The Age and Art of Dancing

The lights dim, the orchestra begins to warm up, the rustling of paper can be heard, and then the curtain rises. The performance begins with an overture, a prelude to what will happen. Suddenly, the star ballerina appears on stage. She is beautiful and the audience claps vigorously for her. At the end of the show, she receives flowers and massive amounts of applause. Every little girl in the audience wants to be the ballerina on stage that was just seen. How does a little girl fulfill her dream of becoming a professional ballerina? What are the steps she must take in order to be on a stage gaining recognition one day? These are the common assumptions made by Americans of dancing. Dancing is closely related to the aging of the building in which the studio is located in. On the corner of P Street, Starstuck Dance Academy sits the Haymarket Square, rising above the trees of O Street but still dwarfed by the other buildings that tower into the smoke filled sky. Unlike the tame uniformity and monotonous insipidity of many Lincoln streets, here the buildings exhibit an endless change in their perpendicular and horizontal lines. Life can take people on many journeys but it is up to the observer as to what journeys are fitting for the future. Meandering about this historic site to Lincoln, Nebraska, there is a building to which many would refer to as “old” with people walking here and there. There is plenty of laughing, talking, loud music, and people eating. There is a unique overwhelming feeling that comes over while walking down the stairs of the cafeteria. Upon entering, the sweet and subtle sound of piano music greets you from the overhead speakers and the gleam of the marble columns are blinding. Tourists sit deep in conversation or hurtle towards doors into another boutique shop. Then, following the wooden rickety stairs toward the sky leads to the class, the only class of dancers. Passing pillars and chandeliers along the way resembles an antique structure. Possibly this is an antique structure with the location being in Haymarket Square. The lobby greets you with the essence of ice cream from the parlor, leaving a few extra pounds on any observer’s hips, not to mention the unwanted temptations that arise during the brief bypassing of those French glass doors with etched glass.

Remembering my recollections of dance in my past brings a tear to my eye. I have been involved in dance for so long that I could dance in my sleep. The building where I once took was located in an area similar to this one with old buildings and many unique features. As I sit and gaze, I can not help but think of my teacher. My teacher was my inspiration. My inspiration led to my dreams. Now, my dreams are leading to where I am today. Although dance has very little part in my life right at this moment, a lot of valuable lessons were learned. Not only can I establish a well balance day filled with work and play, but I can manage my time in order to not miss an important date. The rooms are a completely different story; they are more modern than
the traditional marble finish in the lobby. The rooms are mainly mahogany wood based, but more modern aspects had been blended in such as the bright overlooking window panes outstretching from wall to wall, appearing to go on forever. The office was cozy yet classy in that the desk was perfectly organized with a well thought out layout. The light fixtures seemed to glisten in the night on the mirrored walls with the light reflecting up into the arched ceilings.
As the music begins, feet begin to move to the beat, or off the beat, but either way the movements are beautiful. Parents sit in admiration of their little one and clap no matter what goes on. The mission of dance is to provide quality dance education to students of all ages and abilities, fostering many essential skills, creativity and confidence. This class is geared to giving tremendous personal attention, and taking the whole individual developing child into account. In the modern dance, creative dance and jazz classes, aside from technique, a premium is placed on having the students realize their own solutions to dance tasks. Dance is taught in a way that helps the developing child create their own voice, with dance as the medium. Here there is extensive imaginary play through dance; stories are enacted and improvisations are explored. As stated by Emily Daharsh, “My motivation for going to work everyday is seeing the kids smiling faces, trying to make them smile, making them better, looking forward to maybe teaching a new combo that I really love, that kind of think.” The works of young kids are irreplaceable by the fact that they are willing to try new and different things. Young children love to move, be it at play or when listening to music. By channeling this innate love through dance and movement classes not only helps to develop cognitive, motor and social skills but also instills exercise as a way of life.
As children grow older dance can continue to be a hobby for some or a future career choice for others. Dancing will grow with a child as the progress through their age. The age of the building can be related to the progress of the dancers’ ability. Whatever a child's goal, dance frequently produces confident, well-coordinated young people with good posture, self respect and respect for others. It is also a fun hobby which gives young people the chance to experience the thrill of performance and the satisfaction of progressing and gaining qualifications with an international body. “Look what I can do!” says a little girl with a bushy brown ponytail and bright green eyes. She just learned how to spin around on one foot, called a pirouette, and wanted to show Ms. Emily. The flowing of the girls's arms as she rounds a pirouette into a sa-shey, I was stunned by the amount of ability she had managed. Ms. Emily appears to be very patient with the girls, with nothing more to ask of them than to have fun. When asked what the hardest thing is for little girls she responded by saying, “They get frustrated easily. Sometimes it’s hard to balance fun to keep them excited and learning to keep them progressing, they can get tired and have a low attention span.” As I sit off in the distance the music that is playing is, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and the little girls seem to be more motivated by a song they know. The image of little ponytails, curls, and bows can not escape my mind. This is the usual attire of a dance class. Of course, this class is unique because of the girls’ specific to the age. Undergarments are a necessity to this time. With underwear hanging below their leotards, I can feel the awkward stages coming a long.
Experiencing dance is a whole new feeling. This is a feeling that no one can experience until actually been on the stage. From the crackling of the paint on the ballet bar to the hand prints on the mirror, anyone can see that this is no ordinary dance class. This environment is filled with fast pace moving people who love to express themselves through dance. Although quite young, expression plays a key role in what they are doing.
The music is instantly accessible to these young girls, and the venues are equipped with bars, which adds to feeling that they are having a play night rather than the usually playing at home. Best of all, even to a first-timer who can't quite co-ordinate her hands and has managed to bruise one or two toes, watching the fluid, sensuous moves of accomplished dancers, bodies perfectly synchronized, is nothing short of inspiring. All heights, weights, nationalities and different abilities fill this cavernous studio with movement. They dance, sing, play, learn, listen, teach, stomp, clap, tap, and have fun together as the music shifts and changes. Some effortlessly leading and following, others stopping to confer with their mothers about busy nonsense, all are focused on the task at hand, to have fun. The music stops. Teacher claps her hands. Oh no, this couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be the end of dance class for the week. What will happen until next week. Emily says of her happiness, “I like to make the kids feel good about themselves, even if they aren’t the best dancer in the world. I still want them to feel excited about dance and feel good about it when they go home…I love to hear about how little kids danced all around the house!” This proves that Emily is passionate about job. The little girls will squirm all over the car on the way home in order to hop in the door and show their dance moves.
A series of set of movements to music, either alone or with a partner. That is the definition of dancing. Dancing is a way to express one's feeling and to get active. Dance has been a part of human history since the earliest records of human life. The time learning dance can be well worth it. Once the girls get big enough maybe even someday they will be that ballerina on stage too.