Dance: My Passion

Dance has always been a major part of my life and something that I have been doing since I was very little. I remeemeber I use to sit outside of my sisters dance classes and I would tap my foot along to the music or stand up and try to do the steps along with her. She was one of the major reasons I started dance and without her I don't know what I would be doing today. I started dance classes at the age of six and this coming year will be my eleven year as a dancer. 

I rememeber my first dance class perfectly and is a day I will always treasure. Obivously, I was very young and this being my first dance class I was extremly nervous. I started my dance career at a very small, two room studio, in Elmood called Alyce Carella's Dance Center. I was one of 5 boys who started in this class. At the time, I was the smallest kid in the class, which was very intimidating to me. At the time, my teachers name was Kim. Kim was my very first tap teacher ever and she was the nicest person. She was so welcoming and made me feel so comfortable from the start. She began with the basics of tap and worked on each step indvidually and perfected our steps to make sure we had a strong base line for tap. The class felt like the shortest 45 minutes of my life and when it was over I didn't want to leave. Kim excitedly told us that she couldn't wait to see us all next week and how impressed she was with us. I proudly walked out of the studio with the biggest grin on my face. That day was the first step in my long career as a dancer.

Tap continues to be my favorite form of dance, but certainly not the only type. Shortly after tap, my mother thought it might be a good idea to start ballet. At first, I was very hestiant, but after a couple of classes I felt like I should have started ballet sooner. Next, I added jazz to my repertoire, and finally added Broadway dance, which basically consists of a mix of jazz, ballet, and street tap. After experimenting with so many different forms of dance and after many years of training and perfecting each and every step, I realized that dance was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I always thought that since I was a boy doing dance I would feel out of place or unwanted, but dance proved to be just the opposite. Dance gave me a place to escape, be free, and simply have fun. Today I attend dance classes 3-4 times a week, which certinaly isn't easy with the amount of school work, but it dosen't stress me out because dance is my passion. After years of training I began recieivng dancing roles, dancing solos, and I even became the choreography this summer for an elite arts camp. Choreography is a career path that I would love to persue and something that do everyday. I am constantly up in my room choreographing mulitple different numbers each day, dancing through the kitchen, and tapping my foot through hours of homework. I have created so many storng relationships through dance and I persoanlly have become both stronger physically and emotionally because of it. Dancing is simply not a hobby or an acivitiy that I like to do. Dancing is my life and something that I would love to pursue.