“Dancing Fools”

Some people say that you can choose your own destiny. Others, that destiny is thrust upon us or chosen by some all encompassing factor. I’m not sure which I side with just yet, but I do know that I did not choose to become a dancer.

It most definitely was not a well thought out decision in which I weighed the pros and cons and decided that dance was the healthiest and most lucrative career choice for me. But I absolutely would not choose anything else.

I don’t think any dancer chooses purposefully and solely to dance. It is something that is inside of us from the very beginning and slowly, we uncover it and make it our own. It is an art form that we feel from the inside out and can express through our sweat, and let’s be honest, sometimes blood and tears, too… Actually, lots of blood and tears.

But if there is one thing we as dancers can all agree makes every bad rehearsal, every rejection, every emotionally exhausting day, every ache, pain, and bruise all worth it, is that feeling – you know the feeling – when you are sweating and hurt and tired, possibly with a face coated in foundation and dusted with shimmer, when you get it. And it is for you and only you, because only you know how much you need this.

I couldn’t survive without dance. I don’t know what else I would do with my life, but I do not choose to do anything else.

“We are fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.”

Kristen Renee Bashore

Sophomore Undergraduate

Dance major; Communication, Science, and Disorders minor