Dance It

Hi there!!

Today I wanted to share a little bit of why I dance, and why dance is so important in my life. I hope this helps find out how you can dance your heart out and let go and fly into the world of ballet.

Ballet is my outlet, it lets me forget about everything that is going wrong in my life and lets me fly, escape from reality and makes me feel on top of the world. So if you just let go and become a "pretty pretty princess" and have a moment as Ms. Julianna says, ballet is far from boring. Make movements more fluid, and let go. We are NOT barbie dolls so it's time we start adding fluidity and grace to dancing or else it isn't ballet. You might be wondering, how in the world do I add danceiness to my movement? Well, it's hard, but I would first start with knowing the combination. Although this is hard, pay attention to details. Start asking yourself the question, where can I add my own flare?

NYCB's dancers truly dancing it.
Photo Courtesy of: New York Times

If you have an arm that comes down when you plie, lift a bit before you lower. In a piece with strong accents make sure you hit them. Another idea is to keep moving. Ballet is not poses, and once again we are not barbie dolls. In plies make sure you never have a spot where you are 'stuck'. In Adagio challenge yourself to keep your arms moving the whole time. Not only will it make your movement look more professional, but it will make it look like you are a advanced student in ballet. It's all about the details. Now, after you have mastered the combo and added your own flare, let the music take you somewhere, and get involved. One of my favorite quotes is, "Dance is music made visible." - George Balanchine. 

My favorite quote
Photo courtesy to: Pinterest 

If dance is music made visible then dancing will take you to a different place, making you feel as light as air, or as strong as a solider, or as fearless as a bird. This will make ballet a whole different world you can escape from reality in, which is the reason I like it so much. It reminds me why I'm dancing in the first place. Long hard weeks of dance sometimes leaves us with no more emotional or physical energy. When you connect with truly dancing, it's freeing from that pain and something all the money in the world couldn't buy. When you truly experience this it's like a taste you can't forget, you keep trying to find it and when you do it's almost even better than the first time.  Another reason I love ballet is that you'll never stop improving because you'll never master anything in ballet. Even principal dancers say that's why they love ballet so much. Ballet is something beautiful that everyone will be in a different place with. Ballet is never the same for anyone. For me it's a way to get away from the world. Maybe for someone it's knowing that dance is a safe place for them. Find something you can connect with for dance and it will transform your dancing experience. 

Well, I hoped you liked that! It was basically a rant of why I love ballet, how you can love ballet and how everyone can connect with it. Once again thank you all for taking the time to read my blog and I hope you liked it!!

- Ali Grace