professional,” Riley says of her motive behind dancing. “It was a [opportunity] to be in my body, release energy, and find a group of people I could connect with.” Of all the genres Riley tried, tap is what stuck with her most. “Tap is my absolute favorite thing ever!” she says, sharing that she connects deeply with the rhythmic qualities of the dance style. While she’s taken a step back from dancing today, she’s enjoyed being involved in the local dance community in a new way through her role at Dancewear Center.
Riley points out that there are many outdated norms in the dance world, one of which is a lack of respect for children with both hidden and visible disabilities. “I’ve been recently exploring a late diagnosis of autism and when I look back, I can see how crucial dance was for my childhood,” Riley says. “I learned how to use my body and that not everything has to be spoken. I learned how much music and movement can be healing and uplifting, and was put into different social environments that allowed me to grow greatly as a person.” She believes that creating dance environments that are welcoming to those that don’t thrive in high-intensity, fast-paced class environments would help welcome more folks into the dance community. “Everyone should be able to dance no matter what!” Riley declares.
“[After] high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Riley says. She had connected with Dancewear Center Owner and General Manager Samantha Weissbach through Body Language Studio and around the time of Riley’s graduation, Samantha had bought DWC. Seeking employees to work at the store, Riley decided to throw her hat in the ring. She started out as a retail sales associate, before becoming a pointe shoe fitter, manager, and now director of inventory. “I have an odd amount of fun organizing and counting inventory,” she shares. “I manage all the buying and receiving for both [of DWC’s] locations while getting to work upfront with customers doing pointe shoe fittings, so I like the balance.”
“Similar to my dance journey, I had no idea where [this job] was going to take me, but it has been the best thing that could have happened to me,” Riley says proudly.
Riley says that there are countless reasons why she loves working at Dancewear Center, but one of her top ones is the community that’s come along with the job. She appreciates that she gets to work in a comfortable space where young people are given the opportunity to learn and grow free of judgement and excessive pressure. “I’m supported, genuinely cared for, and encouraged to put myself first,” Riley says. She says that as a general manager, Samantha’s care for DWC’s employees shines through, allowing staff members to pay her kindness forward towards customers and community members.
Outside of work, Riley enjoys recharging after days full of human interaction. “I try to focus on the little things that spark joy and relaxation for me: puzzles, video games, sometimes books, and anything you can find at a craft store, I will take a stab at,” she says. Riley especially enjoys spending time outside in the spring and summer, when she can often be found on a beach or chilling in a hammock in the forest. When she envisions her future, she pictures creating a family and feeling relaxed and free in her garden home.
We’re so grateful to have Riley on the team here at DWC!
About the Author
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Teaching Body Liberation in Dance
I think there are ways that dance teachers can focus on molding confident students who are gentle with themselves and love their bodies, over and above seeking technical excellence. I think studios can welcome in and effectively serve each dancer that walks in their doors. Punishing and accusing our bodies can be seen as an outmoded means to success. Exclusivity and unreachable standards don’t have to be what defines the dance world. Instead, body liberation can be the guiding force and joyful expression can be the ultimate goal of dance education.
Trigger Warning: Eating disorders, Mental Health Concerns
By Hannah Emory, DWC Blog Contributor
From my experience dancing at the collegiate level in the 2020s and beginning to develop my own pedagogical style, I see a lot of exciting room for growth in how dance teachers talk about, interact with, and allow space for the bodies in their studios. A huge wave of creative boundary-breaking has already begun as a result of more types of bodies having space in the dance world. This wave can only get bigger and have more impact as our teaching styles shift toward body liberation.
Cliona Byrne, body confidence coach and author of the Body Blog, writes:
“Body Liberation is freedom from all outside expectations of how your body should be/look, even your own [expectations]… Liberation is not being consumed with thoughts about your body. Liberation is not asking permission to be included in society’s ideal of beauty. Liberation is letting go of the concept that beauty = worth. Liberation is giving ourselves permission to live our lives in our bodies.”
I assume most of us were raised in dance spaces that were the opposite of body liberating. The majority of us probably experienced a rigid aesthetic being honored, dance movement having a narrow definition, and dancers being pigeon-holed into being a certain way of personal presentation. This certainly was the truth for me at many times throughout my formative dance years.
