Dancing Through Life
Title
Dancing Through Life
Creator
Mariana Giraldo
Date
10/03/22
Text
Growing up Colombian in a city like Miami that has such a large Hispanic community, culture is an important factor in my life. In Colombia, dance is a huge part of the culture and important to the people. Dance has always been a big part of my life, from watching people on TV dancing to watching my family dance salsa at parties. When I was just a little girl, I can say I was always intrigued. Dancing is an essential part of the Colombian community and I wanted to feel more a part of it, since I love being Colombian and my country. With my whole family knowing how to move their hips and dance, of course I wanted to learn how to dance like them too.
When I started fourth grade, I was not sure of much, but one thing I was sure of was wanting to learn how to dance. My mom also wanted me to learn and as soon as my school announced it was offering a hip-hop class my mom signed me up as quick as she could. Taking the class for a year I had learned a good amount of movement from the style, but a year wasn’t long enough. Realistically, we couldn’t learn as much as we wanted to because there was a limited amount of things we could learn with the time we had. But I wanted more. I wanted more hours, styles, teachers, and environment to grow and explore. I wanted to take different dance classes and learn other styles, so when the year ended my mom looked for a studio to enroll me in. She found the studio that the hip hop teacher at my school taught at and signed me up there, and with that I quickly started taking classes. As months went by, I learned the basics from the classes I was taking, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, acro, and hip hop. All these classes really helped me loosen up and find some rhythm. Even though these classes didn’t quite help me learn salsa like my family, it did still teach me to loosen up my body. Since I had begun to find my rhythm, I slowly learned from my family whenever I would get the chance. The classes I was taking fulfilled my desire to dance at that moment in time, and that’s all that mattered to me to be honest. By the second year, I had become a much stronger dancer and kind of outgrew the studio. I needed new teachers and styles. I needed more than what they were giving me and I had to find it.
It didn’t take long to find a new studio and the change wasn’t that drastic, since I was luckily still dancing with some of the same people I was dancing with before. They also needed more and decided to go look for it with me. But, at the end of the day it was still a change and I had to readjust in some ways. In this studio there was wide variety of classes and styles as opposed to the studio from before. I had to meet new teachers and peers and learn completely new styles. Which at the end of the day, is exactly what I was looking for. In my new studio there was contemporary, ballroom, musical theater, and tap. I had never taken ballroom class before and I ended up loving it, and in no time, I was moving my hips in heels. This class was just what I needed to get one step closer to dancing like my family, and now I could dance with them at family reunions or parties. They would all ask me “where did you learn to dance like that” and I would always proudly tell them my story. Not only that, but I now know how to dance for fun and dance like a true Colombian.
Through dance I found a new passion and found the connection to my culture that I was looking for. Not only did I get lucky enough to feel more a part of my culture, but I also met the people I love most. In the first studio, on top of everything that dance had already started teaching me, it also introduced me to people who till this day are some of the most important people in my life. As I switched studios alongside some of the friends that I cared about most, I met more people that would change my life forever. These friends that I spent every single day with, that I would never be apart from, quickly became my family. Just like real families, we would fight, bicker, and disagree, but we would also love each other unconditionally and show each other as much love and support as we could. I would absolutely not have it any other way. It didn’t take long for them to become my favorite people. As soon as I met them, we just sort of clicked. It’s hard to imagine where I would be today without them. The amount of admiration and support we show each other is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They’ve been there at my lowest points and my highest, and they’ve seen a side of me that nobody else has. This is the home I graduated from and spent my last 6 years at. The best six years of my life. I am eternally grateful for dance for not only allowing me to feel more a part of my family, culture, and country, but for also teaching me how to love, learn, and grow not only as a dancer, but as a person.
When I started fourth grade, I was not sure of much, but one thing I was sure of was wanting to learn how to dance. My mom also wanted me to learn and as soon as my school announced it was offering a hip-hop class my mom signed me up as quick as she could. Taking the class for a year I had learned a good amount of movement from the style, but a year wasn’t long enough. Realistically, we couldn’t learn as much as we wanted to because there was a limited amount of things we could learn with the time we had. But I wanted more. I wanted more hours, styles, teachers, and environment to grow and explore. I wanted to take different dance classes and learn other styles, so when the year ended my mom looked for a studio to enroll me in. She found the studio that the hip hop teacher at my school taught at and signed me up there, and with that I quickly started taking classes. As months went by, I learned the basics from the classes I was taking, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, acro, and hip hop. All these classes really helped me loosen up and find some rhythm. Even though these classes didn’t quite help me learn salsa like my family, it did still teach me to loosen up my body. Since I had begun to find my rhythm, I slowly learned from my family whenever I would get the chance. The classes I was taking fulfilled my desire to dance at that moment in time, and that’s all that mattered to me to be honest. By the second year, I had become a much stronger dancer and kind of outgrew the studio. I needed new teachers and styles. I needed more than what they were giving me and I had to find it.
It didn’t take long to find a new studio and the change wasn’t that drastic, since I was luckily still dancing with some of the same people I was dancing with before. They also needed more and decided to go look for it with me. But, at the end of the day it was still a change and I had to readjust in some ways. In this studio there was wide variety of classes and styles as opposed to the studio from before. I had to meet new teachers and peers and learn completely new styles. Which at the end of the day, is exactly what I was looking for. In my new studio there was contemporary, ballroom, musical theater, and tap. I had never taken ballroom class before and I ended up loving it, and in no time, I was moving my hips in heels. This class was just what I needed to get one step closer to dancing like my family, and now I could dance with them at family reunions or parties. They would all ask me “where did you learn to dance like that” and I would always proudly tell them my story. Not only that, but I now know how to dance for fun and dance like a true Colombian.
Through dance I found a new passion and found the connection to my culture that I was looking for. Not only did I get lucky enough to feel more a part of my culture, but I also met the people I love most. In the first studio, on top of everything that dance had already started teaching me, it also introduced me to people who till this day are some of the most important people in my life. As I switched studios alongside some of the friends that I cared about most, I met more people that would change my life forever. These friends that I spent every single day with, that I would never be apart from, quickly became my family. Just like real families, we would fight, bicker, and disagree, but we would also love each other unconditionally and show each other as much love and support as we could. I would absolutely not have it any other way. It didn’t take long for them to become my favorite people. As soon as I met them, we just sort of clicked. It’s hard to imagine where I would be today without them. The amount of admiration and support we show each other is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They’ve been there at my lowest points and my highest, and they’ve seen a side of me that nobody else has. This is the home I graduated from and spent my last 6 years at. The best six years of my life. I am eternally grateful for dance for not only allowing me to feel more a part of my family, culture, and country, but for also teaching me how to love, learn, and grow not only as a dancer, but as a person.
Collection
Citation
[Unknown User], “Dancing Through Life,” Everything Speaks To Me , accessed September 18, 2026, https://everythingspeakstome.com/items/show/152.