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Christina Hudgins

November 12th, 2015


University Honors Program Senior Project
Connecting What is Detached: Becoming Resilient through The Movement in Life
Life experiences have the ability to filter each individuals perspective to magnify
particular phenomenon as most meaningful in life. One constant theme I have found in my
experiences is the ability for individuals to find a strength from within their own bodies that they
had not yet noticed or had forgotten; a sense of self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is being
grounded in ones own strength and ability through personal thoughts and actions. Resilience,
finding a way back to a place of growth by overcoming adversities, can be a strong factor in
achieving self-empowerment. Through reflecting on my research and personal experiences, I
propose that dance and movement is a significant tool in helping individuals realize their own
capabilities, despite physical, emotional, or psychological ability levels. Furthermore, creative
movement expression has the ability to foster resiliency that can trigger growth in an individuals
self-empowerment.
As I was searching for the meanings of self-empowerment and resilience, I started
to appreciate the complexity of different words. Words have a compelling way of developing
definitions with different interpretations that change with situations. One word that has grasped
my curiosity is material. This word comes from the Latin materia meaning, matter. Matter
is anything that takes up space and has mass. After reflecting on my own experiences, I realize I
tend to classify a persons traits by the material of which they are made. Some people are soft
and get worn out easily. Some are transparent like mesh or glass. Others are tough, and solid like
tarp or stone. None of us experience things in exactly the same ways, so none of us has the same
material composition.
From a young age, I was taught not to live blindly, but ask why or how in all
situations. Being raised by two avid birdwatchers and nature fanatics, I was trained to search for
the source of problems and find connections between situations. My parents would discover the

unnoticed details of surrounding areas when listening for birds or observing other wildlife,
bringing a need to question the smallest aspects of complicated domains.
This noticing of details became abundantly useful when I began taking dance lessons. As
I studied more dance, mostly focused in ballet, some of this desire to question was suppressed. I
was taught that one look was the only look acceptable. This began to bother me as I volunteered
at a local childrens hospital with children with severe disabilities. I refused to believe that they
would not have the ability to find the same joy and empowerment that I found in dance and
movement because of something beyond their own control. However, I could not find how I
could possibly give others this power with the view I had of dance being of limited access.
When I began studying dance performance in conjunction with psychology, my beliefs
grew stronger. I have acquired skills and knowledge bases that I can fuse and share with others.
Through my own performance of dance, teaching others technical dance, and teaching movement
concepts, I can strip away this idea that only those of abled bodies can find joy in dance and
movement. Helping others and being involved with dance are no longer mutually exclusive
concepts in my life.
Recently, I have been working with elementary school children who have various
learning disabilities to improve their use of expression through movement. The children often
become more comfortable in their own bodies, where they may have been conditioned to feel
ashamed. I have also worked with individuals recovering from chemical dependency, helping
them realize that they can have their bodies for support and empowerment in their lives, and they
can have control over how they choose to move in most situations. I also participate in teaching
various sports with special needs children. These situations have expanded my own perception of
the many facets of movement in life and how I can help others in realms beyond dance.

