How learning dance prepares me for life

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bye

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foreign

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do

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what you have just seen is a scene from

giselle

one of the most famous ballet

productions

in the world it is the peasant paw

variation

from act 1 which is performed by giselle

the female lead in the ballet it is

meant to entertain a party of nobles

who had just come back from a hunt

my mom often says that i was dancing

before i could walk

and as a dancer who started her journey

at the age of

three i often think this to be true

i have danced most of my life even

though

i’m just 12. i was whisked off to dance

class

almost every day after school and

practiced

constantly at home danced took up most

of my waking hours

and spending so much time in the studio

has made me realize that i was learning

so much more than just the dance and the

movements

besides learning how to strengthen my

toes so i could dance on point

i also had to learn different skills

that i would later carry on into my life

and i am here to share all of them with

you today

dancing has taught me the importance of

expressing ourselves

any form of art whether it’s dancing

singing acting writing painting or

drawing

is the best form of self-expression

dance is a performing art by performing

we channel our

energy in a way that makes us feel

positive

and makes others around us feel happy

my teacher tells me it’s almost like

therapy

dancing has taught me the importance of

creativity

the most successful artists are the ones

who are well-rounded

and the ones who can dominate different

disciplines

i started my dancing journey with ballet

which is the foundation for every dancer

structure

and as i grew to look more into the

dance world

i loved all different types of dance

including modern jazz contemporary

musical theater tap irish and chinese

dance

having a varied skill set helps a dancer

be more innovative

when they are asked to choreograph

something for example

a student piece another thing i’ve

learned from the years of dancing

is to be open-minded and flexible

adaptability is essential for the art

and for life in general for the past

eight years i have met countless

different teachers

that all have different teaching styles

for example ballet classes some teachers

like to have a set repertoire while

others like

to make up exercises for every single

dancer

fit to their needs

but they have all followed one rule

and that is that art is subjective

they have all taught me all different

types of techniques

their own way and i am thankful for that

for the past eight years i’ve met

countless different teachers and

directors

who have all followed one basic truth

that dance is subjective

that means that every teacher will have

his or her

own method and each director will use

different techniques

to get the best out of their dancers

in ballet classes for example exercises

can change

according to the teacher while some have

a set repertoire for every single class

others choose to make up different

classes

for each student so being flexible

and being able to adapt to the person

you’re working with

is essential when you’re a dancer

indeed one of the most important lessons

from my years of dancing

is teamwork though sometimes we audition

on our own

and can have solo parts in a production

the fact is is that most dancers work

collaborate and perform in large groups

every ballet play for instance every

role of the dancer is important

in order to complete the storyline we

all rise

or fall together when you’re part of a

team

you have to cover for each other and

that’s why cooperation

coordination and a collaborative spirit

is key to becoming a successful dancer

i remember one day when a few hours

before our competition

we all gathered up in the studio and our

teacher announced that there were

two dancers who could not attend the

competition that very day

with only a few hours to spare we all

panicked

but luckily this only lasted five

seconds

after that we all collaborated together

and worked on changing the choreography

so that

the judges couldn’t tell we were missing

dancers

at the end of the day we were able to

pull off a win

and won gold medal placing first overall

in the whole entire competition being an

artist

can be tough especially when you’re just

a kid

throughout your learning you will face

many challenges

and sometimes things don’t always go the

way you planned

indeed handling frustration is every

artist challenge

but if dancing or any other form of art

is your passion you will find a way to

overcome it

and so without a doubt the most

important thing i’ve learned from dance

is perseverance

as a dancer you must have grit you must

train harder

if you are to succeed let alone compete

this year for example the pandemic

forced my dance teacher

to move back to italy for personal

reasons

i had respected her and we had formed a

very strong bond

but now no director for a small school

meant they had to close down and i was

left

without a teacher and without a place to

dance at

now i thought this was the end of my

dancing

but suddenly my mom encouraged me to

look

away from home farther away and we

actually found

an amazing academy with excellent

teachers as well

i am so lucky to be able to dance in

this pandemic

people often ask me are you spending too

much time dancing

that you neglect your schoolwork and

the answer is a definite no

by learning dance or any other art form

i am actually learning skills that will

help me become

a better student such as

creativity expression and discipline

and it is these same attributes that

help me

become a better class leader

right now i am passionate about dancing

so

i give it my 100 i am determined to keep

practicing

keep learning and keep improving myself

i can take everything i learned from

dance

and apply it to the real world

or other aspects in life such as family

academics and a career in the future

whether that’s dancing

or something else what i learned from

dance

being open-minded teamwork and

perseverance

are the same values that will help me

later on in life

a big part of having a successful life

is to be prepared for it my eight years

in

dance have shaped me as an individual

and i strongly believe it has prepared

me for the challenges that lay ahead

i can’t express how thankful i am to

have learned

all of these important life lessons that

will provide

a stable foundation for my life and my

future

thank you

[Applause]