Before taking the course today, I want to say that I did not really look forward to it as the day approached to the end of winter break. Yes, there is no doubt for the fact that I enjoy dancing, and that is the reason why I picked this course. After I checked the syllabus and had a “shallow” understanding about the readings and writings that we will be required to do, I was really uncertain about liking the class. But after it was over, this thought has been completely thrown away. I have never felt so energetic and been so engaged in any of my 9 am courses, ever. I found the freedom and the relief of relaxing myself in front of all the classmates while doing the “self-exploration” exercise with Mr. Ondrej. As a national athlete back in my country, I thought I had a wide-range of experience of the operation of our body muscles. Nevertheless, the way how we used our muscles in class today was so different as it was truly gentle and sensational. Afterwards, the leading/following part has reminded me of “ballroom dance.” I have read some books about it, and they always mentioned that the most difficult part was the trust and the connection between a leader and a follower. I was amazed that my partner and all the classmates has created the “trust bond” so quick. I love how the class began, asking us to discover our body thoroughly. Ever since that moment, I know there must be more interesting things coming up.

When Professor Trajal came in to the room, a sense of a professional dancer has revealed from his body. I know it may sound weird, but this was really what came to my mind instantly. I did expect him to ask us to choreograph a short piece during the class today. I felt extreme comfortable while showing my own piece as I know people in this room would not judge each other (there is no point of judging good or bad on someone’s dance). I found extremely amusing when I watched other people perform their own dance, and even tried to figure out some “meaning” from it. Overall, I found every little things fascinating in professor Trajal’s teaching. For example, the way how he wrote the notes (separating the papers into sections and categorizing them by the locations that he mentioned in his story) let me feel I am traveling the world with him. Also, the involvement of voguing and the Ball was something I did not expect at all. The short dance that seems simple and easy pulled me into an un understanding of the conceptual idea and the complexity of dancing. Last but not least, the courage that he shared with us about showing his choreograph to the audience in the Judson Church is something I admire him.

In the very last part of the class today, Professor Debra raised a questions of “What is dance?” Sounds extremely philosophical for me. I know there are various types of dance, but I always thought dancing requires a sense of beauty, and more importantly, a certain discipline or a rule to perform it. Although professor did not directly answer the question, I realized I was so wrong and thought the definition of “dance” way too simple. Dance, is intersubjective. The person who shows it, and the person who perceives it may be different, which creates different “meaning” for different people (and culture has eventually played an important role in here). In addition, dance is considered as transcoding since it can possibly break down the essential binary relationship of particular concepts that are fixed in our mind originally. While dancing, our bodies have free will to present and has the access to produce disciplinary or status quo. So, what is dance? There is no certain answer for it. But I know, it is an art that gives everyone the freedom to represent and interpret their “meaning.”