I am a dancer, but that is not all that I am.
I have been a dancer my whole life, from the age of three when I first put on a pair of tap shoes and my mom took me crying to my first dance class.
I discovered ballet officially at nine years old when my combo tap/ballet teacher saw my flexible feet and hyper extended knees. She convinced my mom to put me in ballet lessons.
I loved ballet from the moment I started. I had found the dance form for me! Years have gone by since then and I’ve learned other styles but ballet and especially pointe work has stayed my favorite.
This past year I moved to New York City via a one way plane ticket and two suitcases from the west coast.
Also in the past year I got certified as an educator of the Franklin Method. Basically a year-long process that involved three weeks throughout the year of intensive training in Boulder, Colorado. In-between weeks I had homework to complete, practice workshops to teach , studying and practicing to do with the Franklin Method. [The Franklin Method was formed by Eric Franklin partly from his own experience as a dancer. It uses science, bone models and current mind body research to teach in a student centered way how the bones, muscles and organs move in all bodily motions. Then dynamic imagery is incorporated to encourage movement and translate the motion between the mind and body.] Learning the Franklin Method has changed the way I approach dance. I continue daily to teach my body it’s true movement potential in every moment, enhancing my movement with anatomically correct imagery.
One of my most recent discoveries in ballet class…
It truly is a really powerful thing when you realize that in any moment you can DECIDE how you want to do a step. That kind of control I always interpreted to be the skill only of a professional dancer. But, I was never sure how they got it. I assumed years if practice and HARD work. But then even when i became a professional dancer i still wondered and was actually rather disappointed I did not suddenly have this skill…
But then, ding! Last week in class I discovered it and I had my answer! The Franklin Method! Embodying the Franklin Method in ballet classes allows one to DECIDE how you want to do a step.
I plan to be a strong, brilliant, inspiring Franklin Method educator, enabling me to help tons of people – dancers and lay people alike to move and dance in the healthiest, most beautiful way reaching their highest potential.
Emily Anton 