May 2003 - Daniel Mabry

Home: Plano, Tx, USA
Age: 21 years old
Years Dancing: 5 1/2 years
Specialties: Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Popular Social, Dance Composition, and Improvisation

I started dancing very late because my parents never thought I would actually want to dance. When I look at it I was a big guy and who would ever think some fat dude could dance. However, when I got into my sophomore year of high school I decided I wanted to take a funk aerobics class at the local fitness gym, which in general terms was a dance class. In the class we learned combinations and then would review them every time I came. However that wasn't what sparked my interest in dance.

At school I would always watch the drill team perform a routine with such accuracy and energy it would bring tears to my eyes. That is what made me decide I wanted to try an actual dance class. So towards the end of my junior year when we were making out our schedules for the up coming year I decided to register for a dance class.

Fast forward now to my senior year, I have never imagined doing something could bring me so much joy. Also I never imagined I would be able to connect to my body with such grace. By spring we were getting ready for our informal spring concert and my teacher told us that we could choreograph a dance if we wanted to, the bad thing though we had two days to do it. So I rushed with a lot of stress and found music and put a dance together. Little did I know I was going to be the only soloist from my class performing. Also looking back I now realize what I had choreograph turned out to be a modern piece, which is my passion. When I performed my solo, the audience just sat there in amazement because they had never seen someone put such passion and feeling into something. So this one event turned out to be a success.

Ok now fast forward a little bit later, I had just graduated and I had enrolled right after high school at the local community college where I am today. The first class that I had ever taken there was a Jazz 1 class and boy did I have a lot to learn. As I started dancing at the college I slowly learned so much and a greater appreciation for the art I do. Also it helps to have a great instructor by your side to guide you through your development. I look back on my years here at the college and it just brings tears to my eyes.

I did however have the occasional heart break, for example every year I would audition for our resident company and not make it which really bummed me out. So at the beginning of this semester I talked to my teacher and asked her what were her thoughts on everything. She told me that I need to work hard on my technique because it wasn't up to the level as the other dancers. However she also said positive things such as my performance qualities. When on stage I give the appearance that I love what I am doing and I am having so much fun. For me true feeling comes out when I perform because I am a natural performer. For me I love to perform, I can't find anything I rather be doing than dancing and performing.

What she told me I think helped me so much during this semester. This past semester we got a new full time instructor and she has pushed me so much that I can't even believ how far I have come and how much I have learned. This was evident with our past fall concert which I was in six works and believe me it was a challenge to get them perfect, but when I was done I can't believe how awesome I felt. The feedback I got this time around I was just shocked on how everyone told me they couldn't take their eyes off of me. This semester, looking at it has been amazing, and I think where I am now will be totally different by the end of spring.

I figure it this way, in order to get better I need to take as much dance as possible to improve my technique. Next year I will be transferring off to Texas Woman's University to get my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Secondary Dance Education, and I need to push myself to be ready. Dance is my life, my dream, and my passion; I live for it, I can't see myself doing any other thing than dance.

A dance class when you think about it is the hardest class you will ever take, because you are not only engaging you mind constantly, but you are trying to balance it harmoniously with your body to create art. Also how hard is it when you place yourself in a room with mirrors all around you.
- Tiffanee Arnold: Dance Program Director, Collin County Community College