Dance diary entry: Being your authentic self in dance - Dance Saturday

Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post, 

You're probably reading the title of this post and are wondering what it is that I'm going to talk about today? Well, believe it or not, being your authentic and original self in dance is really important. What I mean by this is that it's sometimes important not to commercialise your movements and just to go where your body wants to go instead and express the emotion in the dance that you want to express. I for one am guilty of trying to add a difficult leap or a fan kick or a flip in my dance when in actual fact, sometimes a routine doesn't have to have that many layers in order to be great. Sometimes being organic and true to yourself is better than trying to do what every "dancer" does. This is something that I learnt recently in dance at school and I thought it would be good to share it on here.

You're probably asking, if you're not doing what a "dancer" does, then what are you putting out on stage? The truth is, when you're dancing a style of dance like contemporary, it's about taking what you naturally do in everyday life and putting it into a dance. If you want to portray yourself falling you don't have to do a million pirouettes beforehand and then fall gracefully like a ballerina, you can just (safely) fall on the ground like you would when you slump on the sofa after a long day. If you want to do a turn in the dance, you're turning doesn't necessarily have to be elegant or like a robot, it can be how you would naturally turn like when you're making a quick u-turn after changing your mind about something. That's what dance can be about and I think that that often gets misunderstood sometimes.

When I did my first lesson of IB dance at sixth form, I must admit, I was a little bit out of my depth. I was not used to moving in a way that didn't involve adding the fancy dance touch that we get so used to adding when we do our regular dance sessions. I'm still not completely used to it because I've always been the type of dancer who's had the technique required but has never been able to be naturally expressive. It was either no facial expression or the most fake facial expression that it was even difficult to watch. I guess it's better to be fake than to have no emotion at all but sill, my facial expressions are not a pretty sight to see on stage. However, through learning this new way of moving, I've learnt not how to act but how to feel and letting the natural movements come from that. It's about taking the mind to a place that it wants to go and the emotion that comes from that can either be happy or it can be sad. Either way, it's real and that's what I've grown to like most about this version of contemporary dance. That's why we do a lot of breathing exercises in class because it really gets us in tune with how our body works and how we're feeling based on our own state of mind. 

I think I've already mentioned before that I've not always been the biggest fan of contemporary dance. I think this is because it can be portrayed in quite a commercial and depressing way that doesn't make it enjoyable or enticing to watch. However, through learning about this authentic way of dancing contemporary, I find it is a lot easier to gel with the style of dance as I find I can just be myself. I'm still working on expressing my authentic self in dance but I find a piece is so much more beautiful to watch when the outside world is blocked out and all the audience can see is the colours of the dancer's personality. I think that's what makes contemporary so special as it celebrates imagination and who people really are, without the impact of the outside world.

Do you like contemporary dance? What's the best dance piece (of any style) you've ever watched? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I absolutely ♡ seeing all your comments. They really make my day so much better!😀❤️❤️

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See you next time, 

Bye, 

XOX, Juliette💋

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