There are folks I watched walk away from dancing because the psychological pressure of ableist and sizeist standards created a toxicity in the studio that even sincere love for dance could not overcome. I was almost one of those people, until I realized that now more than ever we need dancers who know what it feels like to be on the margins and that seek to teach in ways that bring everybody in.
Body liberation has to begin with breaking our own negative thought patterns about the self. It starts with fundamentally believing that every body, including our own, is a dancing body. A succinct lens on body liberation comes from the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Center for Health and Wellbeing:
“the freedom from social and political systems of oppression that designate certain bodies as more worthy, healthy, and desirable than others. We do not believe that bodies that are white, able-bodied, cisgender, thin, or fit are superior, worthier, or inherently healthier than any other bodies.”
According to UVM, impacts of body discrimination extend to many areas of life, including social life, healthcare, mental wellbeing, and relationships with food and weight. Discrimination based on someone’s physical ability, body composition, and presentation of health can lead to a pervasive lack of self-value that stunts personal growth long-term. Arguably, the popular understanding of dance is still a largely discriminatory one.
In an aesthetic- and athletic-focused environment, like the dance industry, that largely thrives on opinions of the populace, it is a difficult thing to not view its participants through a dominant societal lens that promotes harmful messaging about bodies. In an environment where technique is often seen as king, it is not easy to let go of judgments and to not be consumed by body-centered critiques.
So, how do we take a genre like ballet, with specific stylistic hallmarks, and remove judgment from it? How do we make joy and authentic learning the focus instead of primarily focusing on objective outcomes that were handed down to us? These are questions that are not easily answered and it must be acknowledged that teaching always requires a form of constructive evaluation.
But, I think there are ways that dance teachers can focus on molding confident students who are gentle with themselves and love their bodies, over and above seeking technical excellence. I think studios can welcome in and effectively serve each dancer that walks in their doors. Punishing and accusing our bodies can be seen as an outmoded means to success. Exclusivity and unreachable standards don’t have to be what defines the dance world. Instead, body liberation can be the guiding force and joyful expression can be the ultimate goal of dance education.
Body liberation is a powerful mindset, but it can sometimes be difficult to know how to translate something from our headspace out into the real world. Yet, there are many intentional ways to apply a liberating mindset in the studio. A few pieces of constructive advice for teachers on this subject I’ve come across include:
“The cardinal rule of a body-positive teaching style: Correct your students’ dancing, not their bodies.” Comments about the bodies of dancers, especially young ones, should focus on highlighting their strengths and teaching injury prevention, rather than categorizing or critiquing their body composition. (Helen Rolfe, DanceTeacher.com)
Work towards a culture in the studio that “[views] the concepts and practices of wellness and wellbeing as a mindset and a way of life, not as specific behaviors deemed healthy or unhealthy by a dominant culture. Wellness and wellbeing look different to everyone.” (UVM)
Present your students with dance media and auxiliary instruction from creators of multiple backgrounds and physical presentations. Seek to show them concretely that dance is for every body and that discrimination doesn’t belong in dance spaces.
Through self-education, have your teaching honor the subjective nature of dance, respect dancers’ space, and bodily autonomy, and maintain a dialogue with students about positive approaches to movement and dance culture. (ausdance.)
It is not an easy thing to liberate our teaching from models that have been ingrained over generations, but I have seen that there is great momentum for change. Each time we walk into the studio as teachers, there is an opportunity to make dance a life-giving space for all who want to move.
Resources for further reading:
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Getting to Know Assistant Store Manager and Senior Pointe Shoe Fitter Anna Peters
From studying and teaching dance to fitting pointe shoes and helping customers as a Senior Pointe Shoe Fitter and Assistant Store Manager at Dancewear Center, dance consumes Anna Peters’ life. And she wouldn’t want it any other way! Read on to learn more about DWC Staff Member Anna Peters’ personal dance journey, goals for the future, and the changes she hopes to see made in the larger dance industry.
Name pronunciation: Anna Pee-ters | Pronouns: she/her
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
From studying and teaching dance to fitting pointe shoes and helping customers as a Senior Pointe Shoe Fitter and Assistant Store Manager at Dancewear Center, dance consumes Anna Peters’ life. And she wouldn’t want it any other way! Read on to learn more about DWC Staff Member Anna Peters’ personal dance journey, goals for the future, and the changes she hopes to see made in the larger dance industry.