I have found that, within the unique interactions I have been through, different
experiences and events have conditioned my foundation to be a certain balance between rough
and smooth. As I reflect on the patterns made by the materials that are in the people surrounding
me, it is intriguing to look at what is added to my own pattern. I have found that certain materials
have shaped my own being and the decisions I make through my growth in dance, work,
community service, and love for the natural world.
Inclusivity vs. Exclusivity: Dancing with Tulle
To begin, I would like to present the material of tulle. Tulle is a netted material, sort of
scratchy to wear, but beautiful when put together in a neat, specific way. It is easily torn, not very
strong, but it can create quite a whimsical effect on the objects and people that it embellishes.
This material makes up the part of me that has grown with dancing and performing in various
situations.
From an Embellishment to a Purposeful Material
I started to become a much more serious dancer during my times attending various
summer programs such as Richmond Ballet in Virginia, BalletMet in Ohio, and Joffrey Ballet in
New York. All of these programs were in very different cities and brought together dancers from
around the country and the globe to dance and learn from each other. I went to these with my
best friend who attended the same performing arts high school with me. We had fun with our
dancing, but had even more fun just talking and going around the different cities after class.
When I came to Charlotte, I realized how much of what I enjoyed from my overall high
school experience with dance was about social interaction with my friends. We would all just
joke in class, challenge each other with difficult steps or see who was the most flexible, but I
never thought of ourselves as developing artists. As an out of state dance major with no relations
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or connections to any of my peers, I was totally petrified. To top it all off, I was in the
Professional Training Certificate Program that none of the people in my classes knew about. I
was placed in Ballet 3, the most advanced level, where the majority of the students were seniors
and seemed to magically know every combination our extremely intimidating teacher taught. In
contrast, for my modern dance classes, I was placed in Modern 1, the introductory level, where it
seemed that some of my classmates had not had any prior dance experience. After going to a
performance arts high school for four years and studying dance at a studio with very strict
intentions on making each of us a highly technical, strong dancer, I started to feel like I was not
in the right place for me to grow in my dancing. However, I slowly learned that I was wrong.
Using the Sheerness of this Material
Over the last three years, my peers and I have grown and learned an abundance from one
another. From becoming a part of such a diversely trained group, I realized that having a passion
for movement and dance is much more important than being what I had thought was a good
dancer. I had been embarrassingly mistaken on my ideas of how dance should be executed. I now
know that I was incorrect in thinking that having the ability to move and perform is exclusively
for certain abled individuals.
This idea was amplified with my time spent at North Carolina Dance Theatre, in the
Professional Certificate Program. As I took classes there multiple times a week, I was constantly
reminded (by my own personal thoughts and by some of the instructors) how old I was, how
much younger and better the other students in the classes were, and how many things I needed
to change about myself to become a real dancer. I had never felt so hopeless in my dancing
before my time there and was close to quitting the program. The exclusive world of ballet was a
place that seemed not to include me no matter my efforts. During my second semester, I was

taking another ballet class at UNC Charlotte that shifted my thinking and saved how I felt about
dance. A concept we were examining in class was to think of how we could use class as a way to
better ourselves, not cater to the wants or expectations of the instructor. We were asked to take
corrections and comments from teachers and choose how to use them, ultimately doing whatever
is the best for our artistic development.
In the past, I had obsessed about what my dance teachers thought about my dancing.
From that point on, though I still default to my people-pleasing self many times, I used the
perspective of self-development for my ballet classes instead of self-deterioration with what I
considered failures. Finally, I found that dancing was not a war within myself, but a therapeutic
outlet that I could access every day. I found that joy in movement I had once known and decided
I wanted to share this inclusive entity with everyone that I could. I found the empowerment of
myself through dance. This experience has opened my eyes to a new path of application for
movement and dance where ones life is not muted or left at the door while dancing, but
utilized to get the most fulfillment out of ones time in motion. Never again will I have to live
under the assumption that who I am is not enough for my dancing. I have a mission, now, to let
all who I encounter understand that they will always be enough to become a practitioner of this
expressive outlet.
Becoming Netted into this Material
Now, I know why I dance, and why I want to continue dancing; not to impress others or
keep on acquiring challenging tricks and feats, but to express my own empowerment. Dance
gives me the outlet to tell others what I am feeling and give others a hope that I may not be able
to communicate with my words.

This is one example of how dance has empowered me to rise above my conflicting
thoughts and become resilient in my mindset of my capabilities. Beausoleil and LeBaron (2013)
examined the cognitive processes of individuals experiencing dance-based approaches to conflict
resolution. One finding that truly stuck out to me through their research was that dance was a
portrayal to attitude and perceptual change (2013 Beauseil and LeBaron, page 151). This
notion of perceptual change is something I wish to use as I help others work on their own
discovery empowerment through movement. When I teach and work with other dancers, I want
them to have a change of perception that can help them surpass what they feel is hindering,
making them feel that they are out of the exclusive realm of dance. I want the dancers that I
interact with to never be overly concerned with judgments of their movement by others, but
intensely invested in acknowledging what they wish to express through their bodies and how to
communicate that expression using their technical practices.
With my future in teaching and performing dance, I hope to foster resilience in
individuals by creating an active, receptive culture in movement practices. In this way, no
boundaries would be drawn to exclude anyone from expressing his or her true self. In Jennifer
Jacksons article My Dance and the Ideal Body: Looking at Ballet Practice from the Inside
Out, she explains how dance can be learned and processed through the development of
expertise in skills as in unconsciousness and incompetence, consciousness and incompetence,
consciousness and competence, and unconsciousness and competence. At the level of
unconsciousness and competence, she states, one would be seen as dancing and would, also be at
an expert level of thinking (Jackson 2006, page 35). By learning and developing together, under
the same culture, I can cultivate dancers to come to this point of being empowered by their own
history of practice to execute their expression to the best of their ability. I can make the how of

