Third Place Winner (3-way tie) Aron Davis
12th Grade
April, 2006
New Jersey
Ballet’s 47th Anniversary Gala was held on April 6th at NJPAC’s
Prudential Hall. Now I personally have seen many ballet performances,
but this one brought to me a new light.
Going to
see the ballet performance at NJPAC meant a whole lot to me. It goes
to show how much hard work and discipline it takes to put anyone in the position
that these dancers were in. It also gives you more of a reason to respect
and appreciate them not only for the tricks and amazing things that they do
for the audience, but the fact that their discipline and technique did not
just appear out of nowhere. As a dancer, I have also had the experience
with performing not at NJPAC but anywhere and the long hours that is required
to make any performance perfect. So personally, for me, it was not my
first time seeing ballet at NJPAC. I enjoy watching any type of dance
performances because I get to see the placement of where I want to be in the
near future.
This performance,
as well as any other performance, gave me a reality check on what to expect
when I go into the real world. As a graduating senior in high school,
I hope to attend a college that will allow me the opportunity to continue my
studies in dance. I have done many auditions and seen dancers that were
more flexible, technically trained, thinner, and even taller than me. Of
course these things shook me up but it was the experiences that made me even
stronger. Some things we can’t control in life but the things that
we can control we need to take control of. Just observing the performance
let me put myself in the position of the company all together and understand
the pressures of the career to get where the dancers were . . . on stage.
The main
reason I feel that ballet should be more accessible to children is to help
them understand the culture and clear up the sense of labels associated with
men and dancing. Many kids assume that any male that takes part in an
art that requires movement of the body are gay--which is not the case at all. The
reasons why people sing, draw, act or direct is the same reason why people
dance because it’s a heart’s desire. Children need to be
made aware of the time and effort it takes to be good at what dancers do. There
is no other way to expose this theory than to make it public to them. Sex
has absolutely nothing to do with the decision we make in the arts; it’s
about what you feel and want to express to your viewers. Now, what the
dancers do outside of rehearsals is another story, but when on stage, those
stories are confidential. If New Jersey was a dance-based state, this
would not be an issue. For example, in France, homosexuality and dance
are two entirely different titles. Not to say that there are not any
gay male dancers, but this fact is well known and takes no part in the performance
that is presented.
The arts
are important in today’s society not only because it keeps kids off the
street and out of trouble, but it gives us as one generation a sense of release. Everyone
has different situations at home, school, work or wherever that counselors
can’t change and make better. We can’t trust that our tongues
alone would tell the story and take the audience on a journey, sometimes it
takes the deepest part of us to make others understand. I dance because
of this very reason. In the last ten years of my life, I’ve lost
my parents, been abused, fell downhill and have gotten clean from the dirt
that I was exposed to. How can I testify to others without speaking of
it? I testify through dance! My body is my temple of stories and
you will know my story by looking deep within my heart and my message and learn. That’s
how I did it. I watch, relate, experience, and release to others. If
the arts were not exposed to the generation of today, we would be lost.
April 6th,
2006 was an eventful day to me. I was able to get a message out of what
was being taught and pass it down to others. This is my experience watching
New Jersey Ballet at NJPAC and I had fun.
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