I started dance when I was three years old, and I knew from that moment on it was exactly what I wanted to do. I always remember the days leading up to my first dance class. I couldn’t wait to be in that studio. I started dancing before I even started school, and everyday after my morning combo class of ballet, tap, and jazz I would come home and show my family what I had learned. At eight, I started doing dance competitions which is a whole other side of dance that I wasn’t used to. That is when my dance training really started to take off and it became more serious, as it was also around the time I moved to Nevada and switched dance studios. A lot of things have changed since then, but one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for the art form.

 Every once in a while a teacher will ask “Why do you dance?”, and my answer every time is “Dance brings me home to myself.” Dancing isn’t easy, but neither is life. And I find that throughout all of the pain and changes that happen throughout my life, there’s one thing that always stays constant, and that is my love for dance. My motivation comes from my younger self, I always think about how much I loved dance when I was younger, and all of the goals and dreams that I had, and it reminds me to do it for that little three year old who fell in love with being in the studio, and expressing her tiny little emotions through movement. I’m reminded that you shouldn’t give up something that makes you who you are. I can’t even imagine a life without dance; it’s now part of me and in my heart forever. 

So many of my proudest moments and fondest memories have been made from dance. One of my favorite things about being a dancer is all of the people I have met, and friendships I have made along the way. My favorite dance memories are some of the most unexpected ones,like late night award ceremonies, Sunday rehearsals, and late nights at the studio before comp, all of the little in between moments that seem exhausting, and almost never-ending in the moment. But I also love the big moments like traveling to new places with my team, and winning awards, getting scholarships, and performance invites. But there’s also the negative memories like injuries, self doubt , comparison, letting people down, and team fallouts. But I truly believe it takes both good, and bad memories to grow. I have learned more from my failures than my wins. 

I have learned the key as a dancer is to let your body free of what it wants to do. When we start to let outside distractions, constant comparison, and perfectionism into the mix of our training that is when I have personally noticed a pattern of self doubt and lower performance. Growing up in a community where perfection is demanded can be extremely difficult, but as you get older you’ll start to realize dance is art and there’s nothing as perfectly imperfect as art.