Norton, Lacie 13 April 2011 Instructor: Cathy Black Dance Philosophy and Goals Dance is the movement of ones

body in a way that expresses an inner personality and a celebration of life. I have danced for the majority of my life and my love for movement has only grown. When making a decision in what to major in college I considered several fields such as elementary education, athletic training, nutrition, and dietetics. However my final choice was dance and I realize that it is not the most praised career, but I knew that with my experience thus far and my potential to learn so much more I felt that this was the way that I would be able to best bless the lives other people. I also knew that my sole purpose in life is to raise a family with good morals and beliefs, and with an education in dance that would be possible. With my connection to dance in the past as well as the future I will explain my personal views as a performer, audience, creator, teacher, future parent, future contributor to dance, and my philosophy about dance. For the twelve years in my life that I have danced I have had the opportunity to participate in a season ending performance every year as well as other small performances during the year. Some of these include competitions, basketball games, and showcases with an audience at every show. There is a sense of adrenaline and anxiety at every performance that is fulfilled as movement takes over my body and I am able to express myself to all those watching. As a performer I cherish the moments I have to do what I love as well as bless others with my talent and the sharing of my passion.

While my love for performing is indescribable it is the opposite to be in the audience. It is so hard to be on the other end as an audience member, I naturally have to move; I cannot sit still and watch, it tears up my insides as I yearn to run up on stage to perform with the others. However I realize how important it is to watch other dancers and performances. It is one very effective way to learn new things both about other dance techniques as well as my own. I have been given the opportunity to compose and do improvisation of my own dance movement. This has been a great experience as I discover what my style and inner thought of movement is. As Nikolias said everything you create has its own life. Solive up to yourself, this concept has expressed itself in my own creations. I notice sometimes that a composition I create has a specific beauty to it, but then I realize that I have to surpass it with my next one. There is no moving back, only moving forward. This can be seen in my attempts to do improvisation; I always think to myself that I need to do something new with every movement I make I cannot go back and continually do the same thing over and over. There is an endless potential for creativity, why settle for one piece of movement when there is so much more to discover? Through out my life I have never truly enjoyed teaching, however as a student of dance I have learned to really appreciate my teachers. With the help of my teachers I have been giving the opportunity to expand my knowledge as a dancer as well as a person. From my own experience as a teacher I notice that it is hard to get the students to work hard with determination, a lot of the time they are just there for the social aspect of the class. I have tried to keep them focused and attentive to what we do in class by being kind and fun, however this does not always work and I have to become almost authoritative to keep them on task. With this knowledge I strive to be attentive in the classes I take so that the teachers are able to teach without any

disturbances. Although I do not enjoy teaching, I believe that someday I will have to teach. Not only would the reason be to make money, but I feel that with the knowledge that I have gained over the years should not stop with me; it needs to spread to as many students as possible. I cannot keep my talent to myself, everyone should benefit from it in every way possible, even if I have to fight my fears and teach. I have had the wonderful opportunity to be supported by a loving family. My parents, from the time I was very little had paid for my lessons to dance. For many years I took it for granted and never thanked them like I should have. When I get to the point that I am done with my schooling and I begin to have a family my goal is to support my children just like my parents did for me. Whether they want to dance or have some other sort of hobby I will stand by them. As a parent I will allow them to have their agency, however I will still counsel them in their decisions so that they may be able to make the best choices for themselves and possibly their future families as long as they will receive it as said in Doctrine and Covenants his reward shall not fail if he receive counsel. Although I cannot not be perfect in this life my role model of a parent is not only my own, but also my Heavenly Father. I know that if I strive to teach my children in the light of the lord, I will be able to give them counsel that they will follow because of their trust in my parenting. As a future contributor to dance I may not be able to support dance financially, but I will have knowledge of dance that no one else will because of the accumulation of my own personal experiences. With this knowledge I can share it, whether it is with dance students at a dance studio through teaching or dance parents at a meeting. If life permits I may even be able to perform professionally for people all around the world giving the opportunity to more and more

people to participate in dance and express my beliefs, standards and passion through movement to everyone that sees me. As a dancer there is really only one philosophy of dance that I have. My philosophy is only dance if you truly love to dance. Now this can be interpreted in several different ways; one is you cannot dance unless you absolutely cannot live without it. If I could have it my way this is how it would be, however this is not a realistic philosophy. A better interpretation is to dance only if it is something that you want to do. I often deal with people that go to dance class and try the entire time to distract the teacher so that they do not have to do any movement. Others spend the time talking with other students wasting both their own time as well as the persons time they are talking to. Some people use as many excuses as possible such as a sickness or small injury, which when serious is valid, however when they are sick or hurt everyday at that particular time, they do not seriously want to be there. Those that only dance because they truly love to dance are those that are in class every possible day and are attentive and ready to learn all they can to feel what dancing really is. According to Merce Cunningham you have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. Throughout my life experience with dance I have developed these personal views as a performer, audience member, creator, teacher, future parent, future contributor to dance, and my philosophy. These views have formed my definition of dance which is the movement of ones body in a way that expresses an inner personality and a celebration of life. I know that with my past and future experiences I will be able to continue to praise the Lord with dancing, and share that love with the world.

Works Cited Cunningham, Merce. Goodreads Inc. n.p. 2011. Web. 9 April 2011. Louis, Murray & Nikolais, Alwin. The Nikolais/Louis Dance Technique: A Philosophy and Method of Modern Dance. n.p .n.d. print. 9 April 2011. Revelations given to Joseph Smith. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1981. Section 124:16 & 136:28. Print. 9 April 2011.