The Online Edition of the Annandale High School Newspaper.

The A-Blast

The Online Edition of the Annandale High School Newspaper.

The A-Blast

The Online Edition of the Annandale High School Newspaper.

The A-Blast

The art of movement

 

Dance has been present in human society since primitive man, producing an outlet for religious ceremonies, creative experimentation, and the pure joy of expression through physical movement. As long-time dancer Deanna Epley puts it, “Dance is a way to share your culture with others without saying a word.”

A dancer since age three, Epley, a junior, is just one example of the number of talented dancers registered at Annandale. Accompanying her are members of the dance team, who commented on the quality of the program and the significance of dance in their daily lives. “What’s cool about is it’s developmental,” said Anna Lynch, talking about the team.

“People can start off not having any experience in dance, and then learn techniques, and the style of dance is really diverse.” Jasmine Mclaurie adds, “Dancing is important because it allows me to express my emotion through a visual art.”

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Washington D.C and its surrounding areas are a prominent home for both aspiring and professional dancers, with theaters such as the Kennedy Center providing a display area for locals, visitors, and dance novices to view the work of talented dance troupes. D.C also has its own ballet company, The Washington Ballet, which performs at the Kennedy Center and dance festivals around the city, in addition to tours around America and the globe.

Local studios are also settled in the area, dedicated to teaching the art of dancing to residents of all ages. Epley gives an example, stating, “I belong to the studio Dream in Color, which has a dance company within it, which I’m a part of. Because of the change in directors, though, most people would recognize where I come from as Rhythm and Cheer.”

Whether you do ballet or salsa, tap or jazz, or another of the seemingly infinite varieties of dance around the world, you represent a global phenomenon, an art form that is recognized by people of all different countries, education-levels, and careers. “I think that it expresses how the world itself is feeling.”

People dance for lots of different reasons, and the kind of dance they choose to perform expresses how they feel about it personally.

Dance is closely related to emotion, in my opinion.” As Epley so skillfully describes, dance is a universal expression of emotion that captures the essences of cultures to display them in a way that spans societies and deftly weaves human experience together.

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The art of movement