Why Dancing is a Lifestyle

The beginning

I was 7 when I first got in contact with dancing. Now you should imagine a small fatty boy in a repetition hall with some shoes on trying to do a move and not succeeding. I was in that position. And so were my mates, who are in the same ensemble as me. We kind of grew up together with the help of dancing. The first year was the hardest. I sometimes got home crying over some stupid move that I didn't get, or some stuff that our choreographer told us that I didn't understand. It was like that. Some days I got home and I was so proud of myself that I told my parents something like "Look, I learned a new move, the square"(which is the most basic stuff you can ever learn in folk dancing) and the fact that they were supportive and sometimes amazed by the things I showed them (although it was easy) made me so proud.

The "I don't wanna go anymore" phase

Yes, you read that right, and you may ask "But how, you just said you liked it???". Yes, I did. But it was like that only in my first year. The second year I got bored of it. We started having concerts and I was so shy and afraid of these people in front of me that I would sometimes lose myself. So I told my parents "I don't wanna go anymore, please, I'm tired of it". Oh, how wrong was I... My dad insisted on it, and every time we had a rehearsal, he would escort me by car from my school to my dancing hall just so he was assured I went and danced. So basically a whole year was kind of wasted on this stuff. The third year was the same, only I was more or less interested, thanks to my dad.

When I started to like it

I was in the 4th grade when we went away for a dance festival, we went to Turkey. It was my first journey abroad without my parents, and it played the most important role in my dancing career. It was at this moment that I realized how much I loved dancing and how many opportunities it can offer.

• It changed my personality

What do I want to say with it? Our dance choreographer is really strict, and when he says something, boy you better listen. When I started out, I was picky and spoiled and I didn't listen to anyone. But I got rid of it quite quickly, as our choreographer really wanted for us to become real men (or women), so out of these small boys he made strong, tall and wise dudes. The process was tough, but the final product is worth it.

• It made me more physically strong

Just look at the top of the article to convince yourself of that. Dancing is indeed sport. Not just any sport: if football just makes you more buff, dancing gives you that tall look, makes your neck taller, gives you a correct posture, makes your legs longer, and if you're a girl, it trains your posterior so you can attract more sexy dudes. For guys, it pumps up your chest, makes your legs grow stronger (every practice is a leg day for me), and sometimes gives you a stronger voice (as we have a lot of shouts in our national dances).

• It taught me about a lot of cultures

  I have traveled a lot thanks to dancing. I've been in Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, and our ensemble has visited many more (some without me for some reason). Through all of these experiences I learned so much about other countries, I've met new people, made new friends, discovered new places and I have acquired a ton of new cultural education.

  There are of course, many more, but these are the main advantages.