Anna was inspired to begin dancing around age seven when her father took her to see The Nutcracker at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She started taking ballet classes at Body Language Studio, formerly known as Cornerstone Studio. In middle school, she started to branch out and took on classes in contemporary, lyrical, and jazz styles. “But I’m definitely a bunhead at heart,” Anna laughs, speaking about her love of ballet. In high school, Anna danced on the performing arts team at her studio and also took part in its pre-professional program. Today, she teaches ballet to students ages three through eighteen. “I’m also currently a dance major at the University of Washington,” Anna shares.
Anna began working at Dancewear Center in February of 2019 as a retail associate and since then she’s been promoted to a senior pointe shoe fitter and an assistant manager. Most of Anna’s time at Dancewear Center is spent helping dancers find the best pointe shoes for them and helping them learn more about the pointe shoe fitting process so they can be more informed about what they’re doing. She also has experience working on inventory and managing customers’ orders and information. Anna also takes pride in participating in the continuing education programs DWC employees do, particularly those related to pointe shoe fitting.
Anna enjoys being able to help dancers on their journeys by helping them find the exact products they need. Especially when it comes to helping people with pointe shoes, Anna gets a lot of satisfaction from helping people find the best pair of shoes for them.
Another aspect of fitting pointe shoes that Anna loves is being able to work in a space that occupies the “intersection of art and science.” She likes seeing how the anatomical knowledge of pointe shoe fitting supports the poetic, artistic side of dance.
When Anna isn’t at work or school, she enjoys dancing herself, as well as creating other forms of visual art. She especially likes to draw, particularly in a comic book style, and enjoys creating fan art. Anna is also an avid reader and writer, she’s even written a novel that she’s looking into publishing!
In addition to majoring in dance at the University of Washington, Anna is also studying physiology and plans to attend PT school to become a physical therapist who specializes in working with dancers, dance educators, and pointe shoe fitters. “I really want to be able to work with other[s]...to create an environment that’s a little more friendly to dancers,” Anna shares, acknowledging that dancers have specific needs that cannot always be adequately met by meeting with a general physical therapist. “I think that it’s really important that a dancer gets what they actually need,” she says, also stressing the importance of dancers being educated on injury prevention. Anna is excited to be working with Velocity Physiotherapy this summer to learn more about physical therapy in the dance and performing arts industry.
A change that Anna hopes to see made in the dance world is dancewear companies offering a wider range of size options across leotard styles. Anna points out that the leotard sizes available to the public are reflective of the types of bodies that people have been conditioned to associate with dancers. She stresses that leotards need to have support for all body types. “What’s super important to me is that everyone feels comfortable dancing,” Anna says. “I think part of that is having clothes that they can actually feel comfortable dancing in.” She’s proud of the strides that have been made within many companies but shares that more work still needs to be done.
About the Author
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Getting to Know DWC Blog Editor Nicole Barrett
Nicole enjoys writing for the DWC Blog because she gets to learn about other peoples’ stories and relationships with dance. She points out that in everyday dance training, it’s rare that dancers discuss how dance has helped shape their lives. Hearing the stories of others has opened Nicole’s eyes to what dance can do for people and the capacity that it has to transform lives. Through conducting and transcribing interviews, she also feels a stronger attachment to the local dance community in Seattle and a greater understanding of its interconnectedness.
A Conversation About Writing and Dancing in the Greater Seattle Area
Name pronunciation: Nick-ole Bear-et | Pronouns: she/her
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Since its conception, the DWC Blog has been an outlet for local artists and business owners to share their stories with the dance community of greater Seattle. For those on the DWC Blog team, the blog has also become a site of learning and connection. DWC staff member Nicole Barrett shares what she loves about writing for the DWC Blog, what she hopes to see change in the dance world, as well as her plans for the future. Nicole will soon be the new editor for the DWC Blog, so keep an eye out for her upcoming posts!
Growing up, Nicole trained at several different dance studios across the greater Seattle area. She began taking dance classes at age three at the Renton Community Center. “I fell in love with it,” Nicole shares. She later took classes at Rainier Ballet Academy and participated in the performing company. After the dance school got bought out by another business, Nicole began taking classes from the studio director out of her house multiple times a week to continue dancing. She later took classes at Body Language Studio (formerly Cornerstone Studio) and then took some time off following an injury. Nicole eventually landed at Spotlight Dance Center, where she has danced in the performing company and participates in annual shows.
