Inspirations - What got me into Dance

Those of you that know me know that I will always talk about someone that inspires you to do something. I have always found this important because it gave me something to aim for or to look up to but most of all gave me the passion to do it!

For me, I loved to dance and perform from being a little girl. I enjoyed making people watch me and seeing them clap with happy faces afterwards. The very first thing to inspire me was my Mam! To see her face light up watching me do something that I loved was the best feeling from being little. There is something about seeing your parents pride in what you do or have achieved that sticks with you throughout your life (which is something that I’m sure we all aim for at some point in our lives).

Me and my Sister (I am the one not eating - She will kill me for this!)

This only encouraged me and inevitably led me to doing gymnastics and dance classes which I ended up being really good at and the majority of the time excelled in. The feeling of the audience clapping, screaming and shouting because they are happy for you, is what keeps you doing what you do and pushes you to impress them that bit more each time. Not to say it wasn’t sometimes really tough and with the highs come disappointments, but as you grow you find ways to push through with the encouragement of a supportive fan base (that’s your friends and family) and a great coach.

That's me on top at the World Games 2005, Germany

In my Acrobatics career I was always inspired to improve my dance technique firstly by my Coach & peers and secondly by the magnificent Cirque Du Soleil.

I will NEVER FORGET when I went to see my very first Cirque Du Soleil Show in Manchester. It was the Saltimbanco Show and I remember sitting there thinking “That will be me one day! This is awesome!”. That was the first point in my life when I realised that I wanted to make a career out of doing something I loved (either Dance or Acrobatics).

Cirque Du Soleil - Saltimbanco

Cirque Du Soleil had a massive effect on my life from that point on and they Inspired me to be bigger and better than I was and left me often the feeling that I could do more. They made performing seem like MAGIC, like they could make the impossible, possible.

I was inspired to start branching out and wanted to explore myself as a performer more, which took me to London where I began to experience auditions, festivals, stage performances & music video work.

Learning what the performing industry was really like and how much effort, time and energy it took to work in that sort of industry, but it was tough but so worth every second!

Seeing friends in Cirque Du Soleil inspired me to branch out to work in different countries performing, which I ended up doing - if you have read my previous blog you will already know this! I moved to Spain where I began to work with a lovely company, performing in Musical Shows. Up until this point I HATED MUSICALS, that was until I saw the Choreographer of MedPlaya Hotels perform.

She was called Ana Hernandez Sanchez and she was incredible on the stage! She could adapt and change her style, dance vocabulary, technique & facials to suit every single show on the stage. You could not take your eyes off of her! That’s when I said to myself “I want to be a versatile performer just like Ana, where everyone in the audience has to watch you because you make them and then you will always be remembered as the best dancer on the stage”. So I gave it a bash, worked hard and I think I did myself proud.

Ana Hernandez Sanchez taking on Flashdance

I have taken inspiration from lots of different people in my life often at unexpected times. The people you meet, work with, compete against and who support you will shape the person you become. These are gifts, often ones you won’t fully appreciated until the time has passed and you have time to reflect on your own personal journey. Make sure you take the opportunities when they come, learn from other peoples experiences because nobody makes it on their own.

I owe all of these people a debt and hope that I have a left a little bit of me with them on my way through.

My Inspirations:

• My Mam

• My Gymnastics coach - Glen

• Cirque Du Soleil

• London Auditions & Companies

• Ana from MedPlaya Hotels

• The children I now Coach (you inspire me to be a better coach everyday!).

So this only leaves one question, who inspires you?

H xx