the movement just as important as the what, in order to develop deeper thinking in the
classroom and higher level processing of each movement concept.
A study that measured the levels of body esteem, fitness esteem, and self-esteem within
the context of dance class, dance performance, and at a party with dancing (social dance) found
that environmental factors in which an individual moves inevitably brings out specific social
comparisons ( Zelst, Clabaugh, & Morling 2004, page 54). The environment I can create as I
help others find self-empowerment by becoming resilient in their own abilities must be nurturing
and free of personal judgment. This does not mean I want to have movement sessions or classes
where everyone is going off of their own agendas without any structure, but to collaboratively
structure a safe place for those to move and express with the support of their own knowledge
base and the knowledge of everyone present. I could do this by making sure everyone is
participating in our class conversations and leaving time in class to discuss everyones various
developments in thinking as a mover or dancer.
My experiences with ballet have brought me to a heightened perception of how I can
implement what I feel is most important in my understanding of dance in the teaching, leading,
and moving with of others. Each new insight I gained has neatly folded the material of this part
of my life to be a comfort and an expressive tool for me to use.
Communicating vs. Cultivating: Working with Denim
Next, I would like to consider denim. Denim is a sturdy material, made to be worn and
able to put up with lifes messes, while remaining intact and protecting what it covers. This
material is the part of my being that has grown through the different jobs I have acquired.
Becoming Durable with this Material

My first job teaching young children ballet technique amplified how important
materialism can be in molding the expressions of a dancer. I was instructing two year olds to
twelve year olds in creative movement, ballet technique, and tumbling at a mainly competition
dance studio, an environment differently focused than where I had grown up dancing. I had
created lesson plans for that age range during the semester before that summer, and felt a little
too confident that I would be able to go in the first day and just do what I had planned. However,
the children were so focused on staring at themselves doing various moves in the mirror, playing
with their dance clothes, and just doing everything except paying attention to what I had planned.
As I thought of ways to captivate the children to learn my lessons, I remembered how my first
ballet teacher was focused on our etiquette inside and out of class. She would tell us that we were
learning an art form that was so technical and graceful that it was like we were becoming royalty.
Even though we had no tiaras, she told us that we did not need those embellishments to signify
our place, but we just needed to become so proficient in our technique that we would be able to
showcase the respect and be respected by others, as would someone of a royal court.
As the days progressed, I told these children that they should no longer think of
themselves in ballet class, but in royal training sessions to become graceful and strong princes
and princesses. When I told them this, I saw the same sparkle in their eyes as my classmates and
I had when our instructor would tell us the same things. They started to put value behind their
steps, held their posture together more adamantly, and spoke to their peers in a kinder, more
respectful manner. At the end of our session, I gave each of them a wand I had made and a tiara
for them to remember how unique and important they were to this form of art. I knew and they
all knew, now, that they did not need to wear these things to become impressive dancers, but they

had the skills and empowerment built up from their training inside their bodies so that all would
see their graceful, royal selves shine through.
Being Able to Rebound from Wear
This summer I had an experience with working that brought a new element to the texture
of my work. I interned at a school that used Applied Behavior Analysis to teach children with
intellectual disabilities various academic and life skills. Each child had their own behavior plans
and goals, with specifically defined problem behaviors that were tracked and conditioned
throughout the school day. As I started my training at this school and began to be the therapist for
a few of these children, it occurred to me how an extreme fixation on a certain movement or
object promotes a wide range of behaviors in order to satiate that want.
When I came to this school, I already had a background of teaching movement concepts
to children with different ability levels, and wanted to share that skill of movement
conceptualizing with these students. I had never worked with aggressive or self-injurious
children in my past, so I had to learn progressively and recognize escalation of behavior, from
child to child, and cater to their need of calmness. The approach that I felt was most successful
was having continuous movement that varies from one extreme to another (fast to slow, high to
low). I always tried to include movements that they made up themselves, whether it be imitating
their favorite animals or even exploding like a volcano. These kids were very smart, no matter
how many words they could vocalize or how advanced they were academically compared to
others their age. I was amazed at every session by what each child brought to the table within his
or her personal movement explorations in relation to all different aspects of life.
Many children that I teach are constantly distracted by their fixations on other objects and
had great difficulty even getting through fifteen-minutes of movement. Along with having