“Dance is my way of expressing without having to use words,” Nicole says. She enjoys that dance allows her the ability to share her emotions without having to speak, as verbal communication is admittedly not her favorite mode of expression. Nicole feels like dancing has allowed her to be more emotionally intelligent, as she’s able to explore nuanced feelings through movements that are challenging to verbalize.
Something Nicole hopes to see change in the dance world is the unrealistic physical expectations for dancers, as well as the antiquated ideas about gender roles in dance. “Everyone can dance, no matter what their body type is,” Nicole says. “Dance is for every person, it doesn’t have to be just for one specific set of people.” She believes that more dance studios should promote the idea that anyone can dance and have open conversations about tough topics like physical insecurities. She appreciates that Spotlight Dance Center celebrates “Love Your Body Week,” an annual event in which a week is dedicated to promoting self-care and self-love.
Nicole learned about Dancewear Center last summer when her studio director informed her and her fellow dancers that a new dance store was opening in Renton, Washington and that they were looking for staff. Nicole thought she would make an excellent member of the DWC team, as she had experience dancing which would lend itself well as a retail associate at a dancewear store. She and her friend and fellow dancer Mia Behnke applied and both got the jobs! In August 2021, Nicole began working as a retail associate. Months later, Nicole was recruited by DWC Owner and General Manager Samantha Weissbach to work on the DWC marketing team. Since then, Nicole has been devoting most of her work time to training to be the next DWC Blog Editor, as well as helping out with photography efforts.
“Dance is for every person, it doesn’t have to be just for one specific set of people”
Nicole enjoys writing for the DWC Blog because she gets to learn about other peoples’ stories and relationships with dance. She points out that in everyday dance training, it’s rare that dancers discuss how dance has helped shape their lives. Hearing the stories of others has opened Nicole’s eyes to what dance can do for people and the capacity that it has to transform lives. Through conducting and transcribing interviews, she also feels a stronger attachment to the local dance community in Seattle and a greater understanding of its interconnectedness.
Outside of working and dancing, one of Nicole’s greatest passions is film. She enjoys watching movies in her free time, but she is unsure of what she would like to pursue in college. Growing up, she loved watching the movie Monsters, Inc., and today she’s a huge fan of Knives Out, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Marvel movies. She’s also fond of taking photographs, spending time with her friends and family, and engaging in self-care when she can.
This summer, Nicole is attending a summer film program at UCLA and plans to start preparing her college applications and touring universities. She is still unsure about where she wants to land for college, but she is excited for the future. Nicole also shares that she has some dance performances coming up that she’s preparing for with her dance studio.
We’re thrilled to have Nicole as our new DWC blog editor! Stay tuned for more posts from her in the upcoming months.
About the Author
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
What It’s Like Being a DWC Ambassador
At Dancewear Center, the fundamental mission that underpins all of our work is “to support and empower our dance community through quality, integrity, and education.” A large part of how Dancewear Center strives to support local dancers is by finding unique ways to connect dance artists and forge community. The DWC Ambassador program is one of the ways we’re creating those connections and conceiving that community. As ambassadors, individuals get the chance to create original content for the DWC Blog, take over the DWC Instagram, receive free products, get professional photos taken, and much more.
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Click below to shop the look:
At Dancewear Center, the fundamental mission that underpins all of our work is “to support and empower our dance community through quality, integrity, and education.” A large part of how Dancewear Center strives to support local dancers is by finding unique ways to connect dance artists and forge community. The DWC Ambassador program is one of the ways we’re creating those connections and conceiving that community. As ambassadors, individuals get the chance to create original content for the DWC Blog, take over the DWC Instagram, receive free products, get professional photos taken, and much more.
The program offers dancers opportunities to share their messages with the local dance community through a variety of modes. “I think my favorite part has been the blogs we do. Not only reading everyone else’s blogs and seeing how dance is affecting them… but also bringing your own voice and awareness to the project,” says former DWC Ambassador Heather Smith.
