Courtney Earl Philosophy paper

Growing up, I was always told that I was really shy. I wouldnt talk to people very much so they assumed that I was bashful or timid. I believed those people for a long time because I assumed they were right. A couple years ago I realized that I really wasnt shy because I could talk to anybody that I wanted to. I just never had much to say and I didnt feel the need to waste my time with mindless chatter. We tend to believe what people think about us. If everybody you knew told you that you were loud and obnoxious you would have to believe them because its hard to see traits like that in yourself. I took a free personality test online and it said that my aura color was yellow. What does that mean? I knew absolutely nothing more about myself after taking that test than I did before. There are hundreds of different personality tests online. That made me think of why so many people feel the need to have some computer program tell them who they are. It is hard for people to find who they are in this world. It takes a lot of time and effort just to get to know yourself and how you act. I personally believe that dancing is one of the best personality tests known to man. I believe that dance can show you anything from your personality to your religious beliefs. I have learned tons more about myself by dancing than any personality test could ever tell me. There are many different reasons why people dance. Some people dance when they feel happy after scoring the winning touchdown of a game. Some people dance in order to attract that cute boy they saw across the gym. Amy Brant told us why she dances when she said I saw ballet dancers for the first time on television, they epitomized the ultimate fairy tale. They could

transform into something beyond human. This is what I wanted to become (Brandt, 2008). It wasnt until recently that I really thought about the reason why I dance. My mother put me into dance lessons when I was really young and by the time I was ten she owned a dance studio. I was expected to be a dancer so thats what I put all of my time and energy into. I didnt realize how much I enjoyed dance until I was a junior in high school. Thats when I really started practicing on my own and taking control of my own dance career. Lately I have been thinking about what it is about dance that I enjoy so much. It took me a while but I finally came up with an answer. Dance gives me a place where I have no worries or problems. I realized that whenever I was in dance class I was never thinking about my overload of homework, my boy troubles, my dirty laundry or anything else that I was stressed about. All I think about while Im dancing is the movement and getting the correct placement. Im almost positive that without dance in my life I would be a lot more of a mess because I would constantly be worrying about everything. When I am dancing I am in a place where I am controlling my body with my mind so my mind gets a break from all of the other things out in the real world. Dance is something that is and has always been very prominent in my life. Its almost as if dance is my boyfriend. It can make me so happy some days and others it can break my heart. I think that all dancers have felt these similar emotions when it comes to dancing. When you have a good dance day where all of your balances and turns are spot on and the teacher gives you a good compliment it can make you feel like you are on top of the world where no one can touch you. Then you have those days where you feel like no matter how hard you try you will never have as high kicks as the flexible girl in your class or that you will never make it in this harsh dance world. Dance has given me some of my highest highs and my lowest lows. One thing about dancing that does both of these for me is performing. Sometimes when I am onstage I feel

like I am the center of the universe and I can feel the adrenaline rushing through my body. Other times I feel as if the audience is just sitting there wondering why they should waste their precious time on this earth watching me dance. I most often am thinking the ladder. Stella Adler once said When you stand on the stage you must have a sense that you are addressing the whole world, and that what you say is so important the whole world must listen (Adler, 2000). I think that I would be a much better performer if I just remembered this anecdote before each time I walked onto a stage. The dancers that are the most fun to watch are always confident no matter what they are doing. I need to be more confident in my dancing in order to improve my performing skills. Our dance studio got a new dance teacher every year. I have been taught by very many different kinds of dancers. Some teachers were good and helped the class to get stronger and others brought the class down. I always wondered why some of them had such a hard time teaching our class how to be better. Even if they were very talented dancers and had great technique they just couldnt seem to be able to teach our class how to have that same technique. It takes a special kind of personality to be a good dance teacher. One thing that I have noticed is that all of the girls who couldnt teach our class werent done performing. They still had that strong desire to be out there on the stage for everybody to see. I think that because they were still so focused on themselves and their own dance goals that they couldnt focus enough on their students to be of any help to them. Im not saying that just because you are a teacher means that you dont get to perform anymore. Im just saying that in order to be a good teacher you have to have the desire to help your students more than your desire to improve yourself. I have been teaching and student teaching dance classes since I was in seventh grade. I have learned how to work with girls of all age groups. I am not the most talented dancer in the world but I was able to

teach my students how to have better technique in both dancing and performing. This is because I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that it brings when you can see the improvement in your class as the year goes by. I always make sure that before I teach a class that I sit and think about what this particular class needs to improve so that I can stop thinking about my own agenda and can be a better teacher.

It is sometimes hard to keep your standards when you are a dancer. Dance can be used in such vulgar ways that it can take the spirit completely out of your life. There is a story in the Book of Mormon about Nephis family as they were traveling to the Promised Land. In 1 Nephi 18:9 it says, And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness. In these scriptures we read about the fact that they used dancing in order to express themselves in a rude way. Some students at our high school dances used dancing in order to get to know each others bodies in inappropriate ways. But dancing can also be used in righteous ways. In Doctrine and Covenants 136:28 it says If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. We can use dance in ways that brings the spirit into our lives. As most dancers know, many dance competitions are held on Sundays. Our directors always got our studio special permission to perform for the judges on Saturday even though the rest of our division was on Sunday. They did this so that we wouldnt have to dance on the Sabbath. Most people were surprised that we would do this because it would be easy for the judges to forget about us by the next day. We took this risk because we didnt believe we should be dancing on Sunday. We still continued to win

competitions even though we didnt compete on Sunday and I know that we were blessed because of the good decisions that we were making. I am only 18 years old. At this point in my life its still hard to know exactly where Im going and where I want to end up. All I know is that I want to make a difference in this world. John Ruskin said What we think or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do (Ruskin, 2005). I hope that someday I will be able to do something that people will remember. Maybe someday I could choreograph a routine that is remembered throughout the ages. Maybe I will teach a student that goes on to be the greatest dancer in the world. At this point in time my options are endless.

After reading some of my thoughts about dance you probably know a lot more about me than you did previously. It is obvious that I enjoy the feeling of being calm because that is my reason for dancing. You can tell that I struggle with my self confidence sometimes because I feel like Im not worth watching onstage. I am good at keeping my priorities in order because I can teach dance and improve the quality of the students I teach. I hold strong to my standards even when it doesnt seem like the smartest thing to do. I am ambitious and can see my own potential in this world. This is much more than any personality test could have ever told me. Through dancing I have come to know myself so much better than most people do. J. Krishnamurti, an Indian philosopher said, You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life (Krishnamurti,1989). As you begin to understand yourself and your place in this world better you can begin to understand life as a whole. The more that we understand life and our purpose on this earth the more we can

begin to think outside ourselves so that we can better serve our fellow man. We can make this world a better place. I believe that dance can do all this and more.

Works Cited

Brandt, Amy. "Why I Dance." Dance Magazine 2008. Kissel, Howard, Marlon Brando, and Stella Adler. Stella Adler : The Art of Acting. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema, 2000. Krishnamurti, Jiddu. Think on These Things. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. Ruskin, John. On Art and Life. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, 2005.