Pen Pal Letter - Admission/Application Essay Example

Renewing Spirit Through Dance Hi Craig, I hope you found the fitness site you were looking for last time. As for me, I cannot tell you how excited Iam right now for attending a dance class. I have to take this course as my elective to complete the required units in school. I was hoping to be in the computer class to learn more about computer applications but I was too late to enroll. I chose to be in the dance class because I heard from other students that the course is quite easy and that the teacher is very accommodating.

This is the first time I am attending a dance class like this and I have to admit, I never had formal dance instruction before. My experience is limited to party dancing and I never saw myself attending this course. Good thing, our teacher is very accommodating. She understands how we, beginning students, feel about dancing for the first time (in public, I mean). She designed the course in such a way that even beginning learners will understand and enjoy the benefits of dancing. She must have known we are not real dancers so she designed a course tailored to our level and needs.

At first, I thought all we will do is to sweat out to learn some steps but I realized there are lectures that go with each dance step, which provide additional inputs about the relevance of the dance to our society and to those who are creatively performing the dance. The discussions made a strong impact in me for it is through them that I learned more about other cultures and people. The dance class is for beginners like me so there are no pressures performing like a professional. My teacher is very enthusiastic.

She makes me feel confident to express myself, which is the very core of dancing. I learned that Her guidance has helped me and my classmates realize the importance of dancing to express our feelings. So far, I am really enjoying my class because all of my classmates are friendly. Additionally, I value the information I get from the discussions. Overall, I benefit by learning new knowledge and gaining hands-on experience in dancing. I will not end up like a professional but my view about physical activity has actually been enhanced from the time I started attending.

Some valuable information I got from the class include were (1) the value of dancing, its role in human life, (2) the different dances evolving through time, and (3) the dance steps, themselves. I understand now the value of dancing in expressing human thoughts and feelings. People from every generation have performed dances to suit their purpose. Culture has a big impact on the dance movements that people make. For example, the foot-stomping African ritual dances bear traces in the way Black Americans compose their dance movements in the modern times.

According to Dils and Albright (144), African dance is more concerned with movement than with posture. In an analogy, we may say that movement is for Africans while posture is for the Westerners. This is so because of the way of life of the two cultures. African dance is said to be dynamic, polyrythmic and polycentric, which explain the varying traditions and civilization of African people. Meanwhile, I also noted that Western dance is position-oriented. Spanish dance, for example, is concerned with poise achieved through costume and style.

What I observed about Western dance is that it is specifically concerned with positioning of man and woman, which illustrates gender or social stratification. With no offense, I think that Western dance pays high importance on the gender and status of the people. Unlike other cultural dances which enjoin female and male dancers to dance together, ours is very much concerned with the difference in movement, costume and position between male and female dancers. Nevertheless, I enjoyed doing the tango for the dynamism it offers the female part.

Dynamism is another thing I noted in the dance steps we studied. I learned that as time evolved so did the dance steps. Western dance, for instance, has become more dynamic with theatrical dance, springing from a revolution to break free from ballet and other interpretative dances in the earlier times. Consequently, modern dances followed, including breakdance, hip-hop, and hardcore, etc. These dances speak a lot about the generation we live. Aside from Western dance history, we also studied Asian dances.

Dances from the East are very creative. They employ a lot of costumes and props. I enjoyed seeing pictures of the Chinese Peking opera and the Indian Kathakali, both theatrical dances that say a lot about the rich culture of the Asian people. I hope we get a chance to see these performances one of these days. The Asians use lavish costumes and masks, and props are enormous and colorful. I bet they spend a lot of time and money preparing for each performance. In terms of music, the Asians use their own native instruments to accompany their dances.

The story behind each dance step fascinates me much. Nevertheless, since I am not a real dancer, the benefit the activities give me is a good relief from stress. Every time we have studio classes, I look forward to sweating out and having fun with my classmates. Likewise, dancing has helped me burn calories and gain strength and agility. Now, I can walk from home to school without feeling exhausted. I need to go now. I hope my letter has inspired you to take that dance class you were eyeing at last time.

Work Cited Dils, Ann and Albright, Ann. “Moving History Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader.” North Carolina: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.