DWC Ambassador Emma Spencer appreciates getting to share information about topics that are important to her in the dance world, like mental health and epilepsy awareness in the studio. “Writing for the blog has been really awesome because I always wanted to do something like that,” she says. “It’s been a good experience to have something I care about be posted very publicly.”
Click below to shop the look:
Former DWC Ambassador Niyah Pratt points out that there is value in getting to share your ideas through Dancewear Center’s platform. “You get to speak on things that you love and what you’re passionate about...It’s such a huge platform that you can use your voice and get anything across that you want.”
Along with the chance to speak your mind on the DWC Blog and social media, being an ambassador comes with numerous perks, like complimentary photoshoots and free products. “There are some really fun things you get to do as an ambassador, like photoshoots. You’re hung up on the wall!” Emma says of the ambassador photos being displayed in the store.
“You get a gift every single month with amazing things inside,” gushes Heather. The ambassadors get a chance to own some of the highest quality products the store has to offer. DWC Ambassador Kelsey Wickman shares that many of the gifts she’s received are products she wouldn’t have purchased for herself but have thoroughly changed her dancing experience, such as the Apolla Shocks.
“I now own more leotards than I do pants!” adds former DWC Ambassador Isabel Reck.
A particularly fun part about being an ambassador is getting to do an “Instagram takeover,” in which the ambassador runs the DWC Instagram account for a day. “I’m not a very social person, I’m actually really introverted. But I think that was a really fun way to interact with Dancewear Center’s audience and their customers,” Emma says of the Instagram takeovers. She also says that it’s been enjoyable to post sponsored Instagram posts and feel like she’s playing a role in spreading the word about Dancewear Center’s products.
“You get to speak on things that you love and what you’re passionate about...It’s such a huge platform that you can use your voice and get anything across that you want”
Click below to shop the look:
Mirella Leo by BLO | Delia Skirt by WM | Always There For You Necklace by Covet Dance | Pointe Paint by Pointe People
The DWC Ambassador role offers dancers opportunities to overcome challenges and learn new things about themselves, whether that be nudging them to be more social, improving upon their writing skills, and more. For example, Emma says that being a DWC Ambassador has encouraged her to “get out of [her] shell socially.” She describes feeling nervous when she learned she had to do an Instagram takeover, but that it ultimately helped her gain confidence and connect with others in the DWC community.
Kelsey shares that it’s been empowering to realize she has a “unique perspective” to bring to Dancewear Center. Being able to reflect on her dance experiences, particularly through writing blog posts, has enabled her to explore new areas of her life. She also appreciates how her experiences are respected within the DWC community. “Being able to have a more personal connection with everyone at Dancewear Center has been really awesome,” Kelsey says. “Because they just know their stuff and it’s so cool to see how much emphasis Sam puts on continuing education.”
Emma says that part of the reason she signed up to be an ambassador was that Dancewear Center often discusses serious subjects in the dance world, like body image, race, sexual orientation, gender, and more. Emma appreciates how solution-oriented the staff at Dancewear Center is, especially in the way it discusses issues relating to these topics.
Click below to shop the look:
In a similar vein, Kelsey shares how helpful it is to collaborate with a small business that cares about creating positive change on micro and macro levels. “[Dancewear Center] is so aware of those pockets of room for improvement,” she says.
And the DWC Ambassadors get a chance to be a part of filling those pockets for improvement with the changes they want to see made. Whether it’s through providing representation for underrepresented groups of dancers, sharing unique perspectives through writing, and more, the DWC Ambassadors are true change-makers that are invaluable to the DWC team. “You have the chance to make some real change in your community,” Isabel Reck says proudly.
To become a DWC Ambassador for 2022-2023 click here!
The Importance of Effective Communication Between Teachers and Students
If you are hurting in any way, be candid! Your health and safety are the number one priority in every situation, though sometimes it may be nerve-wracking to speak up. Be conscious of your value and take care of your body, both on and off of the dance floor. Being sensitive to students' needs and concerns is very important for teachers. Effective communication can be used to communicate the needs of students and teachers alike so that everyone can feel more comfortable and safe at the end of the day!
Advice On Being Candid About Your Health
By Claire Kaskel, DWC Ambassador
click below to shop the look!
