Why are you thankful for dance?

I saw a Facebook post called "Why are you thankful for dance?" which Ainsley posted and after reading it wanted to add my thoughts. It could almost be a research question!
I'm thankful for dance for many reasons and these have changed over the years, however I think they all contribute to who I am today. When I was little about 6 years old my parents divorced. For various reasons I had to grow up quick but my dancing was where I could be who I wanted to be, which was me. I wasn't the little girl in between my parents or trying to put on a brave face because our family home was being sold. I could express myself while I was dancing and loved the exertion and complexity that I was being asked to do. The studios became my home from home.
When I moved from Australia to England at the age of 14, dance was my connection to my home of Australia. It was what I knew in a world that had become very unfamiliar. Having lived in a country which was very safe and I could go where I wanted pretty much whenever I wanted, to an all girls boarding school in Hertfordshire in the middle of nowhere. Dancing was my release and my safe place.
At dance college I found a new way to express myself other than ballet which is what I had done largely up until then. Contemporary dance released so much more and going to London Contemporary Dance School to study contemporary and choreography allowed me to delve deeper. I gained new movement to express myself and my new Christian faith.
Teaching allows me to pass on my love of dance and still allows me time to look at how I'm developing and growing as a person with and through my dance.
Dance for me is a vital connection into who I am as a person. Not just as a teacher but as a wife, mother, friend and Christain. I am thankful that dance has been a part of who I am to help me in life and to help me to understand myself better.