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AshleyCarpenter

Dance261

EdAustin

30March,2016

Dance:TheMovementoftheSoul

Oneofthebeautifulthingsaboutdanceisthatitisdifferentforeveryone.Itcanbea
sport,anart,atherapy,orawaytoinspire.Danceisawaytoconveyamessagethrough
movementandreachouttoothersinauniquewaythatusesthemind,body,andspirit.Asa
naturalintrovert,dancehasallowedmetoopenup.Itsuppliesawayoflearning,onethat
developscommunicationabilities,problemsolvingtechniques,andcreativeandcriticalthinking
skills,alongwithkinaestheticabilities.Tome,danceishome.Iwouldbelostwithoutit.Itgives
meawaytoescapetheworldandcheckintomyself.
Dancingisoneofthepurestformsofcommunication.Regardlessofwhichlanguageswe
speak,regardlessofwherewecallhome,wecanallfindcommongroundthroughdance.Dance
fosterscollaborationandtrustinamagicalwaythatisdifficulttodescribe,butcancertainlybe
feltbyall.Danceisalanguagethatcanspeakbeyondbackgrounds,beliefs,andnationalities.It
isaunifyingexperience.Watchinacrowdwhenonepersonbeginstodance,othersjoinin,even
ifitsjustswayinginplace.Itconnectsustoourselvesandtheworldaroundus.Danceisastory,
ahumanstory,itcantelluswhoweareandwherewecamefrom.Inexploringdifferentgenres
ofdance,weareabletotransportourselvesintodifferentcultures.JustasMarthaGrahamonce

said,Danceisthehiddenlanguageofthesoulofthebody..Dancemaynotbeabletostop
war,orcurediseases,butithastheabilitytobringahopeandjoythatcanneverbetakenaway.
Danceisuniqueinthatitcanbeclassifiedasbothanartandasport.Itusesphysical
aspectssuchasflexibility,endurance,andstrength,andusesthemtocreatepiecesthatcaptivate
andentertain.Creationsthatcanmakeanaudiencefeeltheemotionadanceristryingtoexpress.
DavidKahn,aninstructoratHarvardMedicalSchoolhassaid,dancingaddsanotheraspectto
exerciseanditseffectonourbodiesandbrains,becauseitsajoyusactivity.Dance
complimentsthosewithdifferenttastes,needs,emotions,andbackgroundsbecausethereisso
muchvariety.Therearesomanygenresofdance,andacertaindanceperformanceorstylecan
inspirechoreographersandfellowdancerstotakethosemovementsandmakethemtheirown.
Recently,withtheexplosionoftechnologyithasbecomeeasierfordancerstosharetheirstyle
throughmusicvideosandsocialmedia.Dancehasbecomeapartofmanypopularentertainment
formswhetheritsiceshows,ormovies,orbroadwaymusicals,oreventhecircus.Through
dance,wecanbetterunderstandourcommonhumanitybyappreciatingandexploringthe
differentgenresandculturesofdance.
Dancecanbenefitanindividualphysically,socially,mentally,andemotionally.Of
courseamajorappealtodancingistheexerciseitbrings,andthisisareasonthatpeople,
especiallyadults,startdancing.Itcanimprovecardiovascularfunction,balancedevelopment,
andenhancedagilityandcoordination.However,danceissomuchmorethanthat.Itcanbea
verysocialactivitywherepeoplelearntocommunicateandformbondswithothers.Thiscanbe
especiallyhelpfultothoselikeme,whotendtobeintroverted.Therehavealsobeenmany
studiesthatshowhowdanceanddancetherapycanassistthosewithautisminrecognizingand

