I hope by focusing on all of my original goals as well as expanding them as the semester progresses that I can be able to expand my ballet movement terminology. I noticed last semester that my issue in class was that I used to think that I did not know the combinations so I had a tendency to rely on others around me. I want to be able to not only just have clear focus, but to be able to work on how the combination is supposed to be executed besides working on just the mechanics of the movement. Once I am able to fix the correction that I hear in class another aspect I should focus and would like to work on is the consistency of making sure that I keep what I fixed throughout the class and as I progress taking ballet classes in the future. Eventually, looking at my strengths and weaknesses in ballet I should be able to work through them and try to the best of my ability to do it differently each time in a better
I was six when I had my first dance recital and I was disappointed that I did not have a bigger role. To be fair, I had just started dancing but was determined to not be a little kid and dance with my friends. After my dance was over my mom came over to me and told me how proud of me she was. I was satisfied. After a time, I started losing interest in dance, it would always interfere with my after school activities, and the dances started to get harder as well.
This came in handy especially when I stumbled upon the world of programming. I was constantly reminded this was a “man’s world” and I should “dance ballet” or “become a teacher” instead. This was a really big struggle I had to overcome at first, considering there were times I used to be the only girl in a lecture or meeting. Although, with time, I started thinking how me being there brought so much diversity to that atmosphere and I dared to challenge those societal pressures. I started my programming journey four years ago when I became a part of the first young coders project in Kosovo.
Jordan Harris is an 11th grade student at Stephens Dance Studios, where she has been studying dance for over 12 years. “I'm pretty sure my mom just signed me up when I was little, but I have been dancing ever since,” she recalled. She began learning ballet and tap around the age of four, and has since learned other styles as well. “I like tap because it is really energetic and upbeat,” she describes. “I like ballet because it is formal and classic.” In her time at Stephens Dance Studios, she has also studied jazz and hip-hop, and she now dances on pointe in ballet.
I kept ignoring any conversation with my friends that related to the dance squad team because I did not want to admit to the insecurities that were running through my mind – I pretended that I didn’t want to be on the dance squad, but deep down inside it is all I thought about. It is all I wanted, and that is what I did. Suddenly, I gathered enough confidence (with a lot of encouragement from my friend Ashley) and told myself I will just try out for the dance squad team. By then, a week had already passed, and the girls who signed up had already learned the choreography. I felt as if I would be too behind, and that I wouldn’t be capable of learning the choreography on time.
Transitioning from taking ballet from last semester to this has not changed my perspective much because I had a general idea of the goals I wanted to focus on. Reflecting on ballet from the fall, I noticed some habits that I am working on in this class.I did not know what to expect on how each combination at the barre is going to be executed. Even though all ballet classes have the same movement terminology everyone has a unique style of teaching.Over the last year of study, I have been able to grow as a dancer and also to plan goals before this semester started. My views on ballet have not changed much because I knew what I wanted to work on, aiming towards and trying to find a goal that I can relate to for each exercise. By continuing to take ballet this semester, I can work on my weaknesses and areas where I do not keep my movement as continuous as I do with other movements.
Giving kids and young adults the space to become them selves with no rules, no judging from others, and no expectation of right and wrong is an extremely rich opportunity for them to discover or rediscover their identity. In dance classes, or at least the ones that focus mostly on developing the creative side of dance, students have the chance to express freely and be themselves for a short time. In the book Dance Education Around the World, Isto Turpeinen (Svendler & Burridge, 2015) describes his experience with chaos in his dance classes as moment for dialog, “In my classes, I use a working style where I see the dance studio as a forum. Children have a space for action. It is a kind of chaotic state in which the construction of dance starts” writes Turpeinen in his anecdote as a dance teacher with youngsters, “working with a raw-board method opens a space for personal action and experience and creates a space for shared and personal processes of dance and the dancing self.
Physical activity is essential in order to prevent and reduce risks of many diseases and improve mental and physical health. Exercise has been an important stress reliever during my school years and I intend to continue my exercise programme as it was the best therapist available in tough times. During the beginning of my schooling, dancing was not just my hobby, but it was my life. During weekdays were dance classes and on weekends were dance competitions that made me feel like a superstar. Dancing not only helped me with confidence levels, but set the foundation for my fitness and the strengthening of my leg muscles.
This is the story of me being a bystander for my own benefit. Back when I was in high school I used to change schools often due to my family moving. But after we settled in our new house, I joined an English high school and it was my first time at an English school. Everybody there happened to be so friendly and very helpful. This was very different to me because my past schools’ I was always the “new kid” that was not wanted around much, so having to be the center of attention in the new place with everybody wanting to know me and introduce me around was very pleasing and I never wanted it to end.
In general—even prior to my communications class—I consider myself a skilled communicator and a friend that is beyond willing to listen and resolve struggles; however, I did not recognize how much psychology was behind the way we communicate. Former to registering for the class I knew I had areas to improve upon such as body language, lack of self-disclosure, and attribution, all of which I created plans to therefore enhance, yet I had no doubt in my capabilities to be empathetic, skillful at solving conflict, and confident while speaking in front of others. Throughout the class I realized that above my words, my body