Blog #5: "The New Me"

This class has really allowed me to expand my horizon when discussing hip-hop. The "old me" was a competitive dancer in which hip-hop was taught to me, but I was never the strongest hip-hop performer. I only performed it when I was required to. I was very timid and did not feel as though I could perform the moves correctly or quite as well as the others around me, I was more of a jazz and lyrical performer. Through taking this class, I have been able to learn the deeper meanings and origins of hip-hop in general. This has helped me view it much differently and understand why it was created. Being a retired dancer, I can now watch others perform and understand what their body is saying through their performance. I now feel like a much more empowered women after taking this class because I learned about the many struggles women have endured and how they use their performance to make a difference. Below you will find a picture that sort of conveys the way I was introduced to hip-hop to begin with. I was the ballerina, which had to try and converge to become a hip-hop dancer.