Share your Story

"Dancing is an art. The floor is the canvas. And I am the brush. And whatever I create comes from the heart." - anonymous
       One of the biggest challenges of being a dancer is the performance aspect and "selling" the piece, making it believable. Some dancers are lucky and are born with it and others have to work extremely hard at it. However, the number of dancers who master it are slim, especially in a lyrical or contemporary piece. This is because it is easy to smile and be cheesy, but to look genuine while dancing a story about heart break or loss is hard to not over do and make it look believable.
         The beauty of every lyrical and contemporary dance is not in big moves, sky high jumps, or powerful reaches; it is in the rawness and realness of the dancers. While dancing contemporary you can not force your face to look heart broken, or confused, helpless, hopeful, or anything you can imagine. You have to feel it internally and let it show out. You have to think of a time in your life and relate it to that and tell your story, and that's what is so beautiful about it. When watching a contemporary piece that is performed well you don't necessarily know each persons story but what you do know is that it is real. You are watching someone dance their feelings and share their story. That's as personal as it can get, and they are sharing it with people that they have never met before or maybe even people that put them in that place.
         So something to help you reach this state of performance is to write out the story line, figure out what you are dancing about and then write your story down. Next listen to the words and let the music move you and tell its story. Then without a care or worry in the world. Allow yourself to share your story with out any words and have your story be where your mind is not on how high you can jump or how flexible you are. Have your mind on you.