Diana Aguilar
Professor Emily Watson
English 111
21 September 2013

My Passion

When I am dancing I don't think about any problems I have. Dancing might be considered a source of entertainment, however to me dance in not only a form of entertainment it is much more. Dancing to me is an outlet to release stress, it is a form of speaking and letting out my emotions without saying a single word. Dancing is another language I have learned to speak. Dancing is just a conversation between two people and the body and soul. Ever since I can remember I have always loved dancing. I think the reason I love dancing has to do with my mother. She has always told me stories about her pregnancy of me. My mother said that during her pregnancy she would love dancing, she would dance for no reason at all. She would just turn up the stereo and start dancing while cooking and cleaning. She tells me she would go out to parties every weekend until her eighth month her of pregnancy. Even after she gave birth to me we would go out to parties with her friends. I Remember when I was three years old; I attended a party back home in my home country, Mexico. My aunty, who took care of me while my mother worked in the mornings dressed me in a pink taffeta halter top dress and white shoes and took me to Calle Las Peñitas where my mom was waiting for me. I meet with my mom and her friends and we were on our way to the banquet hall. The dance hall was called El Diamiante (The Diamond). El Diamaiante was one of the fanciest banquet halls at the time. The music was great, they had a live group playing. As the night fell more and more people filled the dance floor that was including my mom and me. Whoever took my mom out to dance had to take me as well. The party ended around two in the morning and all that night my mother and I were on the dance floor. By the time the party was over we were exhausted. That night I believe my love for dance grew. By the time I was five, I understood my love for dancing more. I still saw dance as a way of entertaining myself. By the age of five, I was already in the United States and here is where I got inspired by professional dancers. My uncle's wife is a professional dancer and she had her own dancing studio where she taught Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Regional Mexicano (Hispanic dance genres). Her studio was big with mirrored walls and hard wood floors. On one of the walls, there was a painting of a dancing couple surrounded by music notes. On the corner of the studio she had a display of trophies she had won. I remember going to her studio and watching her students become professionals. I even remember mocking their steps and learning the choreographies that were being taught to them. The dancers thought it was cute, but I was not trying to be cute, I was learning those steps, because I wanted to become one of them. I admired the dancers and my aunty's professionalism and dedication to dance. My aunt has been the one that incited me to understand and interpret dance more than entertainment. By the age of ten I had stopped going to the dance studio where my aunt taught her student not because I wanted, but because my aunt was moving to California. When she told me she was moving I was devastated, because that year I was going to become a student myself. I was also sad, because I was not going to be able to continue watching and learning new steps that her students were being taught. But she told me that I didn’t need her to start my dancing career she told me “Tienes el ritmo en la sangre” (You have the rhythm in your blood) and I could continue dancing for myself. Those words “tienes el ritmo en la sangre” encouraged me to view dancing as another crucial part of my life. When my aunt left I had nothing to do in the after school. The only thing I would do was watch music videos and dance shows like Bailando Por Un Sueño (Dancing for a Dream),a Hispanic version of Dancing with the Stars and dancing movies like Dance With Me. I would just sit and admire the dancers and imagine myself dancing with them and competing in the same competitions they were in. I remember saying I want to be like them. So I decided to start dancing for myself. Every day I would wake up and dance for no reason. I would dance while doing my chores. I would come up with my own steps or mock steps I saw on TV. All I wanted to do was dance! By the time I was fifteen, I put my dance steps I learned throughout the years of watching my aunty's students to practice. I was going to have my Quinceañera. There I had to dance a waltz and a surprise dance which was a combination of Quebradita and Cumbia Nortena (Mexican genres). My Quinceañera party was great there I was able to show everyone my love for dance throughout the whole night. One of my favorite parties I been to, has been my cousins wedding. At that event I took over the dance floor. There I released all the stress I have accumulated over time. I was releasing my emotions without saying a single word. I didn’t feel like I was myself. I felt free, I felt like I was a new person. That night I felt the music and my body as one. Now, at the age of eighteen I view dance as a type of art. Dance is my life. Dance makes me feel good inside. It helps me heal my body, mind, and soul. It is what I enjoy and gives me power to do whatever I want to do. Dance is magic, it is a cure to my outside problems. I mainly dance to release stress and problems that I have. It really helps me to release all this bad energy in a productive way. When I dance I find a connection with my body and the music, I feel the adrenaline rush run through my body. When I dance I am transported to a new world, a different dimension where I am free to float. Dancing to me is as natural as breathing. For me, dance is like water. I've always lived with it and I always will. When I hear music, I start to dance. When something good happens, I dance. When I'm angry, I dance. When I'm sad, I dance. Dancing is my way of expressing myself. Dancing is a way for me to fully expose myself without having to speak in public. I love to dance because it makes me feel simply beautiful and because when I move my body to the music, power and joy surge through every cell in me. I dance to have something to love when I feel that nothing loves me. When I dance I feel relaxed. That is why dancing has become a passion of mine. Even though I have not pursed dancing as a career, dancing is still one of my hobbies. Every time I have a chance I dance, I dance until my body aches. Dancing is my passion, which I will continue to purse and enjoy throughout the rest of my life even if it's not professionally.

Works Cited

Dance with Me 1998 Film Release Date: August 21, 1998 (USA) Director: Randa Haines