During my Panama experience, I gained so much more insight about dance and how it impacts so many people in so many ways. When I first arrived, I was afraid to teach and interact because everything was so new and different for me. I felt that i would not be able to touch the hearts of children if they didn’t even understand my language but soon after about out the second day of teaching I realized that dance is a language within itself and it has the ability to stand on its own without any other supporting language. It has the power to reach the heart and minds of many all because movement is universal and I didn’t realize how true that was until I taught the children of Tanara.
I will never forget the final day of being with the children when it was time for their show. The smiles on their faces made me realize why I love dance so much. It makes me express myself in ways that words can’t and I am so happy that i got to share the gift of dance with others so that they could experience that same feeling as well. I also will never forget how dance brought the community of Tanara together. It was amazing to see how excited people were to experience the joy of dance with their own families. This experience as a whole has been amazing and I can be certain that I will never forget it because it has changed me and the way I think and I can’t wait to see how the work that I have done here will affect the way that I spread dance to others in the future.
My favorite part: “I felt that i would not be able to touch the hearts of children if they didn’t even understand my language but soon after about out the second day of teaching I realized that dance is a language within itself and it has the ability to stand on its own without any other supporting language. It has the power to reach the heart and minds of many all because movement is universal and I didn’t realize how true that was until I taught the children of Tanara.” Thank you for sharing Kimi! We will miss you so much!