How Dance Changed My Life by Emily

How Dance Changed My Life by Emily - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

Ah, finally it’s 12:43 PM. Fourth period. Time to walk through the double doors where the endless tiled floors meet the marley floors. When I walk through these doors into room 1710, the entire atmosphere shifts. It goes from rooms filled with legs bouncing from anxiety to a fresh breath of…..

freedom.

For the past three years, dance has been my “escape” from the real world and all of its problems. These past three years of dance have not only taught me how to perfect my aerial or my grande jete, they’ve taught me the importance of having a family. Before starting dance my idea of family was a broken and unstable one. Between the divorce of my parents when I was two and moving eight times in my life, my idea of family was skewed. I always felt like I was half of a daughter and half of a sister in both of my homes. Out of all three of my siblings, I’m the only one who switches homes - they all have a permanent home and I have two halves of each.

That all changed once I started dance and could truly have a permanent home. Dance is built to feel like a family. During each concert someone is assigned to be a “dance mom.” The role of the “dance mom” is to keep everything organized while being as comforting as possible. Yet, their most important role is to make sure we all bond. In dance you can’t dance as a unit unless you feel like a unit.