constant movement, I found that I needed to have much more individualized movement
instructions that actively included everyone. There was no time to worry about other "wants". At
times, however, waiting for their preferred thing or activity would escalate the child into an
aggressive or self-injurious state. They would start screaming or complaining, hurting the teacher
or their peers, attempting to leave, or revert to a variety of self-stimulation for comfort. I slowly
learned ways to use the movement I gave them to still emote what they are feeling, but in a way
that did not hurt themselves or others.
From my experience of being trained in classical ballet, I think of dance as a way to
control the body to do things that are not natural or comfortable. In this way, something
meaningful can be created for others. I would like to capture the same energy and fixation these
children have on their desired object or need to self-stimulate, and convert it into using their
bodies to make movements that have a purpose and promote their well being.
I feel that many of the more aggressive children do not understand the power they have
and how to manage the force they hold within. For them, I want to hone in on movement
concepts that contrast, such as forceful or gentle movement in their sessions, and limit the
escalation that may occur. Dance has taught me that the same step can be done in a million
different ways, depending on the intent of the performer (their intent on energy excursion, height,
fluidity, speed). Without knowing that they hold the key to the intention of their bodies, I feel
that individuals can easily give off different signals than they wanted to initially, thus escalating
to a dangerous, or unacceptable, state. When I teach individuals with intellectual disabilities, I
would like to have an element of intention control and conditioning, so that the students can see
how much power and self-control they can harness within their own movement vocabulary. In
this way, the individuals can become resilient in their own anxiety and possible obsessions,

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knowing that they have the power to control their movement and can choose how to move in
their world.
My own personal research and guidance from various mentors in discovering how dance
can be used as a therapy has led my teaching and movement methodology. Much of my work
with children has used variations of the six principles of body-mind integration, which are
articulated in the article, Body-Mind Integration and Human Development. These principles
are: respect for the reception and response to processing movement, full participation of
each part of the body and mind within their own roles, inclusivity of all pieces of the body and
mind, dialogue between all parts of ones being, sequencing of between the body, the spirit,
and the environment, and development of growing and responding to life (Aposhyan 1999,
page 9). I accomplish these principles through having open conversation throughout my
movement sessions, bringing concepts that must be processed through the mind and expressed
through the body to the sessions rather than just projecting movement, acknowledging the
reaction of the body to changes, using the full body in my sessions, using outside experiences to
inform why certain movements are relevant, and discussing how these movement concepts can
trigger new growth in each individual. With these principles, an individual can find his or her
own empowerment within the connected self to rise to the occasion, becoming resilient in the
bodies that they were gifted.
My working material during this time of my life was completely revamped, with a few
tears and patches added on, making me stronger in my convictions of how I can promote selfempowerment to others through movement.

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Closely Weaving this Material Together


Lastly, I worked as a Theater Artist at a Young Audiences of Virginia theater summer
camp. This camp was designed for typical children to learn about theater and different
applications of this form of art. The underlying emphasis of this camp was to promote literacy
and comprehension skills throughout the camp days. This provided evidence of the need for arts
promotion within the Virginia school systems. The most difficult aspect of this job was working
collaboratively with two other theater artists from areas of dance, music, and technical theatre.
It was hard to read when to lead in directing the children, and we all had different approaches on
how the children would benefit best from this theater camp. After working for two months with
children with various problem behaviors, I had built up my own repertoire as to how I preferred
children to be disciplined and taught by adult leaders.
My colleagues, however, had other views. One, in particular, felt that the children should
be conditioned in a way that would make them tougher and almost numb to their true emotions
to prevent hurt in their career journeys within the arts. He tended to antagonize certain children
who had unacceptable behaviors and would have no better expectations for those children than
how they already were. This method of leading children was one that I rejected. I felt that the
motivation for those children to rise up from their own behaviors into a more healthy way of
responding could be solidly and efficiently promoted through the instructors reinforcement and
encouragement, but could be completely stomped out from discouragement and rejection. I
could not find the best method to speak to this coworker about my feelings. I had never
experienced a time in my work experience where I truly felt convicted to prevent another worker
from doing things a certain way, but I did not want this negativity to be promoted any further. I

