(The above photo is the cover of Dancer Magazine. I am the second person from the right.)Overall, this course made me explore the numerous different aspects of Motivation. From emotions and moods to addictions and personality traits, motivation is involved in so many different parts of a person's life. One thing I find extremely interesting is that everyone's motivation ranges on such different levels. Some people are so motivated and strive to accommodate their needs, whereas others fall behind and let the negativity take over and forget about the reason why they were trying to stay motivated in the first place.
One lesson in particular that I can relate to in depth is the lecture on Goals. Goals can be small or big and whether you achieve them depends solely on the person's motivation. My final project is to dedicated to this aspect of Motivation.
Since I was 2 ½ years old, I have been dancing. To tell you the truth, dance was an emotional rollercoaster, but in the end it saved my life. My whole life I was told my dancing career would never go far. I wasn’t skinny enough, tall enough or flexible enough, but one thing that set me apart from all the rest was my passion for this sport. (Yes, dance is a sport.) Anytime I stepped onto a dance floor/stage, my heart filled with passion, poured out with every step I took.
When my father passed away, dance was the only thing I could rely on. It was my way of escaping reality. I never spoke about my tragic loss, I explained my emotions through each MOVEMENT. People saw me grow and mature as an adult and realized how fully concentrated and dedicated I was to dance.
Throughout my dancing career, I danced at movie premieres in NYC in front of A-list celebrities, on the Morning Show on CBS, for charity events such as The Red Cross and The Princess Grace Foundation…I was even asked to perform at the Sidney, Australia Olympics. (But due to expenses and an extremely long plane ride, my mom opt me out of this one.) Since being at college, I was voted the President of the Dance Team and our team was asked to perform at the 76ers Halftime Show showcasing my choreography.
(The picture placed in the center with the red costumes was right after we performed for the Princess Grace Foundation in NYC. The man featured in the center is Prince Albert of Monaco....I am in the mix of the people presented in the picture.)I’ve achieved so much in this art form, but there is one more thing I dreamed of doing, I just never thought I’d achieve my goal so young. This past summer, my sister and I opened up our very own dance studio called MVMT Dance Center. (Short for Movement Dance Center) I never could’ve imagined we would be so successful in just a few months, but expectations were surpassed when our enrollment almost tripled from our original goal! It is quite stressful maintaining a business at the age of 22, teaching about 30 hours a week and continuing my education as a full time student, but now I can pass on my passion for dance onto my students. I can only hope that they will share the same kind of passion that I endure. I may not be the best dancer, but I strive to be. And I must admit, it is pretty satisfying knowing that even though people doubted me, I was able to overcome the negativity and achieve my lifetime goal.
Below is a promotional video my sister and I had done for our dance studio. The dancers featured in this video are apart of our Senior Dance Company.
MVMT Dance Center from Kristyn Ulanday on Vimeo.
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