MUSIC AND THE MIRROR

“The Power of Music, Movement, and Reflection”

Cassie from “A Chorus Line” said it best: “All I ever needed was the music, and the mirror.” But what Cassie failed to tell us is that the mirror is our best friend and our enemy all in one. It just depends on the day.

Starting dance at the age of 7, I didn’t realize all the wisdom I would learn from dance. One of the most important things I learned from dance, which I will continue to share till my last breath, is “When in doubt, dance it out.” When you are happy…..DANCE! When you are sad…..DANCE! When you feel lonely…...DANCE! Whatever you are feeling…..DANCE!

But with that said, it’s not always rainbows and glitter in a dance room. That leads me to my topic of the mirror in a dance space. The mirror is meant to help us and ultimately guide us in making any corrections. We need it to improve in dance. The only thing is, it can bring up a lot of emotions. There’s days it still challenges me. “I don’t like my hair. I look bad doing this move. I look stupid. I look gross.” These are just one ounce of things that can run through your head while dancing in front of a mirror.

I wish I could tell you that you will never think those negative thoughts at some point, but that would be a lie. However, I can tell you that I have learned ways to love the person in the mirror over the years. Sometimes, I look into my eyes in the mirror and say positive affirmations about myself, even if I don't believe them. Hey, fake it till you make it, right? That's why, in my classes, I remind my students to love the person in the mirror because I know that negative voice can be loud sometimes. We learn to laugh at that negative voice and the lies it tells by having fun and not taking ourselves so seriously.

That’s why I love 567BROADWAY! for the fact that it gives adults the opportunity to bring out that child-like freedom with movement and creativity. There’s a loud voice in this world that tells us as adults that we must “grow up” and not be creative. Why??? Creativity has allowed us to think of new ideas that change the world. Only the brave make a new path to what life can indeed be.

Dance holds a special magic that brings out the true you in so many different ways. Well, I should say that dance has shown me that in my life. But I have witnessed the magic of dance change people’s lives around me. So, to sum up, if you are new to dance and you take the leap to get to a dance class, you are not crazy for what the mirror is teaching you. Keep going! There’s magic on the other side!

Kick, Ball, Change,

Joseph Corella