First Interviews

Two people that I interviewed are dancers that I have gotten to know. Devon Groff started dancing when she was three years old because her parents put her in it. She also played soccer, but felt a stronger connection to dance. Devon continued with dance because she felt good while she did it. She was shy as a child, except for when she performed. She is comfortable on stage and liked not feeling shy. Now, Devon works at Popovsky Performing Arts Studio and Move It Studio.
I also interviewed Lauren Sangrey, who is a teacher at Warwick High School and Encore Dance Center. Miss Sangrey also started dancing at three years old because she lived in Alabama and her parents wanted her to be involved there.
I asked both of them about seeing someone’s morale change in a rehearsal or show, and about using dance as self expression. Both of them had a very strong response to when I asked if they had seen someone’s morale be changed. Miss Sangrey said that if someone loves to dance, it will truly make them happy. She also said that she was able to watch another class perform the night before I interviewed her and she was amazed by all of the emotion in the dance and that makes it better to watch and more fun to perform. Devon said that she even sees her own morale change after almost every time she teaches, and when she performs. She pointed out that she could feel better when she performs because she can really move and perform. She also pointed out that she can see a change if her sister is stressed out after she dances and she can see her sister be happier. The last thing that Devon pointed out relating to this is that most people are happy after seeing a show, unless the show is sad. I also asked Devon if she finds dance as a way to express themselves and she gave a very confident yes and said that dance is an amazing way to express yourself because sometimes words can get mixed up but you can tell emotions through dance. Miss Sangrey said that she is passionate about theater and dance because of the emotion behind it, that it is a destresser, the physical activity, and that it takes you out of reality. Devon said that she is passionate because it was her major in school, so she obviously loves it. She also said that the passion from others was contagious and she loves how you can create and play in a way that is more than writing and fine art. Finally, dance is a culmination of all art forms because you need sets, composers, lyricists, and so much more.
In my course, I learned about budget cuts for school arts programs and I akked Miss Sangrey about it one day. She said that she really hope that it never happens to us because even if the arts aren’t a career for someone, it should be a part of life. Now that dance is a smaller part of Miss Sangreys life, it is still important because she said that she would be different without it. She added that she wants people who love theater and dance to always keep it in their lives, even if it isn’t performing, but just watching.
At the end, Devon said that she would compel people who haven’t tried to try dance or theater. Just trying it will give a new perspective, even if you don’t like it.
Talking to Miss Sangrey and Devon was very interesting to me and I think that the most common theme is how good they feel after they dance or watch a performance.