First post!

I figured that my first senior project blog should be written about the first day, therefore in four and a half weeks, I can look back and see what had/hadn't changed within that time frame. So, here it goes...

When I first arrived at Dancing Wheels Company located in downtown Cleveland, I felt anxious and excited. Throughout my entire dance career, I have pretty much stayed inside the same studio with the same familiar dancers and instructors for a whole ten years. This doesn't consider the annual trip my dance company makes to NYC for Broadway Center dance classes, but, nevertheless, even those trips involve me dancing with people I know and feel comfortable with. Hence, not to my surprise, it felt a little intimidating to walk into a wide open studio with 10+ professional dancers (both handicapped and non-handicapped) all in their upper twenties eagerly waiting to see how my amateur dance skills would compare to theirs. Ballet class was about to start and I could feel the nerves rushing through my body. I assumed my first position at the bar.

Luckily, this is how it felt for only about ten minutes. Halfway into the ballet lesson, as I was performing the traditional plié exercise, I realized that all the anxiety about being "the new dancer" was completely normal. I reminded myself that I was here to dance to the best of my ability and learn about how other people use dance as a form of physical and/or mental therapy in their lives; I continue with my pliés.

For the rest of the day, as the Company rehearses their upcoming production of "Dumbo", I sit back and observe the makings of the show, intimately focusing on the lines and shapes of each dancer's body. Although every dancer has extraordinary talent, what I particularly notice are the handicapped dancers, better known as the "sit-down" dancers. With just their upper body to work with, these sit-down dancers put their heart and soul into every movement they're given. Even as they roll the wheels of their wheelchairs, they do it in a graceful way that contributes to the dance.

It was a great first day!