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did not want to tell him that he was wrong in the way he was thinking, for I have no authority to
tell others how they should think.
The more I thought things through, the more I started to think about how many different
experiences this individual had compared to my own experiences. The way he had been
conditioned over the years could have been by completely different methods and elements that
never even touched my own components of life. With that thought in mind, I decide it was
important to communicate with him how I felt an individual should teach children going into this
area of study, and how I felt he was generalizing certain children into a problem grouping. Our
conversation, however, escalated into me just saying he was being mean and he telling me I
knew nothing about the arts.
Knowledge I have gained about conflict management through a communication and
leadership course at Charlotte has shed light on different approaches I can take in the future
when faced with leadership challenges. The situational approach to leadership, established by
Hersey and Blanchard (1969) could have been quite effective in this situation and in many of the
work situations I have encountered where I find myself having to relate to individuals who have
a variety of different ideas and ways of thinking than I. This approach requires the leader to
adapt to the demands of different situations with his or her own styles of leadership. This
flowing, dynamic style of leadership has the leader match their style to the specific abilities and
competencies of fellow workers. The four styles consist of supporting, delegating, coaching, and
directing, each having different combinations of directive and supportive behaviors. Though the
style of leadership I use when working with others would usually be the high directive and high
supportive coaching style, with this particular co-worker, the directing style of being highly

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directive and not as supportive would better convey my views and obtain the goals I felt were
needing to be obtained. (Northouse 2013, page 101 ) .
Knowing how to communicate my true feelings, not just my superficial scripts, is vital
for my growth. This conditioning will have to come from the addition of different lens of
material to see through that can be contoured into the views of others while still holding solidly
to my view. It will also have to be reinforced by much emotional stability and breathable
material, so that I do not become so out of control. I should never forget the power I have to
control and convey my thoughts to others.
Freedom vs. Restraints: Volunteering with Cotton
Cotton is what I have chosen to represent my experiences as a volunteer. Cottons origin
is really what draws my attention to this material. The cotton plant is fluffy and pure white when
it is seen from afar, but a closer look or touch will show its sharp bristles that make this material
bring a little pain and a need to handle with caution. Once cotton is made into a garment, it can
be easily morphed by washing with different water temperatures, easily stained by outside
contaminates, and easily worn out by everyday life. With my volunteer work, I have found that
the same is true. Many of the service activities in which I have participated seemed bright and
pleasant from afar, but the true makings of these experiences sometimes were painful and hard to
handle. In this way, I have learned to proceed with caution in my services as to maintain my own
composure, while using the various characteristics of this part of my life to establish a constantly
changing composition to my material.
Working through the Roughness of this Material
The first experiences that I would like to reflect upon would be my services with
Huntersville Parks and Recreation: Special Needs Program. Within this program, I would teach

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children of various cognitive and social ability levels skills in soccer, cheerleading, tennis,
football, baseball, and dance/creative movement. I had never participated in any of these
activities with real interest in my past, except for dancing, so teaching children skills in these
sports was quite an obstacle. The real element of difficulty, or maybe the bristle of this cotton
makeup, would be handling so many children with such a variety of needs and wants all at the
same time. This was my first experience working with individuals who had severe Autism
Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, and Aspergers syndrome all in one place. I was in charge
of one or two children, and would have to go by trial and error on how to communicate best with
each child to get the most out of these activities.
One significant moment of my service with this community was when I was teaching
tennis skills to a boy who had major problems with his motor function. Though he did not talk,
he made sounds that intensified when he was excited and calmer noises when he tried to focus.
He also had a pattern of stomping his feet repetitively and then flailing his arms (holding his
racket in one hand). He was not the easiest child to help with tennis, but the more I talked to him
like a normal person, the more he calmed down. By the end of the day we were able to hit the
ball over the net with no problems.
As I was thinking about what a good time we had that day, I realized that in a normal
school setting this boy would not have a chance to have this feeling of empowerment over a
motor task due to lack of time or individualized help. I also realized the frustration he must face
every day, trying to fit into a world with such a small percentage of its inhabitants having an
atypical way of handling mental and physical stimuli.
With every child I have worked with in my life who does have some deviation
from what society calls the norm, I tend to get a strong feeling of sadness when I realize that