My name is Claire Kaskel and I am one of Dancewear Center’s ambassadors. I have been a competitive dancer for about 9 out of my 17 years. Along with competitive dance comes long hours of rehearsals, classes, competitions, and conventions. And as a young dancer, I have been taught to push through all feelings of tiredness and even physical pain in order to stay training. There have certainly been times when I was not feeling well enough to continue pushing through a long day, but I did not feel safe enough to communicate to my teachers that I was in pain. I was afraid that I would be in trouble for taking a break. However, recently I learned an important lesson on the importance of communication when it comes to injuries.
I was at a competition/convention in March, and my knee injury was really beginning to hurt me. I have a reoccurring injury in my left knee that I initially hurt about two years back. I felt responsible to dance through the pain. I did not feel comfortable telling my teacher that I needed a break from the long hours of dancing to rest and ice my injury. I was afraid of letting her down by not taking a class that I was expected to take. But the more I pushed through classes and continued to dance, the more I realized how much my knee truly needed a break. My teammates agreed that I needed to sit down and ice, as they all noticed my confliction and pain. Eventually, with the support of my friends, I worked up the courage and convinced myself to let my teacher know about my injury and ask her advice on what to do. Her response made me feel so much better. She encouraged me to do whatever was best for myself, including resting, icing, and taping my knee. She even helped me tape it and sat with me to make me feel better. I was so stressed about communicating with my teacher out of fear of getting in trouble, but after I spoke with her, I realized that that was all I needed to do. Having support from my teacher to do what was best for myself truly took all my guilt and fear away. I was no longer afraid, which allowed me to focus on healing and improving my physical health.
This experience taught me the importance of speaking up for yourself and communicating with teachers. For me, this conversation established feelings of safety and care between me and my teacher. From the students’ perspective, it can be nerve-wracking to talk to your teacher about your needs out of fear of letting them down. But this interaction taught me a lot about doing what is best for yourself and how to communicate your needs in an effective and respectful manner. My advice to any other students who have felt the same way and struggled with the same guilt would be as follows:
Practice Honesty
Being consistently honest and candid about your feelings and health is highly important in establishing healthy communication between your teacher and yourself. When everyone is aware of a situation, it helps prevent it from worsening. For example, in my case, keeping my teacher updated about my torn knee helped prevent me from possibly injuring it more. Finding a private space before or after class to educate your teacher on your situation in a calm manner will help display seriousness and overall care for yourself and your training. Teachers will appreciate your honesty and respect and will be more likely to treat you with that same care and respect in return.
Prioritize Your Own Needs
If you are hurting in any way, be candid! Your health and safety are the number one priority in every situation, though sometimes it may be nerve-wracking to speak up. Be conscious of your value and take care of your body, both on and off of the dance floor.
Being sensitive to students' needs and concerns is very important for teachers. Effective communication can be used to communicate the needs of students and teachers alike so that everyone can feel more comfortable and safe at the end of the day!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Working With What You Have
There is a saying that always rang true for me in my early career: “there will always be someone better than you.” When I moved on to professional training schools, I found out that I was not always going to be the most flexible. I wasn’t always going to have the best extensions. In fact, I found that depending on where I was, my extensions were just average. Once I began to place an emphasis on the other qualities a dancer possesses, ballet became so much more enjoyable to me. Musicality, port de bras, and dynamics of movement are all things that anyone can make beautiful and exciting regardless of ability, age, or gender. This is what makes ballet a beautiful art form. If you're struggling with technical perfectionism in dance, I encourage you to focus on these other attributes of dance that can help elevate your artistry without pushing your body to extreme limits.
Embracing Your Technical Abilities Where They Are
By Anna Nelson, DWC Ambassador
click below to shop the look:
Odette Leotard by Claudia Dean World | Bullet Pointe Skirt in White
I’m sure many of us have experienced some form of body shaming in the ballet world. As a student, my first ballet teacher placed a large emphasis on “perfect” ballet bodies. Students who occupied slender bodies with long legs and arms were given great roles in productions regardless of talent. She often praised those with beautifully arched feet, high extensions, and students who possessed good turnout. I was one of the students with “perfect” turnout and high extensions. In my naivety, these attributes are what lead me to believe that someday I was going to be a great ballet dancer.
