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Ella Bode
Mrs. Sluder
Contemporary Dance
13 January 2017
Semester Self-Reflection
On January 25, 2017, I will have officially completed my first semester of high school, while
this thought is scary, it is also an accomplishment I will cherish for the rest of my life. Throughout my
time at Weaver, I have grown both as a dancer and as a person. So many things have changed, from my
self-confidence and determination, to my technique and extensions. I am so proud to be able to say that
Weaver has helped me through it all, especially the Dance Department.
Among the things that have changed, the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year,
to get higher extensions, gain more flexibility, dance with more emotion, improve my improvisational
skills, and have more precise turns. One of my main goals, to get higher extensions, is finally a reality.
In my mid-semester-reflection, I said that this skill, along with gaining more flexibility, was coming
along nicely, partially because of my increased stretching, and partially because of my extended hours
dancing each day. Now I know that this combination really has helped me to obtain these goals and
become a better dancer. I now have much better flexibility and extensions that are 25 degrees higher!
Dancing with emotion has always been a priority for me when it comes to my dancing. Lately, I
feel that it defines me as a dancer, emotion is what makes my dancing, my dancing. Whenever we
improv, or get the chance to choreograph, I feel that I look at things from a more abstract view, and
tend to focus on the emotion rather than the movement itself. Overall, I believe that this has led me to
be a better dancer, and has helped me to have more confidence in myself when it comes to dancing. In
addition to dancing with emotion, I also wanted to focus on my improv skills this year, which I am

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happy to say have improved majorly. My discovery of emotion, as said before, really helped my
improv skills, as well as practicing improv so often here, at Weaver Academy.
My last goal, to have more precise turns, is my most difficult challenge. In my mid-semester selfreflection, I admitted that instead of getting better, my turns were actually getting worse. I am proud to
say that I have turned this around, as my turns are finally improving. Lots of progress has been made,
considering how I have worked very diligently on them, practicing at home, at dance, or wherever I
can. I have also noticed myself being more outgoing, and starting to really use my voice in this world. I
have to think that this is a byproduct of my growing confidence and skills in my dancing. Dance, and
Weaver, have both helped me tremendously discover who I am as a student, dancer, and person. I
cannot wait to see what the next semester has in store for me here. All I know is that it will be
something amazing.