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You never stop being a dancer.

You play hockey, football or soccer. But you are a dancer. After 4 years at an arts high school where I majored in dance, and a certificate program from college, this unique art form was a major part in my growing up. Am I pursuing it as a career after all of that time? I wish I could, but no. I know I could have tried, and there was a part of me that wanted to. On the other hand, realistically it would have been a struggle I don't think I was prepared to fight through.

This is not because I'm not passionate about dance. If anything, because I am too passionate. I was afraid of trying to make it work as a career, and becoming bitter towards dance if I couldn't make it work out. And sure I was a late bloomer to the dancing world, so not as strong in technique as some, but I trained enough to hold my own. But my connection to dance goes beyond the technicality of it.

When I dance I stop feeling and express feeling all at the same time.

When I'm happy, I dance, when I'm hurting, I dance, when I'm angry, I dance. Doing this allows me to express the emotion and let it go, all in the same movement. It's my outlet, the thing I turn to when I need to think and feel, or get something out of my system. That becomes a part of my creative process, my inspiration for movement. The thing I love about dance is how fleeting it is. Everything happens in the moment, and then it's gone. Sure you could record it, but to truly replicate the emotions you were feeling when you came up with that movement? That's tough.

Writers leave their mark with words, artists with paint, pen or other material. But dancers use space as their canvas. Painting their bodies across the emptiness for that one fleeting moment of movement. And that's what I love about it. 

While it's not a career choice, it's a passion I can continue to pursue for a lifetime.

Because I am a dancer.

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