Why Teaching Dance is My Favorite Thing in the World

By Miss Becky.

Being a kid is hard. School is hard. Growing up is hard. Finding yourself in a world full of snapchat selfies, instagram models, and cyber bullying is hard. There is pressure. More pressure than there ever has been. Pressure to look a certain way, to act a certain way, to be friends with certain people, to not be friends with certain people, to be the best, to speak up (but not too much), to stand out just enough to fit in. It is a constant swim upstream to be a young person today.

For the past five years, I have worked with high schoolers that are depressed, emotionally broken at times, and occasionally suicidal. Every day they fight the pressures of growing up in a society that is not always accepting of differences. There are so many rules. I don’t understand just as much as they don’t and there are days where our hearts break together as we try to navigate high school and the hardships of life as a teen.

The most tragic part of all of this, to me, is that each child was made unique and beautiful and talented in so many ways and oftentimes this uniqueness is hidden in the midst of conforming and quite honestly, in an attempt to just get through most days. I hate this.

You may wonder what all of this has to do with dance. My answer is everything.

To me, dance is a celebration. It’s a celebration of our individuality. It’s not necessarily always about the best technique. It’s so much more than that. It’s about life and identity and confidence. My greatest joy in life is helping dancers discover what makes them special and making them comfortable enough to let that light shine. Dance class should be home; a place where dancers can let their guard down and truly be themselves. It seems that most places they go, they have to be who everyone else wants them to be and worry about what everyone thinks. Everyone should have a place to go where they can be accepted and create, inspire and just be. Confidence is invaluable and order for that door to be open, there has to be a certain level of comfort.

Thank you for not only entrusting us with the shining souls of your children each week, but also providing them with an opportunity to share their stories and individuality with others.

After all, there is no one else in the whole wide world like them :)