Book by mackenzie bystrom

The Floor, A Canvas Why We Make Art With Motion

Mackenzie Bystrom, a junior at Mountain View High School at the time of this publication, enrolled in Freestyle Academy to improve her skills in animation. Being a passionate artist and lover of cartoons, it was a natural pathway in her development as an artist. On top of drawing and animating, Mackenzie spends a large portion of her time taking dance classes and spends her free time choreographing.

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Mackenzie Bystrom

The Floor, A Canvas Why We Make Art With Motion

Mackenzie Bystrom

This book is dedicated to my fellow artists, dancers, and creative thinkers, as well as my supportive family and friends.

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Top Left: Marti Gibeau, Studio Owner Top Right: Bailey Donnelly, Dance Teacher Bottom: Anystassia Bronnikova, Dance Teacher

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Acknowledgements Many thanks to Freestyle Academy for giving me the opportunity to work on this project, especially to my English teacher, Mr. Greco, for helping me organize and develop my ideas. Thanks, also, to the Dance teachers at Marti’s Dance Studio who were willing to help me by letting me interview them, and to the dancers who let me photograph them for this book.

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Table of Contents Preface

8-9

Introduction

10-11

A Taken Opportunity

12-13

Why Dance?

14-17

The Dancer’s Mind

18-19

Everyone’s Dance

20-21

Works Cited

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Preface W

hen introduced to this project, I immediately sought out something close to my own heart, so I could bring my passions to others. While my first thought was to interview a professional animator, I realized that, being in the animation class, it might come across as a bit redundant, to be animating about animation.

So, I found something closer to home: a dance studio where I take classes, Marti’s Dance Studio. I figured, already knowing the teachers, it would be interesting to learn more about their experiences in teaching. Scheduling interviews, however, proved to be difficult.

Nevertheless, I persisted in finding out what I could about the transition from student to teacher in the world of dance, and along the way, my topic changed from being more location-based to being more centered around the emotional, psychological impact of dance, something that’s affected me throughout my entire life. Being a dancer, I found it appropriate to explore what makes certain people drawn to the art form. I hope that in this book, I can demonstrate the importance of unapologetic dream-chasing.

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Introduction I

t’s a Thursday night, and a college senior, wearing a maroon jacket with the words “Marti’s Dance” on the back, walks into the tiled room. There’re speakers on either side of the room, and mirrors stretch over two of the walls. This is Marti’s Dance Studio, and Anastassiya Bronnikova has come to teach her competitive contemporary dance class. She places down her bag and instructs the students to start stretching.

At a younger age, Anastassiya would have never guessed she’d be spending hours a day, sometimes late into the night, teaching dance classes for students of all ages and levels. But it’s a choice she hasn’t regretted.

“I never really imagined myself as a dance teacher,” Anastassiya says, reflecting on how she got to the studio.

“I honestly saw myself in this role when I had to sub my old teacher’s class here at this studio, and I saw how me teaching little kids has really affected them... I saw that I could help with improvement”(Bronnikova). At times like this, when a younger Anastassiya got a taste of teaching dance. The studio owner, Marti Gibeau, often would show admiration for her leadership skills. This encouragement gave her the push she needed to continue doing what she loves.

Anastassiya isn’t the only teacher at the studio who wound up there without having planned for it in the past.

Dance teacher Bailey Donelly, and even the owner of the studio, Marti, both hadn’t expected to be spending their lives dancing. But what draws these creative types to dance so often, even when it’s not immediately obvious it might be a good career option? Perhaps it’s the emotional and psychological benefits of dance, and the effects on one’s personal growth it can have. Perhaps it’s just the result of having determination to follow one’s passions.

Dance exemplifies how having an outlet for creative passion promotes mental health, as it’s a tool for expressing oneself in a non-verbal, metaphorical way, which for many can make it easier to get across certain emotions and thoughts.

