As we approach Thanksgiving, I am taking the opportunity to reflect and consider what I am grateful for this year. It is my second year in college, and I feel as if I am finally finding my place here. I am curious and engaged with my studies, have a great group of friends, and am happily throwing myself into the dance program here at BU. Dance is becoming the cornerstone of my college life, as it is the nexus of academics, social life, and creativity.

Most significant to me in my dance education here is the encouragement to discover and grow as a dancer and a person. In the dance minor, we are required to take a variety of styles, so that we can both deepen and improve upon our training as well as expand our virtuosity.

Last year, I took both the aerial dance and the pole dance samplers here. In these “sample classes,” students learn the basics of the styles. For instance, in the aerial sampler, students in small groups spent the hour and a half class rotating through different apparatus stations, learning the foundations of each type of aerial dance. In the pole sampler, we alternated between practicing strengthening movements on the floor and performing different moves on the poles. Not only were these classes an excellent introduction to the styles of dance- ones completely new to me- helping me grow as a technical dancer, they also contributed to my own personal development. By trying out completely foreign dance styles, launching myself in the air and around a pole, and interacting with new people, I forced myself to confront and conquer my anxieties about risk-taking.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for BU Dance allowing me to grow. Whether it be through more exciting sampler classes or in everyday technique classes, I am confident that I will have the opportunities and guidance essential to become the best dancer and person I can be. –  Claire-Solene, Class of 2021

If you are interested in trying out an aerial dance or pole dance sampler, click here to learn more: https://myfitrec.bu.edu/wbwsc/webtrac.wsc/search.html?module=ar&keyword=air1