From ages 6 to 12, my all time obsession could be found in a mirrored-filled, polished floor studio that hosted my various dance lessons throughout the years. This obsession was the dance styles of tap and jazz. Every week on Tuesday and Thursday for exactly two hours, my mind was consumed by multiple jazz steps and my ears were happily overwhelmed with the noisy click clack of tap shoes. Although I no longer perform a shuffle ball change tap step or a jazz square throughout my week, these dance classes are forever in my brain.
When I first began these dance lessons at the young age of 6 I absolutely despised them. Every lesson I greeted my teachers with insistent wails of terror and complete lack of any hint of interest. To me these lessons were simply a waste of time that took time and energy: both of which were qualities six-year old me did not want to give away. However, in one lesson everything shifted. My once tears of anger were replaced by exclaims of excitement and I never looked back. I found a new sense of comfort in the familiarity of my dance studio that I still fondly remember to this day.
Despite this positive shift I was in no means a superstar, I simply enjoyed dancing. Whatever I lacked in skill, I would distract with enthusiasm and hard work. I remember spending my free time practicing different tap steps or going over the choreography for the long awaited recital that occurred at the end of each year. Each lesson I showed up ready to conquer the newest arrangement of leaps and turns, along with embracing the noisy click clack of multiple tap shoes.
For me, dance was simply something I could do that lacked any pressure or anxiety. It was simply fun. Considering this, I am forever grateful for the experiences that I gained in that mirror-filled, polished floor studio. This careless enjoyment I found in dance is something that I constantly look for in my daily life. Whether it be hanging out with my friends and family or listening to one of our favorite songs, I am constantly reminded that dance and the comfort it brought me can still be found, all I have to do is truly look for it. Although my dance lessons ended over 6 years ago, I still find remnants of this six-year long activity forever engrained throughout my life.
