At the end of every issue of Dance Magazine there is an article titled “Why I Dance.” As I am officially moved in to my new home at the University of Cincinnati, I have decided to write my own “Why I Dance” as my last blog for Brandywine. To put it simply, I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. My mom put me into my first ballet class at five years old, as happens with many little girls. I can’t say whether or not I was in love with it immediately, but our family soon moved and I gave it up. I tried tennis, gymnastics and soccer, but what did I choose to go back to? Ballet. I was in third grade when I made the decision to stick to dance, and despite this late start, (if you ask most ballet dancers they will tell you they have been dancing since they could walk) I found myself just as dedicated as the next person. I could have picked any hobby, any sport, any instrument, but all I wanted to do was dance, and it has been that way ever since. Ballet is the most challenging, frustrating and time-consuming thing I can think of, and at the same time, the most rewarding. There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of being on stage. It doesn’t matter how nervous I am while I stand waiting in the wings, the second my feet hit the stage, something else takes over. The combination of the music, the lights, the costumes, the audience and the heart pounding adrenaline wipes out all anxiety and second guessing. You don’t have to think about the next step, the next position, it just happens, and it is that freedom and excitement that I love about performing. 

Because ballet is what I have devoted myself to for so long, I cannot picture a life without it. I have dealt with two significant injuries in high school, a sprained ankle that kept me out for three weeks my freshman year, and a muscle tear that limited my dancing this past fall and completely stopped it for a few weeks this spring. In both of these cases, the diagnosis brought only one question to my mind, “how long until I can dance again?” Without it I was at a complete loss for what to fill my time with. Knowing how much I missed being at the studio for a matter of weeks made me realize that there is no way I could give it up for any length of time, and that is what helped me decide to go to college for dance. I am so thankful to have parents who completely supported this decision, as I know plenty of art-centered teenagers who find themselves fighting with parents who believe they need a “real” degree. I know that pursuing a career in dance is risky, especially in this economy when professional companies are hiring fewer and fewer dancers and it is almost guaranteed that you will need two jobs, if not three, to be able to afford living on your own. For me though, it is not worth giving up something I love just to have a “safe” major or a sense of security in future plans. I know it’s a matter of beating the odds, but I am ready and willing to take on the challenge to reach my dream of dancing professionally.

So, to wrap it up, dance is what makes me who I am. It’s the one place where I can go and let go of all the stress of a long day at school, the place where I have made the best friends I could ever hope for, the place where I can find role models to look up to, and a place where I feel at home. Why do I dance? Because I want to, I need to, and most importantly, I love to.

- Emma Yasick, Brandywine Ballet dancer & blogger