Sometimes, the artists who are directly mentoring us have the most influence in our lives. This is the case for me with my most recent college dance professor, Lindsay Hawkins. She has had a major influence on my life as a dancer, a performer, a choreographer, and a dance educator. One thing that sticks out most to me about this professor is her dedication to teaching each student as an individual and educating her students about safe somatic practices. One value that she makes apparent in her classes is that dance is going to look different on every single dancer, and that is okay. We are all different people, so we should all dance differently. She uses this to challenge us to explore our style and artistry more without comparing ourselves to others. It helps us as dancers to find our own unique flow and discover where our strengths lie, which can then be carried over into our choreographic processes. Once we have discovered our unique style, we can create pieces that feel more personal and authentic to us, which she encourages us to do. It helps us as students to find confidence within our own dancing, choreography, and creative processes. She also makes it clear how much she values safety within dance and somatic practices. She uses her anatomical knowledge regularly in class to demonstrate how to safely execute the exercises that we are being asked to do. She also uses her anatomical knowledge to explain to us when exercises are harmful or unsafe to do, many of which I was never aware of before taking class with her. However, she does not stop after telling us that the exercise is harmful or even after explaining how it is harmful. She goes on to help us discover exercises that can be done as an alternative that promote safety but still achieve the same desired outcome. These values help me in many different ways. First, as a dancer, I am constantly learning how to find my unique style of movement to apply with the technique that I am learning in classes. I am also learning new information on how to safely execute movements and protect myself. As a performer, I am able to take all of the information that I learned in class, translate it into the movement in my body, and then take it to the stage with me when I showcase my art for others. These values influence me as a choreographer as they push me to find my choreographic style and make pieces that feel genuine to me and truly come from who I am as a dancer. These also influence me as a dance teacher, which may be the most important aspect, especially when it comes to safer movement. I am able to take the knowledge that I have learned and pass it on to the future generations of dancers that I am now teaching so that they are able to freely explore the art of dance in a way that is safe for their bodies. My overall favorite experience in the arts as a dancer would have to be the time I spent in a dance studio as a competitive dancer. This is because on top of the dance and artistry that we were learning in the studio, we were also learning responsibility, teamwork, leadership, dedication, commitment, and so many other important things. Dance, like the other creative arts, teaches us so many valuable lessons that we can take with us through our lives, even beyond the dance studio and the stage.