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Dawnika Andrus Ed Austin Dance 261 8 April 2014 If I can Learn to do it, You can Learn to do it I doubt that I have any accomplishments to name or steps that I can do that really set myself apart from others; all I have is a unique journey that now shapes what I do in every dancing or teaching circumstance. I was not born knowing how to dance, but the talent was inside of me. I taught myself how to do it, and now my dreams are to help others learn how to do it through believing in them and showing by example, how I want them to perform. I did not really choose to dance, it just came out of me. I did not have a dancing mother or father, but I had an accepting family. I had the voice to become a great singer, and I was always told that that was to be my pursuit in life, but when I was alone, my body would begin to twist and turn, and the music would not inspire me to sing; it would inspire me to move. I would unconsciously start to dance and try to express myself through movement. However, my dancing was limited. We were poor. We lived in the country. I could not go to a dance studio like so many of my friends could. This did not matter so much to me though. I wanted to learn how to do it. I danced at home for hours. I would twirl, leap, and practice my splits. I imitated every dance I saw. I never thought I cannot do that. Instead I would be the hopeless optimist and think I could do that if I practiced. It turned into my fun my playtime. I made up exercise programs, so that, even as a child, I would be a strong little girl.

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At first I thought that all of this expression was just built in me. However, I reached a pivotal point in my introspective nature, and I wanted to know why do I dance? I became concerned about where the emotions were evolving from. I spent a long time searching for answers and trying to come to peace with what was happening inside of me and making me dance. I turned to my source of answers: the scriptures. Inside those precious books I found jewels. I realized that my body does not just wobble and twist for unknown reasons, there is something inside of it that makes it move, a spirit, a desire, and a previous place where once I had had no body, but now, finally could move. I learned that the reason I wanted to move was not just for my bodys sake, but because of something more that was within me. The Spirit inside of me is what causes me to move. It is where all my movement comes from and pushes me to give my complete self. Even in the beginning, when I had had no teachers, I still had an unseen push to dance. When I discovered the source of all this joy, it made me want to revamp the way I had been dancing. I had a purpose to my dancing. Now my focus was not this unknown need to wriggle, but a conscious gratitude. My dancing has turned into a form of praise for all those involved in my creation. My body is a gift. It comes wrapped up with difficulties and malfunctions, but to me, it is beautiful because I can make it dance. To me it is beautiful because it is a blessing from someone who cares so much about me. I recall the pivotal point when I decided that I really wanted to dance. One night I watched the Disney movie Anastasia, and it was the next day that I was trying to learn a backhand-spring. I had been attempting it for about 45 minutes, and was becoming frustrated, when the words of the song, from the movie the night before, came into my head. If I can learn to do it, you can learn to do it (Bluth). I repeated them over, over, and over in my mind. It sparked something, I started singing it, and then, I pulled my body back and flipped. I was ecstatic. I did

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it over and over again! I sang loudly for everyone to hear, if I can learn to do it! It is one of my fondest memories. This moment was two-fold in changing me: it made me want to dance, and it made me want to teach. I think of that song every time I am trying to learn something new, but the greatest part about the words is, if I can learn to do it, you can learn to do it (Bluth, emphasis added). My dancing is a sharing experience, a teaching experience. I never feel any desire to only know the dance moves for myself. If anyone asks, I want to be there to help them. I do not see myself as the soloist. I want to dance myself, but I also want everyone to be right up there with me. It is a part of me that I want to be a part of everyone else too. There is nothing to hide. I learned, they can learn, and I want to be the one to teach them. I learned to dance by observation. I watched video after video and dance after dance. It has become my belief that you know a dance a lot better when you see it performed by someone else with all the passion and heart they have to put into it. This philosophy affects my teaching choices because now as I teach, I try to do things just right so that my students can see exactly how it is done. I do not believe in marking my dancing, especially when teaching how to do a move. Not showing the proper way does not align with how we naturally think. People seem to think in pictures that is how they remember things. I can tell someone how to do a dance, but if I show them, it will stick so much longer in their minds. As humans we tend to like to see things, and when I teach, I like to show how to dance. As a teacher it is important that the students know what the moves really are supposed to look like. It not only helps them remember them, but it reminds them of all the passion you have for your own dancing, and by showing it correctly, you are telling them that you think they can do it just as well and reach their highest potential.

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It is critical to show your students how much you care about them. I believe that since my dancing talent originated through a loving God who cared enough to give me this body, I too should care enough to give my students a loving teacher a teacher who wants them to succeed and wants with all her heart for them to know the moves. Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care (Roosevelt). Now that I can dance, I want to share it because I care about others feeling the way I feel. I care that others experience the joy of dancing, and experience the joy of using their bodies to express themselves. If I can learn it, then they can learn it, but more importantly, I have a deep innate desire to help them succeed along the learning process. In a way my desires are somewhat selfish in nature, because the more I care about others, the more I am fulfilled by teaching them. It is a give and take experience. I give my heart and my dancing to my students, and they give me their progression back. It is so satisfying to me to find how I can help others and then see it blossom. I love watching them turn into beautiful dancers under my care and seeing them become incredible. A dancer is at their best when they stop thinking about the moves or the steps and let their Spirit take over. Just as in my childhood, when I had danced with freedom, a dancer is stunning when they dance without ties or bubbles holding them in. While practice, technique, and style are all essential, what really was given to you was your body. This was a blessing at birth and a body and a desire are the only real requirements you need to really love dancing. Sometimes I fear that we get too caught up with the stress of doing moves correctly that we lose the Spirit behind the dancing. When I teach, I try to help those I work with to feel the inner spirit coming out of the outer expression. It is ones entire body and spirit that dances.

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If I have learned anything through my journey of dance, it is that I want to help others find the passion necessary to start themselves in dance just as I self-started my dancing career. I do not want them to just do the steps; I want them to love it too. My dancing was a progression from being egocentric, to finding the awareness of the eternal Giver of my ability, to wanting to teach everyone to dance with me. I perhaps would not choose the same journey for everyone it was a difficult road but whomever I end up having the opportunity to teach, I want them to know the passion I have for dance and the love I have for them in learning how to dance as well. My personal philosophy in dance and in teaching stems back to that one moment in time when I learned, if I can learn to do it, you can learn to do it (Bluth).

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Bibliography Bluth, Don, dir. Anastasia. Walt Disney Pictures, 1997. Film. 10 Apr 2014. Roosevelt, Theodore. Brainy Quote. Brainy Quote @ Book Rags, n.d. Web. 10 Apr 2014.