"You Don't, You Don't Take Me With You"

Dance is a form of expression that is very near and dear to my heart. Growing up, I spent at least 20 hours a week in a dance studio, as I was a competitive dancer for about 12 years. My dream was to be a professional dancer, like both of my cousins. Kyle, danced professionally with the ballet company Joffrey Ballet and landed the role of A-Rab in West Side Story on Broadway a few years back, and my other cousin, his sister Sonya, dances professionally in Las Vegas as an aerialist. For me, ballet was my thing. I spent hours upon hours dancing on pointe, not satisfied until my toe nails were on their last bit of life. When I was fifteen, my dream was shattered when both of my arches collapsed during a rehearsal. I haven't been on pointe since.

As defined by our youtube author, lowerbunk, art is a form of expression, or creativity, or both. For me, dance was a form of both. Between the ages of 13-15, I went through some very traumatic experiences that left me in a dark place, and dance was my only outlet. It was a way that I could express how I was feeling when I couldn't find words to explain it. Through music and the art that my body was making, I was able to channel the feelings I had into a somewhat tangible form. Now, as I sit here and tell you why I feel dance is art, I ask the question: Is all dance art?


I'll be quick to jump in and argue no. Not all dance is art, but of course, this is my opinion. When I think of artistic dance, I think of ballet. The art is shown through the power of the dancer's bodies, their grace, their strength, and the story they tell through movement. The Anaheim Ballet shows a great example of an artistic dance with their youtube video Ballet:Dancers.

So, let me tell you what I do not classify as art in dance. Dance is defined as a successive group of rhythmical steps or bodily motions, or both, usually executed to music (according to dictionary.com). Upon the early days of youtube, the very first youtube video I ever watched falls into this definition of Dance, but I personally would not define as art. The english translation to this song goes "You Don't, You Don't Take Me With You", but we are all much more familiar with the romanian translation of Numa Numa.