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many opportunities I had as a child may not be open to children with these disabilities. This
could be due to lack of funds for special equipment, lack of time to spend with extra help for
these children, or, to some extent, lack of knowledge on how to handle children with disabilities.
Through this volunteering experience, I transformed my sadness into an intense feeling of
passion to break the pattern of inaccessible activities for children with variety ability levels. My
best contributing factor is through dance, the activity that has become my way of life. Through
dancing and movement, I feel the freest and the most empowered within myself. This service I
performed morphed the material of my volunteering experiences to become more stretched out
and solidified in the true colors that reflected my deepened awareness of what I wanted to give to
the world.
Letting Air Move Through this Material
A similar means of volunteering I have experienced has been instructing creative
movement sessions at the John Crosland School for children with varied mental ability levels. I
came to the 4th through 7th grade music classes and taught new concepts that uncover uses for
the movement of their bodies as coping mechanisms in their day-to-day struggles.
My main focus was introducing the more foreign idea of answering questions by
movements of their body rather than just words. I particularly focused on gestural movements as
a means of supplementary expression. At the end of each lesson, I would go around our circle of
students and ask a question about the overarching theme of our lesson with gesture given after
their answers. We would all repeat the gestures given by each student until we had formed a
sequence of movement by the last response. I could watch the level of complexity in movement
concepts and body awareness rise as the sessions continued. By having the students

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communicate their ideas with movement paired to their vocal responses, I found that the children
had a better focus in their answers and were clearer to others about what they wanted to express.
With these weekly movement lessons under their belts, the students acquired better
tools for dealing with their own daily stresses and dilemmas that they face. My times with these
children gave me a way to gauge how to help give these children empowering skill that promote
resiliency in their various situations of life without getting caught in only projecting my own
ideas onto the children. This experience moved me deeper into the examination of the effects
dance and movement could have on children with varied abilities. A meta-analysis titled The
Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes
found that this form of expression could positively affect an individual's wellness, attitude, and
body perception ( Koch, Kunz, Lykou, & Cruz 2013, page 1). As I reflected on the childrens
growth, I became more conscious of their increasing comfort within their bodies and what their
bodies could do, along with increasing mobility and strength behind the movements we practiced
and interpreted together. This increased my own comfort in what I implemented in my movement
sessions, and inspires me still to grow and learn more about ways I can use movement to foster
growth in those in need.
Absorbing in Substances through this Material
My experience with Camp Holiday Trails in Charlottesville, Virginia changed my ideas
of leading movement within different communities even more. This camp is a traditional camp
that had anything you could think of in terms of outdoors camping. The amazing thing about this
campground was that it catered specifically toward individuals with special medical needs that
may hinder this type of camping experience elsewhere.

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I was asked to come and teach a dance workshop a couple of nights in an outside pavilion
on the campgrounds. My lesson plans for these movement sessions were challenging, without
knowing how physically or mentally involved these children could or would be when I was
instructing. I did not want to create an entire session in which only a few of the children could
participate. I decided, instead, to produce a storyline with a mix of different songs going with the
story I made up to cultivate the creative abilities in each camper, no matter their abilities. The
story was varied with each session, but had the campers go on a secret mission and journeying
across different environments with encounters from different animals and nature elements (fire,
rain, vines) until they reached their destination, completing their mission. I added times where an
individual camper would show us his or her own movements that mimics a certain animal or
object, while all of us would copy exactly how that camper was moving. It was amazing to see
the campers faces when they saw their peers and counselors doing what they were doing,
making them more adamant to express in deeper levels through their movement and give even
more to the group.
Instructing dance outside was something that could be thought of as a stain in my
material of volunteering that made this material even more beautiful than ever before. I thought it
would be too distracting or that I might not be able to lead properly. However, with each group I
led, I realized how much the nature around us fed into the creativity and freedom that I was
trying to bring out of those children. Once I started getting them to move around, following each
others movements, I fell in love with the freedom I was feeling and that they were showing me.
There was no noise restriction, no other teachers or kids walking by to judge; just a few fireflies,
birds chirping, and a breeze blowing leaves around in the space. It was hot outside, but it was

