Over the course of this semester, I have noticed several changes in myself as a direct result of this class. I am more present in feeling my posture. Posture is something that I know I should be working on, even when I’m standing in line at the grocery store. After working on it so much in class, I am now actively thinking about posture down to the muscular level rather than just going through my motions of making sure I’m in about the right place.

Another change is thinking about inverting and retrograding everyday activities. It is a fun practice to imagine the inverts—often when I am alone, I will just try them out. In public, I try not to do the retrogrades, but it’s a bit of a habit at this point. If I get weird looks, then oh well, I guess. It’s their loss for not being able to retrograde their shopping trip. The more I get these motions in my body, the quicker I am able to apply them in class to the phrases we are learning.

Finally, I am becoming comfortable taking leadership roles/being followed. I’m usually a dancer who stands in the back and does things on her own, but since in this class there are students who aren’t dancers it isn’t reasonable for me to just keep to myself. I need to work on being able to teach what I know how to do. It’s easier for me to show things and to physically work on things rather than explain them. This is great practice for working with dancers of diverse backgrounds, as well as getting skills as a dance instructor. I don’t ever plan on teaching children, or owning any kind of dance studio, but the future can be unpredictable, and it is always the better option to know how to do more. Even if I never end up being able to use these skills, I won’t regret having them.