Since I was seven years old, I have been dancing since. My journey began with Russian traditional dancing, and then I moved on to ballet, ballroom, modern, hip hop, jazz, and contemporary. My passion for dance took me across the Atlantic Ocean to make it a success on two continents in the most difficult phase of my life: when I immigrated to the United States. I persevered through years of classes, auditions, challenges and the loss of inspiring teachers. Although many lessons were filled with sweat, tears, and pain, I found that the most important improvements made in my dance classes were the best. Every tear that was shed in a single week was well worth it. I managed to get from twelve to eleven inches off the floor in one split.
My parents encouraged me to be exposed to different sports as they believed it would help my development. They signed me up in piano classes, let me draw and sing, introduced me into knitting and other sports. All this was to help me choose the right activities for me and keep them going. At the age 10 I joined my family in America to pursue my American education. They considered my maturity acceptable because I understood the importance and value of higher education. This came at a cost. Because of the high American cost of many extracurricular activities I loved, I had to emigrate. I set myself the challenge to find a new community in which people, cultures, languages, and traditions were completely different. However, I was determined to keep my faith in one constant. Instead, I saw it as the key to my new life and the way to my destination: my love for dance. I was able to dance well and fell in love with how my body worked together to create a well-structured performance. The same goes for solving life’s problems. Sometimes you will encounter unexpected solutions, but the end result is beautiful. Today, I am still able to use the same attitude and energy that was taught to me along with every step. Not only was dance a form of exercise, but it also provided me with a means to vent my frustrations about this unfamiliar culture. Dance provided me with a way to express my emotions, be creative and have social interactions. I gained discipline, self development, and self-admiration. This enabled me to be part of a community that didn’t care about my language barrier. The body was the only language that could be spoken. It expressed itself through movement.
Count 5 is preparation and analysis. Count six is the action plan. Count seven is when I use every cell of me to try again and again to get better results. Count eight represents the final picture. Count eight refers to my appreciation for dance and how it helps you deal with any challenge. Count 8 is the smile on the face and the confidence I have in myself that make all my hard work worth it. Count eight represents the satisfaction that comes from solving a problem successfully and brilliant performances.