In my early training days, I would spend ample time everyday stretching and improving my extensions to ensure that I always had the highest legs in the class. I started ballet at the age of 13, which for a long time was considered to be late. When I started taking ballet classes, I was unable to do the splits. As a child, I remember being hyper flexible, but at 13 my legs were already starting to stiffen. Because my teacher put such a large emphasis on flexibility, she had a star chart on the wall. The classes always began with static stretching. We moved through foot in hand stretches while sitting down in a circle, progressing to front and middle splits and the frog stretch. Students who were able to get their chests down to the floor in the middle splits were awarded a star sticker to place next to their name on the star chart. For many years I was not able to get my chest down, which made me feel inadequate to other students. Instead of getting to put a star sticker next to my name I had to go find my spot at the barre and wait for others to put their stickers on the chart.
My first experience with Vaganova training was when I watched the 2006 documentary Ballerina. I was amazed at how flexible the students in the movie were. Everyone had amazing extensions and their backs seemed to fold in half. All of the dancers stood in perfectly turned out positions at every moment. I was mesmerized by all the dancers I saw in this movie. This movie ignited in me a passion for ballet. I wanted to become as flexible and make lines as beautiful as the ballerinas in the documentary. I began extreme stretching every night after ballet class. The ways in which I tried to attain flexibility fast were dangerous and even caused me to pull my hamstring, which made dancing painful for a few months.
Even though my methods of attaining flexibility fast were not healthy, I started to gain the attention of my ballet teacher. She would often point out how high my arabesque was and how high my legs would go in developpes. This made me feel amazing. However, it wasn’t until many years later that I realized these praises I received were at the cost of others. I remember a moment when my teacher had me stand next to another student at the barre with all the other students gathered around us. She had us both do a grande plie. “See how Anna’s knees go directly out to the side?” She pointed to the other student. “See how her’s don’t go to the side as much at all?” At that moment, I felt great. I felt like the teacher was showing how I was better than the other student in the demonstration. Looking back, this was an abusive and toxic way to explain turnout to young dancers. Teachers should never compare other students to each other when it comes to physical attributes a dancer may or may not possess.
Years later, I found out that my “perfect” turnout was the culprit behind my intense hip pain that I was experiencing. I underwent a painful surgery that resulted in me losing all flexibility in my hips. The limited coverage that my acetabular was offering my femur gave me great mobility, but also made tears almost inevitable. These tears in my labrum made me unable to dance. After my hip surgery and rehab, I was able to work on recovering flexibility. It was disheartening at first. In my early dancing years, I had put so much emphasis on how high my legs could go, and how flexible I was. After 1.5 years, I was able to do all my splits again, but I had lost a bit of the turnout I was previously used to having and I wasn’t able to get my legs as high as I was used to. I knew that I still wanted to dance at a high calibur, and it took a ton of soul searching to hone into the other parts of dance that I had put on the backburner at the expense of high extensions and wacking my legs as high as they could go. I began to focus more on musicality and my port de bras. Funnily enough, when I stopped putting emphasis on how high my legs were going or how turned out I was at the barre, my dancing improved tremendously. I actually began to enjoy dancing for the sake of dancing, not on making the most “perfect” lines at all times. In a way, I learned how to let go and just dance. This is something that I had not been doing for the near entirety of my early ballet career.
In retrospect, my childhood self was impressed by the beautiful lines the ballerinas created in the documentary, but these dancers also possessed beautiful quality of movement and musicality. These qualities are just as impressive, if not more impressive than just how high your legs can go. It takes years to develop artistry and musicality. These attributes are what makes ballet an art and not a sport. There is no right or wrong way to move to a certain phrase of music. These are all things I had been told in my years of training, but were not something that I fully understood until after my surgery.
There is a saying that always rang true for me in my early career: “there will always be someone better than you.” When I moved on to professional training schools, I found out that I was not always going to be the most flexible. I wasn’t always going to have the best extensions. In fact, I found that depending on where I was, my extensions were just average. Once I began to place an emphasis on the other qualities a dancer possesses, ballet became so much more enjoyable to me. Musicality, port de bras, and dynamics of movement are all things that anyone can make beautiful and exciting regardless of ability, age, or gender. This is what makes ballet a beautiful art form. If you're struggling with technical perfectionism in dance, I encourage you to focus on these other attributes of dance that can help elevate your artistry without pushing your body to extreme limits.
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Interested in writing for the DWC Blog? Click below to fill out the DWC Contributor application!