expressingemotion,andmakinglastingrelationshipswithothers.Dancecanbeusedasan
escape,awaytoletoutfrustrationoranger,orawaytoexpresswhatweareunabletosaywith
words.Thefeelingyougetwhenyoudance,whenyouachieve,whenyoufinallygetitdown,
whenyouareabletoperform,somethingmorethanourselvestakesover.Whenyourethere,
nothingcantouchyou,nothingcanhurtyou.Itsjustthedancers,themusic,andthefloor.It
doesntmatterhowmanypeoplearewatching,orifyoumadeamistakealongtheway,what
mattersisyoureallconnected.Thereishonestlynogreaterfeelingintheworld.Dancingisan
artthatencouragesselfimprovement,notonlyindanceandtechnique,butinlife.Itsupports
healthylifestylechoices,leadershipqualities,andselfconfidence.Allofthesethingscancarry
overintoouracademiclives,andourhomeandfamilylives.Dancewasabletogivetomea
senseofacceptanceandachievement.Ihadadanceinstructorwhotookmeunderherwingand
inspiredmeinandoutofthestudio,andIwanttobeabletoinspireothersandbringthemthe
joyandpeacethatdancehasbroughttomylife.
Beingamemberofthechurchhasgivenmeadifferentperspectiveofdanceandits
importance.InAugustof1982,NealA.Maxwelldefinesdanceas,...amoreexcellentwayof
showingGodslove.IhaverecognizedthatthebodyisourmostpreciousgiftfromGod,and
weshouldusedancetocelebratethatgiftratherthanobjectifyit.Oneoftheadversarysbest
rusesistryingtomakeapersoninsecureabouttheirbody.Somethingthathasbroughtmegreat
comfortisasayingfromRussellM.Ballardinthe1988OctoberGeneralConference,Your
body,whateveritsnaturalgifts,isamagnificentcreationofGod.TheLordblesseseveryone
withuniqueandspecialtalents,andtocompareourselveswithoneanother,andletsomeone
elsesstrengthsbringyoudowncanseverelylimitthegrowthandpotentialonehasfortheirown

greatness.Ibelievethattheknowledgeandunderstandingofthegospelandallofitsblessings
bringmoremeaningtodancing,andcancreateamorepositiveenvironmentforthedancer.Ialso
believethatthosewhoaredancingwiththespiritinthemhaveagreaterabilitytotouchtheir
audienceandconveyamessage.AsapersonisexpressingtheirloveforGodonstage,theHoly
Ghostcanmanifestthatlovetotheaudienceandcreatesomethingmagical.Creativitycanbe
terrifyingbecauseofitsvulnerability.Mostartiscenteredaroundsharingandperforming,butat
thesametimeisaverypersonalandspiritualexperiencefortheartist.Whenachoreographer
putstheirworkonstage,theyaresharingapieceoftheirsoul,anditisoftencriticizedorjudged.
Howeverscarythismaybe,itisalsoapersonallybeneficialandeducationalexperienceforthe
artist.Inthe2006cinematicproduction,AkeelahandtheBee,thereisaquotethatstates,Our
deepestfearisnotthatweareinadequate.Ourdeepestfearisthatwearepowerfulbeyond
measure.Whenapersonletstheirfearofjudgementandmangetinthewayofsharingtheir
talents,thentheyarewastingpreciousanduniquegiftsthattheLordgavethem.Whenyouallow
yourselftobeabletotrustnotonlyyourself,buttheLord,thereisinfinitepotentialforgreatness.
Wedancetomove,toheal,tofeel,toexpress.Wedancetolearnandtoteach.Wedance
tomusic,tosilence,tothevoicesinourheadsandtherhythmofourhearts.Wecanwatchothers
danceandbetransportedintoadifferentworld,orwecanjoininandcreatenewworlds.Ihope
toonedaybeabletobringtheloveofdancetoothers.IhopethatIwillinspireandcontinueto
beinspiredbythemovementandpowerofothers.AndIwillstrivetocontinuetoutilizethe
skillsthatdancehasequippedmewithinmydailylife.

WorksCited
"AkeelahandtheBeeQuotes."
IMDb
.IMDb.com,2006.Web.27Jan.2016.
Ballard,M.Russell.""TheLord'sPurposefortheArtistintheGospelPlan""
ElderBallard's
TuacahnAddress
.N.p.,08Apr.1995.
Brown,NellPorter."Dancing"MakesUsMoreAlive""
Harvardmagazine.com
.N.p.,Dec.2011.
Web.28Mar.2016.

Graham,Martha."IAmaDancer."(1952):n.pag.Web.28Mar.2016.
Maxwell,NealA."CreativityNewEraAug.1982Newera."
CreativityNewEraAug.1982
Newera
.N.p.,Aug.1982.

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