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A Taken Opportunity

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I

t doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that artistic thinkers are passionate about their heart; that is, they spend as much time finding new ways to express themselves as they can. When it comes to dance teachers, their thoughts manifest themselves in the form of movement, physically putting energy into the world as they spill their minds and hearts onto the dance floor. Their students take this energy, learn it, and make it their own. When asked what her advice would be for students who are struggling to improve and want to push themselves forward, Bailey Donnelly, dance teacher at Marti’s Dance Studio, responds, “Probably to dance from the heart, and relax.” She believes it’s valuable for students to express themselves through dance. Even when it’s not one’s own choreography, there’s a way to perform it to make it one’s own. This is what Bailey wants to bring to her students. One of her favorite things about teaching is inspiring her students, but it wasn’t always a dream to have students at all. “You know, honestly, teaching, I didn’t grow up thinking ‘I’m going to be a dance teacher,’” she says, recounting her journey in becoming a teacher.

“One of the teachers asked me if i wanted to assist, and I jumped at the opportunity,”(Donnelly). For Bailey, and as many other people can probably agree, unapologetically following your passions without hesitating can often lead to new and unforeseen

opportunities that will lead you down a happier, even if difficult, pathway in life.

Marti, too, has a similar view of dance, starting the studio to provide more children with the chance to take dance classes. Knowing that dance was a huge part of her own life, she wanted to help spread that joy to others. She had even remembered training to be a physical education teacher at first, but realized this goal was more important to her. When she realized that she wanted to open the dance studio, there were of course obstacles with starting it, but it eventually turned into something that many would come to appreciate and love. She serves as a positive role model for many of the students, showing the value of being a leader, and bringing one’s ideas to life with hard work.

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hy Dance?

W

D

ance is obviously a fun art form and good way to get some exercise while expressing yourself. But what more is there to it? For many, it’s much more than just moving to a rhythm. Dance, and other similar creative and physically exerting activities, have a massive impact on the mental stability of those who partake in the activity. The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health notes that “Aerobic exercise is well known to increase the body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently, increasing oxygenation to the central nervous system, most notably the brain. Increased levels of oxygen increase the positive function of the brain’s cognitive operations. Increased oxygen use aids in problem solving, memory, logic, general reasoning, and abstract thinking.”

Like dance, physically exerting yourself aerobically has a positive impact on many different mental processes. In a study from Harvard University, similar results were found; regular aerobic exercise boosted the size of the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning(Godman). This makes it a very important part of the brain! Along with this direct benefit of brain development and growth, exercise also affects mood, sleep quality, and it reduces stress and anxiety.

Anystassia also reflects on the way it helps her: “It actually really does help, especially

“It really helped me find my voice.”

-Bailey Donnelly

when I’m stressed with my education, especially right now because I’m a senior and I’m graduating from college,”(Bronnikova) Tied with these benefits of physical health are the benefits for mental health, two areas which are much more closely related than many people know. The brain is a physical body part, rather than some entity separate from our bodies. Mental health is, in a sense, still physical health. However, there are other benefits of dance that don’t come directly from the exercising aspect, but from the artistic side of dance. Using movement to convey thoughts and emotion, this form of art is so powerful, it often ends up being the practitioner’s preferred artistic form of expression.

For the dance teachers at Marti’s dance studio, this passion for creative expression through movement is what drove them to pursue the passion, even if subconsciously at first. Bailey Donnelly, another teacher at the studio, recounts not only how dance helped her in expressing herself, but how teaching has helped her confidence: “...

Dance was something that was just so natural for me... It really helped me find my voice.” Creative activities are powerful.

Many psychologists, when referring to stress relief through creativity, will often mention the term “flow,” a moment in time a person can achieve when fully engaged in a creative activity, allowing distraction from most 15

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other problems that may seem imminent. This property of flow is known for helping many with anxiety disorders, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. In “This is Your Brain on Crafting,” Wilson Jacque offers an explanation of how this works. In essence, human brains can’t process more than a few senses at a time. So, when a brain is strongly engaged in a creative crafting activity, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, etc., it takes a lot more effort to get distracted by other issues in the person’s life.