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worth it to be in the moment with these children. Now I have new characteristic to my material
that is going to show through and connect with other parts of my life.
Research has shown how vital creativity can be in guiding individuals through
adversities. The article Art Making as a Component and Facilitator of Resiliency with Homeless
Youth showcases how art making can elicit creativity within individuals to give way to
navigating to a resilient state within their situations. It points out how resiliency and creativity
are reciprocal in their nature. Creativity practice may increase the effectiveness of an individuals
coping methods in order to live and thrive in a seemingly debilitating state (Prescott, M.V.,
Sekendur, B., Bailey, B., & Hoshino, J. 2008, page 157). By bringing different environments and
concepts to those I lead in movement, I hope to stir up and foster growth within their creative
minds so that resiliency through the way they choose to cope with the struggles of their lives will
be innovative, efficient, and effective.
Nature vs. Nurture: Adventuring with Burlap
The last material that makes up my intricate quilt of life is burlap. This fabric is often
coarse to the touch. It can be used to reinforce bags or clothing, carry heavy things from one
place to the next, and protect what it covers from various damaging elements in the world. This
material will represent the part of my life that I like to call adventuring. The word adventure
comes from the Latin advenire meaning, to reach or arrive. My life is supplemented by
adventures, without which I would have never arrived where I am now or where I might go with
my future.
My interpretation of adventuring is being outdoors. Having nature be a part of my life has
always been a priority. Adventure was always present, whether it was swimming in a river,
digging holes to plant trees or flowers, finding shells by the ocean, or exploring the abundance of

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national parks my parents would take our family on all of our road trips. When I am outdoors,
everything is, obviously, less artificial, and much more authentic. It is like taking off a mask or
costume to reveal what life really looks like. But underneath all the ways we cover up and
contort what the untouched world really is, there is something that has no need to be hidden in
the first place. Nature is flawlessly imperfect; an idea that is hidden from how individuals around
me, and how I, picture our own creations and our own beings. Bark can be peeling from trees,
leaves change colors, birds molt feathers, things grow crooked from the rest, but that does not
make woods or shorelines or any place less beautiful, just more intricate.
In researching more deeply into the incorporation of nature into therapeutic healing, I
found that the use of nature brings a third element to the client-therapist relationship which is not
static, but dynamic in the making of the setting and progression of sessions ( Berger & McLeod
2006, page 81). Further research led me to the concepts of sensation and perception within
nature, and how physical structures (size, texture, color), perceptual structures ( what one
senses), coordinative structures ( habitual movements), and meaning structures ( putting all the
elements together from your reception and from others in the environment) all work in tandem to
produce a complex, meaningful idea of how any and all processes of life work( McHose & Frank
2006, pages 3-5). The outdoor world has an amplified, easily observable representation of how
these structures are present and constantly feeding off of one another to make life happen for all
who inhabit the planet. Moving in nature could bring a heightened awareness of the senses that
are left unaccounted for in life, and could bring a deeper respect for all an individual is capable
of utilizing all the time. Using these notions and my own connections with nature, I find it
necessary to have this ideology of the world as an ever changing, complexly structured partner in
life instilled in my leadership of movement and in the way I live.

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Plainness
Birding is a hobby I picked up from my parents that I have participated in involuntarily
and for my own benefit throughout my life. I used to think it was just some bizarre thing my
parents would wake up at four in the morning to do, but I have found a deeper purpose these past
few years for this activity. One interesting fact about bird watching is that each bird has very
specific ways of being identified. There are a vast number of ways to describe each species, from
their feather colors or shape, their beaks color or shape, their flapping patterns, eggshells, calls,
and even the way they build nests. Birds are, also, pretty much present everywhere across the
globe, and each area usually has a particular bird list that one can find and utilize to find different
birds in their travels. Though I do get a thrill out of identifying bird species and checking them
off of my life long bird list, the best part of bird watching is watching how little the birds go
about the routines of their lives. They just are what they are. They find their food, clean their
feathers, build their nests, fly around, all while not seeming to fret about their future or if they
are doing the right thing. They just know what to do and assume it is right. I would, by no
means, try to live my life exactly as a bird would, not really caring about what my actions might
cause. However, I think there is a freeing aspect of a birds life that I like to apply to my own
when I am feeling unsure of my ways. I like to remember that I have the ability not to worry
about what I might do with my future or how everything is going to work out, but just fly
through life, doing what I know is right for me, and feeling that the earth will support my
endeavors no matter the situations. In this way, I find solid ground within my beliefs and
abilities; I can access my self-empowerment, knowing that I can fly around my ideas and
adventures with the presence of something that will not let me fall or become lost. My self-

