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RachelKearl
Dance230
EdAustin
December14,2015
PersonalTreatiseofDance
WhyDance?
Idefinedancenotonlyasmovingonesbody,rhythmicallyusingprescribedor
improvisedstepsandgestures,butalsoIdefineitbywhatcauseseachstepand
gesture.Whyadancerdances.
Ibelievewedothingsforareason.DanceiswhatIamblessedtodoeveryday,
andIknowIdoitformanyreasons.IdancebecauseIenjoymastery,andever
improvinginatalent.Idancebecauseitfeelsgood.Idancetofeeltheapprovalofa
spectator.Idancetoimpactaudiencemembersinanunspoken,humanway.Idance
foranaudience.Idanceforme.

ChangingLives
ThemostsignificantreasonwhyIdanceisforthebettermentoflives.Mypurest
intentionistoimprovelivesthroughdance,whetheritbemystudentslives,myownlife
oraudiencememberslives.Thegreatestpersonalenhancementfromtheartofdance,
hascomeincollegeandtheprofessorsatBrighamYoungUniversity.
StartinginJanuary2015,IbecameapartoftheStudentDanceEducation
Organization(SDEO),aschoolwideleveltothestate(UDEO)andnational(NDEO)


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levels.Thisorganization,inattemptstoshareinformationofDanceEducationhas
impactedmypersonalphilosophy.AsIhavelistenedtoguestlecturers,orquestionand
answersessions,Ifinddancingfromtheinsideofonessoul,outtotheobservers,is
whatbringsthemostsuccessforindividuals.AscurrentPresidentofBYUsSDEO,I
havethechancetoorganizeeventsbyeducatorsfromalloverthenation,tohelp
dancersunderstandhowandwhattheyarelearning.Mylifeischangedbecauseofthe
leadershipopportunitiesIvebeenblessedwithtowidespreadDanceEducation.
Becauseofthischange,IdreamtobecomeapartofthenextgenerationofUniversity
professorsindance.
However,beforeaProfessorIamaperformer,ateacher,andchoreographer.In
theserolesIhavefoundtwoelementsthatcausestepstobeformedinthebodyofa
dancer.Dancingfromtheoutside,in,anddancingfromtheinside,out.Tofurther
developtheideaofdancingfromtheoutside,in,andinside,out,Iwanttosharemy
pointinbeingapartofDanceEducation.

PersonalAimofDanceEducation
TheNationalDanceEducationOrganization(NDEO),withpurposetoprogress
danceinhighereducation,hasmetannuallyanddocumentedtheDance2050Vision
(
www.ndeo.org
/dance2050vision).Onecontributor,fromWesleyanUniversity,stated
thatthegoalofthe2050Visionisbeentofunctionproactively,articulatingand
substantiatingpotentiallyradicalinnovationindanceinhighereducation,whilefostering
theleadershiprequiredtoforgestructuralchange(Kolcio,2013).Withaspirationsof


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becominganeducatoratthecollegiatelevel,IwanttoinstillinanyartistIhavethe
chancetoworkwiththephilosophyofdancingfromoutsideinandinsideout.My
personalaim,inDanceEducation,istoimprovelivesthroughdancewithmotivation
derivingfromtheoutsideatmosphereandfromme,theinstructor,aswellasmotivation
anddrivefromwithineachartist,toexpressouttothosethatwatch.
ToparallelthegoalofNDEOandKolcioswords,mygoalasaperformer,
educator,andchoreographerindanceisasfollows:functionproactively,expressing
taughttechniqueinprecisionofdanceinallstagesofeducation,whilefosteringadeep
connectiontothesoulrequiredtoforgeimpactfulperformanceforanaudienceandfor
theindividualdancer.

DancingOutside,In
Thisismostlydoingsteps,perfectingtechnique,masteringsetmovement
particularlytomusic.
Particularlywithyoungstudents,danceinstructorswillshowmovementinfrontof
amirrortoassisttheviewpointsofthestudents.Thisissimilartomythoughtson
dancingouttoin,inthatweseetheteachermove,thenweseeinthemirrorusmove
thesameandweputitinourbodies.Laterwerecallthemovementfrominside,butwe
mightbeshowingourteacherImdoingitcorrectly.Wedancetofindjoyinimproving
thiswaylearninganewsteporcombinationofmovementandmasteringitovertime.


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Notalwaystowedanceinfrontofamirrortodanceoutside,in.Sometimes
entertaininganaudienceisimpactful,mostly,fortheperformers.Theenergythe
audiencegives,theadrenalineofbeinginfrontofpeopleandshowingoffhardwork
satisfiesthemostnoviceofperformers.Thisisdancingout,toimprovethein.

DancingInside,Out
Dancelikenobody'swatching,ishowIthinkofdancingfromtheinside.Groovy
partiesinthekitchenwithmom,toweekenddanceparties,andevennowasIlistento
backgroundmusic,Igetasatisfactionfromjustmoving.Nooneneedstobewatching.
Itsnotforthem.Itisforme,thedancer.However,thismotiveimpactsanaudience
morethanjustmasteringsteps.
Takingawayamirrorandmaybeevenaninstructor,dancinginside,out,isa
powerfulwaytheartistcanexpresstheirsoulthroughmovement.Atahigherlevel,
artistsmaylearnmovementandmasterit,buttakethestepsasaskeletonforthereal
performancethatcomesmuchdeeperandismuchmoremature.Thismethoduplifts
thedancer,butitiswhatisexpressedtotheaudiencethatimprovesthemabove
watchingperfecttechnique.

IDanceFromMe.
Iviewdanceasagatewayofcreativity,expression,characterdevelopmentanda
realwaytochange.BecomingaProfessorandteachingthatmovementisjust


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movement,andoutwardlyitlooksbeautifulandultimatelycanbeperfected.Butdance
ismorethanmoves,it'sanunspokenlanguagetochangeoneslifeforthebetter.
Idontjustbelievedanceisprescribedorimprovisedstepsandgestures,butitis
whywedancethatdefinesdance.Mywishisnotonlyformydancerstosay,Idance
foranaudience,butalsoIdanceforme.However,aboveall,IwantthoseIteachto
feelthatIdancefrominside.Idancefromme.


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WorksCited

"Dance2050Vision."
www.ndeo.org/dance2050vision
.NationalDanceEducation
Organization,23December2014.Web.5Dec.2015.
Kolcio,Katja."Dance2050Vision."(2013):n.pag.23December2014.Web.13Dec.
2015.