For me, dance provides escapism. Personally I view dance as a form of art created through a physical medium of a range of movements used to either tell a story or as a distraction from the stresses of the outer world. Dance was first opened up to me when I was aged 10 and I went to see a UK tour production of Billy Elliot the Musical. It sparked a real interest for me and an intrigue into the world’s of dance and expressive movement. At the time the boy playing Billy Elliot was a similar age to me and had come from a similar background in competitive gymnastics and it gave me a sense of hope and want for being a part of a creative piece of art like this. One particular moment in the show that completely altered my view on dance is a tap dancing number at the climax of the act 1 called ‘Angry Dance’ as mentioned in the title this number it is clear that it;s a very emotional and expressive piece. This piece is the result of Billy watching his brother Tony and his dance teacher having a mere verbal domestic disagreement. This then leads Billy’s character into a 5 minute tape solo, growling and screaming – letting his anger out and diverting his anger gtom other people and putting that passion and aggression into his choreography, whilst being surrounded by the conflicts of the minors strike under the Thatcher Government. The precision and intricacy of this dance piece was unlike anything I had seen before and to see a kid of stage, my age, provided me with a dream to do similar – dancing my heart out and performing such captivating and meaningful stories to an audience in hope to bring joy and happiness to them. For my photo shoot, I chose to photograph one of my friends doing a stationary dance movement and I allowed her to have freedom of movement too, to allow me to capture the wonders and beauty of dance. I also took inspiration from a dance photographer called Kate Frost who goes around different drama schools capturing dance students in the midst of these majestic dance movements. Dance has had such a meaningful impact on my life – it’s changed my life view and is a great joy to be part of. Over the past year I have had the liberty to perform in different shows, where I’ve been able to combine my love of dancing, singing and acting. I hope in the future I get to continue this love and passion and one day call it my job. This hope has continued through watching shows and involving myself in movement, too.