Jyiah Long: My Favorite Dance Genre

As a dancer, I've always been asked the question, ‘What’s your favorite dance genre?’ and to be honest, I never really know. It seems to change every time someone asks me, so I sat myself down and really thought about it. What is my favorite dance genre?

To that question, I say ballet is my favorite dance genre and here’s why.

When I was a young dancer, I started in ballet class, a ballet and tap class to be exact. As I grew up, I began advancing in my dance classes and exploring new genres. I’m still doing that now even as a teen dancer.

As I began heavily dancing, I found my joy in lyrical and contemporary classes. The slow movements, breaths, and emotion you portray in these genres are probably why I liked them so much. It was different from the classes I’ve taken before, which were mostly upbeat and high energy.

But as I got older, I found ballet to be my home. When I’m at the ballet barre, I’m at peace. I don’t worry about the homework I have after class, my chores, or what tomorrow brings. I stay in the present and enjoy the class.

Even when I’m at home and in the mood to dance freely and express my emotions, I tend to find myself slip on my ballet shoes and find a good area to do pliés, tendus, and dégagés.

People don't really expect me to be a ballet dancer, or say that it’s my favorite genre. They seemed to be surprised because they don't necessary find the same joy of Ballet like I do. But I firmly believe, I was born for ballet.

Ballet keeps me calm while, improving my technique. When doing other technique classes like Jazz or Lyrical, I tend to find myself winded and out of breath, but in ballet class, I try to concentrate more on my breathing and placement. It’s a lot easier to do since we’re standing at the barre using our arms, legs, toes, ankles, and core to work ourselves out.

To me, ballet is a breath of fresh air and this is why it’s my favorite genre.

As you think about your favorite genre, what style of dance allows you to breathe? That helps you find your zen, your source of peace? What style of genre gets you through the most exhausting day with joy?

Jyiah

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