March 17th, 2010 by soullldiva

I really wanted to find more quotes about dance from Mistress Mia, and I stumbled upon a speech that she gave to her students during a dance convention (called WGI World Championships) in 2009. Her speech is amazing. And it’s great to hear her say it, but I thought that I would transcribe a couple minutes of it. This isn’t paraphrased, but there is a sentance missing here and there in between the paragraphs (dooesn’t take away from it at all). It’s even better when you can read it slowly, then read it again.

“It’s not about tricks at all. In fact I don’t want to see tricks at all…

“What is so important is about the vulnerability that you have to allow yourself to have.

“Everybody moves differently. If you are a B-boy or if you are a–whatever you are, whatever style it is that you love to do, if that represents who you are, you bring that into this space, under this music. You find a way to phrase it, make it yours.

“I want to see you. You are more interesting to me than doing a trick. What I find more interesting is seeing the individual come out, the uniqueness of each individual come out, and how you move.

“You are the only one of you. From the beginning of time till the end of this world to the end of eternity. There’s only one of you ever created. Ev-er. You are the only you. That’s pretty powerful.

“So why on earth would you want to look like anybody else, dress like anyone else, dance like anyone else, be someone else, when you are a legend in your own right?”

Can I get an AMEN?

Gives me goosebumps. The art of dance is the art of the individual communicating their individuality to the universe. Mia’s got it, and she was able to put it into words. I love me Mia. Thanks lady.