The same principle, from an artistic standpoint, can be applied to dance. With a person like Anystassia, who credits dancing as a means of stress reduction, it’s obvious how powerful of a tool dance can be both creatively and physically.

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he Dancer’s Mind T

D

ance, of course, is a different experience for every individual. For some, it really is just about a fun, healthy way to pass the time. For others, it’s much more: It’s a way of life, something that fosters a part of a person that might not have grown to see the light of day in the first place without the creative outlet.

For me, personally, I can speak from experience in saying that dance is not only something I do, but a part of who I am. Many others can say the same. Bailey Donnelly, for example, has discussed how important teaching dance has been to her development. She grew up shy, having a hard time being heard, not wanting to speak over anyone else. But, when going in to teach a class, a whole new person emerges: someone strong, assertive, and confident. Her students listen with respect and smiles on their faces, ready to start learning.

Anystassia Bronnikova also found something valuable: a new passion she might not have pursued if not for the right push. She’d always been passionate about dance itself, but teaching ended up being an unexpected turn in the road.

New opportunities, new people, new life experiences, all might have slipped by if not for the spontaneous decision Anystassia made to teach a dance class.

This is what dance is truly about. Learning to chase your passions energetically and unapologetically. Dance connects the mind and body in a unique way. I would strongly encourage artists of any kind to explore what makes that connection for them: whether it’s dancing, sculpting, painting, what gives you the flow that brings you out of time and into your own realm?

In the past, I might have said dance was just a fun way to get exercise. But, over time, some people stop dancing; others keep going. They came for a fun activity, and stayed for the artistry and expression. Nowadays, I know what it is to me: a connection between my artistic and physical self. Treating these as separate entities may be fine for others, but for many like myself, the connection and unity of the two parts is invaluable to both emotional and physical health.

The oneness of mind and body is often overlooked by the general population, but dance is something that reminds us how inseparable the two are.

veryone’s Dance E

D

ance is a beautiful example and an important principle that many tend to forget, which is the idea of actively chasing after opportunities. Dance, especially for the teachers interviewed, is largely about finding something in life they didn’t expect to find. They found a passion, a purpose, something they both love and can contribute to the growth of future dancers. Dance is important to many people, serving as a pathway to a happier life. To the reader, I’d like to propose: Find your dance, whether that dance is the paintbrush stepping across the canvas, fingers flowing through clay, or words waltzing across paper. For every artist, it will vary, but everyone has a dance.

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Bronnikova, Anystassia. Personal Interview. 22 March 2018.

Bronnikova, Anystassia. Personal Interview. 17 April 2018 Donnelly, Bailey. Personal Interview. 29 March 2018.

Gibeau, Marti. Personal Interview. 17 February 2018.

Exercise/Exercise-Based Treatment.” The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health, edited

by Laurie J. Fundukian and Jeffrey Wilson, 2nd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2008, pp. 436-439.

Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2699900164/GVRL?u=moun43602&sid=GVRL&xid=9e4eaf5a.

Accessed 3 May 2018.

Godman, Heidi. “Regular Exercise Changes the Brain to Improve Memory, Thinking Skills.”

Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Letter, 5 Apr. 2018, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110.

Wilson, Jacque. “This Is Your Brain on Crafting.” CNN, Cable News Network, 5 Jan. 2015, www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/.

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The Floor, A Canvas Why We Make Art With Motion

Mackenzie Bystrom, a junior at Mountain View High School at the time of this publication, enrolled in Freestyle Academy to improve her skills in animation. Being a passionate artist and lover of cartoons, it was a natural pathway in her development as an artist. On top of drawing and animating, Mackenzie spends a large portion of her time taking dance classes and spends her free time choreographing.

Scan this code to view her website

Mackenzie Bystrom