I began dancing before I can even remember...
...or so I’ve been told; after all, I don’t remember! One of my earliest memories is hula dancing in a tiny grass skirt over my plaid-printed jumper and fuzzy kitty-face t-shirt. I was perhaps three or four years old, copying the ladies on-stage at some random luau. A gentleman complimented me on how well I was dancing; I was so excited and nervous and embarrassed that I cried as I told my parents.
These days I still get just as excited, nervous, and embarrassed at the compliments, but I’ve learned how to take them better.
My grandmother was a dance teacher, so it should come as no surprise that my first extracurricular activities rarely involved sports but instead required equipment like leotards and taps. I ditched the tights and tried basketball and volleyball in middle school but it was the line-dancing that stuck. I hated country music but loved watching my parents take their Country Two-Step lessons and picked it up by watching from the edge of the room (or free!). My parents were my first dance partners as we made use of Community Education’s offerings of ballroom, latin, and west coast swing classes. My dad was a chaperone at my senior prom. I think he and I probably danced together more than I did with my date.
Fast forward a few years, and I’m still dancing. I moved from ballroom to swing, to salsa, and somehow finally ended up with tribal fusion belly dance. Cabaret style wasn’t quite right, nor was American Tribal Style (though I learned more about communication and expression through body movement, womanly bonding, contact improv, than I had ever bargained for!), but fusion of those forms of belly dance with my interest in jazz, modern, and hip-hop made it a perfect fit.
Dance is meditation, exercise, alone-time, self-care, an exploration, and a social adventure. When things get tense, or boring, or awkward, it’s time to take off your shoes and slide around on the floor to Funkadelic. When someone sings “The Bird is the Word” at karaoke, there’s really no other way to pass the time than to go-go dance. When it’s the middle of the night and your home is dark, and cold, and lonely, it’s the best time to light some candles and incense, close your eyes, turn up deep dark rhythms, and feel the energy pulsing through your body first through your right fingertips, up your arm, through your heart, out your hips, and back again.
These days I still get just as excited, nervous, and embarrassed at the compliments, but I’ve learned how to take them better.
My grandmother was a dance teacher, so it should come as no surprise that my first extracurricular activities rarely involved sports but instead required equipment like leotards and taps. I ditched the tights and tried basketball and volleyball in middle school but it was the line-dancing that stuck. I hated country music but loved watching my parents take their Country Two-Step lessons and picked it up by watching from the edge of the room (or free!). My parents were my first dance partners as we made use of Community Education’s offerings of ballroom, latin, and west coast swing classes. My dad was a chaperone at my senior prom. I think he and I probably danced together more than I did with my date.
Fast forward a few years, and I’m still dancing. I moved from ballroom to swing, to salsa, and somehow finally ended up with tribal fusion belly dance. Cabaret style wasn’t quite right, nor was American Tribal Style (though I learned more about communication and expression through body movement, womanly bonding, contact improv, than I had ever bargained for!), but fusion of those forms of belly dance with my interest in jazz, modern, and hip-hop made it a perfect fit.
Dance is meditation, exercise, alone-time, self-care, an exploration, and a social adventure. When things get tense, or boring, or awkward, it’s time to take off your shoes and slide around on the floor to Funkadelic. When someone sings “The Bird is the Word” at karaoke, there’s really no other way to pass the time than to go-go dance. When it’s the middle of the night and your home is dark, and cold, and lonely, it’s the best time to light some candles and incense, close your eyes, turn up deep dark rhythms, and feel the energy pulsing through your body first through your right fingertips, up your arm, through your heart, out your hips, and back again.
For more info regarding my performance background and professional experience, download my Curriculum Vitae...
| endymienne_cv.pdf |
