One of the things I love most about dance is the way that it grows and changes over time, similar to how I can grow and change as a person over time. I’ve loved dance almost as long as I’ve been alive, and my relationship with it has changed since I started taking classes as a 3-year-old. This has mainly been accomplished through moving away from my home studio and becoming a dance major in college. Recently however, I’ve made further efforts to grow outside of class.
During my freshman fall semester, I took improv as a formal class twice a week. During this semester I changed my mind on what improv meant, and how to make choices that fit both musically and artistically. However, since that semester, I’ve only improved sporadically and for a few minutes at most.
While technique classes can be a good emotional release, most often I’m too focused on my alignment and placement to really focus on my emotional investment. Whenever I plug into my headphones and just listen to music, I find myself wanting to move to it.
So last week, I rearranged the furniture in my bedroom and decided to improv. I also made the choice to film the entire process, and acquired dozens of videos over the course of a week.
I learned a lot about myself as a dancer by watching these videos back every day. Depending on the music and my mood, I made certain choices. All of the videos filmed on day one (Monday) were very slow and uncertain, almost like I was floating through it. Day two (Tuesday) I made more assertive choices, and by day three I was letting loose even more. I became more comfortable in front of the camera and eventually stopped worrying about how I looked.
If I could take away one thing from this experience, it would be to recommend improv to all dancers when they have the chance. I feel like over the course of just a few days, I changed as a dancer, and that made me happy. I love dance, and my relationship with it is always changing. I am falling more in love with it as time goes by, and I hope to keep on this upward growth for years to come.
