Reflection – Culturama [LO2 & LO5]

This year, I decided to take part in Culturama, despite never having danced before. Dancing has always been one of the activities that sits right outside my comfort zone – and so this year I wanted to challenge myself and experience something new to me.

When I signed up for Culturama, I tried out for 3 auditions, in the desperate hope I would get accepted into 1. I tried Ethiopia, Africa and Polynesia. Polynesia was my ‘dream’ dance, though I had doubts about whether I’d get in due to the large number of people auditioning and the amount of talented dancers there were.

Surprisingly, I was accepted into the dance, and I felt overwhelmed. This was the first personal proof that pushing myself out my comfort zone came with rewards, and that I was able to achieve more than I believed I could. I found this to be a key moment of personal growth because my perspective changed to believe myself more, and I suddenly held a more positive perspective on dancing as an activity, whereas prior to this I continued to associate it with an activity I found difficult and painful.

I found the practices challenging because it tested my physical ability as well as my mental resilience. Some of the dance moves were very challenging and I had to persevere for a long time before finally getting them. Furthermore, we had to learn a 4 minute performance in a month and a half, and it was quite physically straining because of the amount of practices it took to memorise each move.

During the practices, I was put with a group of people who I had not met before. The situation had forced me to collaborate with unfamiliar people, and it was this way that I really understood the importance of collaboration in dancing. There would be many instanced where I’d forget a step, so I would ask my peers for support, as would they in times of uncertainty. Because all the dancers were in the same situation, we all supported each other so we could reach our end goal of having an engaging and cohesive performance piece.

There were a few during the process where I felt uncertain or unsure of my abilities or ability to continue to persevere throughout the challenges, but I knew the group depended on me and that they would be there me if I asked them for support.

In the end, I was incredibly happy with my achievements and proud of the group’s final performaces. Not only did I push myself to try something completely new, but I also managed to achieve much more than I expected. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, with the roaring cheers of the audience closing the performance, and reflecting all the effort and time dedicating into making such an incredible Culturama.