I have loved it for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of lining up my stuffed animals as an audience so I could perform for them in the living room. I would spend hours choreographing to Disney music.  When my cousin would visit, I would teach her all the different dances I was working on and then have the whole family watch us. I think it was around the same time when my parents put me in dance classes.

 

Nothing else is like it.  That calming sense of balance that people find from yoga, that's what dancing is for me.  I love that everyday is a challenge of trying to be better than yesterday.   

 

When I was younger it was sometimes hard knowing that I would miss a school trip because I had class or rehearsal, but when my parents gave me the option I always wanted to dance over anything else going on.  A lot of my peers didn't understand, and that's what made it hard in those already awkward adolescent years. 

 

Now it's just the balancing act.  Taking enough classes in a week, having energy for rehearsal, teaching, and then finding a sliver of personal time, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Oh and one more thing that is hard, not eating a whole chocolate cake in one sitting.  Just kidding, kind of. 

 

Being able to do what I love.  It sounds so cliche, I know, but I love the feeling of performing, and how class quiets my head.  I go a few days without dancing and I start to feel crazy.  I can't imagine how that would go over if I worked a desk job.

 

I really enjoy exploring in the woods.  When I was little I used to pretend that I was Pocahontas.  I would spend hours climbing rocks, looking for salamanders, and catching frogs on the lake.  I would change my sundress multiple times in the day just to go catch frogs.  Don't tell anyone but when on vacation, I sometimes still do these things. 

 

I love reading, sitting with a coffee contemplating the problems and ways of the world, and spending time with my husband. 

 

What is your favorite indulgence?

Napping.  An afternoon nap in the sun = happy Lisa. 

 

 

You can listen to other peoples dance experiences and advice, but at the end of the day you need to have your own experience.  I have avoided certain classes, certain auditions just because someone had told me about their negative experience.  I finally realized that by blindly taking their advice, I was cutting myself short.  Dance is so subjective sometimes, being afraid of someone else's experience doesn't get you anywhere.  Put yourself out there and learn for yourself.