How Movement, Community, and Trials Have Shaped My Dance Journey
How Movement, Community, and Trials Have Shaped My Dance Journey
For as long as I can remember, dance has been the language through which I understand the world. It has been my creative outlet, my discipline, my community, and at times, my lifeline. During my years at Brigham Young University, dance became far more than a college activity or extracurricular pursuit. It became the framework through which I learned resilience, discovered joy in service, and grew into someone shaped by BYU’s aims of character, intellect, spiritual development, and lifelong learning.
A part of my journey is shared in two news articles written about my time at BYU. Though they highlight specific events, together they capture something deeper. They capture the way dance and its community have helped me heal, and how giving back to that community has helped me become.
When Trials Become Blessings
One of the articles shared the unexpected chapter of my life when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was an experience that forced everything to pause, especially dance. When you are used to living in constant motion, having your world suddenly go still can feel devastating. At the time, stepping away from dance felt like losing a part of myself.
What I didn’t expect was how deeply that trial would shape me for the better.
Illness teaches a person about vulnerability. It slows you down in a way that makes gratitude unavoidable. It invites reflection, humility, and a new sense of purpose. When I eventually returned to dancing, I didn’t return as the same person. I came back with a deeper appreciation for my body, a tender awareness of my limitations, and a profound respect for the simple, yet profound, ability to move.
That season of forced stillness ultimately became one of the greatest blessings of my life. It reshaped my faith, strengthened my character, and awakened in me the desire to use dance not just for personal fulfillment, but to bless others.
The Joy of Passing It On
The second article highlighted my time teaching younger dancers. In many ways, that experience was the direct fruit of what I had learned during my recovery. Teaching allowed me to make meaning out of my journey, to take the gifts I had been given and turn them outward.
Working with new dancers brought me immense joy. Their enthusiasm, curiosity, and trust reminded me why I fell in love with dance in the first place. Teaching wasn’t simply about counting beats or demonstrating technique. It was about mentoring, encouraging, and giving students a space where they could feel seen and supported.
In the studio, I learned that service can look like many things
A patient correction
A word of confidence
A moment of shared laughter
A belief in someone who hasn’t learned to believe in themselves yet.
Through teaching, I discovered that giving back to the dance community was not only fulfilling, but it was also transformative. Serving others helped me become more compassionate, more disciplined, and more grateful. It deepened my sense of connection and strengthened my understanding of who I want to be.
Dance as a Source of Healing and Growth
Looking back, I see that dance has carried me through some of the most important lessons of my life. It has taught me how to be resilient when circumstances are uncertain. It has given me a place to heal when my body and spirit needed time. And it has connected me to people who have shaped my life in countless ways.
Dance is uniquely powerful because it invokes the whole self, mind, body, and spirit. It teaches discipline, but also expression. It demands strength, but it also requires vulnerability. It strengthens community by bringing people together through shared effort, shared trust, and shared joy.
For me, dance has been a teacher as much as a passion. It has made me more patient, more aware, and more eager to serve. And it has helped me see that the challenges we face, even the ones that bring us to our knees, can become the very experiences that open our hearts.
Living BYU’s Aims Through Movement
BYU’s mission emphasizes the development of character, intellect, spiritual strength, and a commitment to lifelong learning and service. Though I didn’t always recognize it at the time, dance was one of the greatest vehicles through which those aims were realized in my life.
Character grew through discipline, teamwork, and perseverance, especially during recovery.
Intellect developed as I learned choreography, technique, pedagogy, and the complex relationships between movement and emotion.
Spirit was strengthened as I recognized God’s hand in my healing and in the opportunities that came after.
Service expanded as I taught, mentored, and gave back to the community that had given so much to me.
In many ways, dance became the way BYU’s mission took root in my daily experience.
Gratitude for the Journey
Today, I look back on my years at BYU with deep gratitude. I am grateful for the people who believed in me. I am grateful for the dancers who trusted me enough to learn from me. I am grateful for the season of hardship that taught me compassion and resilience. And I am grateful for the moments of joy, in the studio, on the stage, and in the community, that reminded me why dance is such a beautiful gift.
Most of all, I am grateful for the way dance continues to shape my life. It has helped me heal. It has allowed me to serve. And it has prepared me to keep growing, not just as a dancer, but as a person committed to lifelong learning and lifelong giving.
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