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empowerment is the foundation of my being, where I can build and grow off of as I go on
throughout life.
Roughing the Edges
Trees are another part of my adventures that have particularly struck my interest. From a
very young age, I have loved to climb trees and swing from their branches. Now that I am a bit
larger, I have to be more careful about which trees I decide to climb or swing from. I still love
the feeling of having such an old, solid support that is sturdy enough, through years of growth
and reinforcement, to hold life and bring new life to the world. I often find myself in the woods
in my free time outside of classes, and always am surprised to see how tangled and overlapping
the roots of trees can become after years of growth of new trees and death of older trees. This
image of the roots reminds me of the network of neurons and synapses of the brain, being pruned
with unused material and myelinated to make the important processes of the brain more efficient
and stronger, just as these roots make a network to promote the best ways of survival for the
woods as a whole. The way a tree sways in the wind, yet stays sturdy into the ground reminds me
that my thoughts are limitless, but can be stabilized in some manner in order to hold firm of what
I already know and believe. Trees remind me that I have a foundation that has been intricately
growing into a network of connections throughout my life, and that I can stand firm in these
connections as support for my further growth as an individual. This aspect of nature focuses my
attention on resilience. Trees use their environment to rise above being excluded from the energy
they need, morphing into a form that makes them inclusive in the systems in which they thrive.
This may make them look ridged, twisted, or asymmetrical, but it additionally makes them
strong, receptive, and expansive. When I become resilient in situations of my life, I know it is not
always the ideal or comfortable path for my growth as an individual, but it enables me to grow

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and change, becoming increasingly receptive and stronger in my connections with myself and
others.
Reinforcing other Materials
To close, one of my first and most recurring experiences within my adventuring is being
in and around water. The bodies of water that have made up my life experiences consist of
backyard pools, ponds, marshes, rivers, brooks, lakes, sounds and, my favorite, oceans. Growing
up right next to the Great Dismal Swamp, and being a few minutes from the oceanfront year
round, I often found myself encountering waterways within my life every single day. Being away
from the water at school has made me appreciate its meanings to such a deeper degree, and I now
value my time near water even more. Swimming with my body in water or even rowing in boats
reminds me of the resistance that is always present in life. But I can control how much resistance
I would like to feel and handle by manipulating how deep I get within the water and how rough I
want to tolerate the wake until I need to get back on land.
Watching the ocean has taught me more about life than any other experience has offered.
I have watched many sunrises and sunsets, seen meteor showers, gazed at birds flying low over
the waters and dolphins skimming the surface with their fins, each entity moving with the waters
and skies that are forever changing. The tide rises and lowers at different times of the day, new
birds migrate over the waters, the waves ebb and flow carrying new creatures and plants with it,
yet the movement of its waters never cease. Staring out at the never-ending waters that run into
the skies has never failed to remind me of how much this world offers me. It shows me how
much bigger of a difference I can make by remembering how all these intricate processes come
together to make such a beautiful creation. Being in and around water reminds me of all the
support I have in my life: my family, friends, professors, instructors, and ancestors before me,

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and all the knowledge they have added into my being. I can escape the trap of an exclusive
mindset and resiliently find inclusion in my various life situations, coming from the
empowerment I received through my past and in the present.
The woods, the ocean, or even the swamp are places with no restrictions. No one is there
to judge or limit me in what I take in from the space and what I give from myself to the space.
When I dance or give movement to others, I do not want the restriction of judging eyes or the
limit of how much feeling can be put into their art. I know that all the experiences will be my
support and inspiration to see the intricately working flawless imperfections in everything to
motivate my movement exploration.
Reattaching the Materials
The tulle, denim, cotton, and burlap that make up my being are not a complete garment. I
know that, in many ways, it may never be completed. That is what my experiences these past
three and a half years of my life has taught me. I may never perfectly execute a dance step, teach
a child with exact accuracy for their situation, know all the facts from the textbooks I have read,
or be able to find the precise means to communicate to all the individuals I encounter. All of
these uncertainties are nothing new. I decided that these are the materials I want to work with and
this is the person that I would like to be. I may change a million times over throughout my life
and might get torn apart or over extended. But, I have decided that I will be resilient through
changes. I will empower others and myself by giving what I have come to perceive as my
greatest gift: understanding and communicating through my understanding of the movement of
life.

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