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Dancing ahead

By Morgan Cheng, age 17 | July 1, 2019

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BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN Morgan Cheng, an incoming senior at Bellaire High School, applies creativity and analytical thought in the dance world and elsewhere. (Photo: Yves Giot)

I have always had a passion for dance. Dance allows me to express myself through my movements and gives me creative freedom through creation of choreography. I also love puzzles. When I was younger, I was always building things with K’Nex and Legos, such as rollercoasters and rocket ships. I remember being one of only two girls in a Design and Destroy class at the Museum of Natural Science summer camp where we designed buildings to withstand earthquakes and bridges to withstand tidal waves.

My love for dance, math and science meshed after I took my IB physics and calculus classes at Bellaire High School this past year. Physics and math shined light on many of the different dance movements I tried so hard to improve on. The balance, turns and jumps in dance are better understood when using physics concepts such as center of gravity, force, friction, torque, momentum, inertia and trajectory along with mathematical calculations.

Today, people are often categorized as being either analytical or creative. However, creativity is needed to solve difficult problems and to visualize challenging issues in different ways. Being analytical in addition to creative in the dance world inspires innovative forms of movement and allows freedom beyond the limits of a dancer’s physical abilities.

Dance has taught me to be persistent. Oftentimes, practice does not make perfect in a dancer’s world and there is always something you can improve on; however, practice does make us able to think quickly on our feet during performances. Performances and evaluations are never perfect, but we must keep a level head and continue to improve.

Science and math concepts are not always easy to grasp initially. Many times, difficult concepts and problems require persistence, imagination and creativity to understand and solve. This next school year I will be leading the Bellaire Belles as the colonel and working on finishing up my IB paper in physics. Both tasks will take me out of my comfort zone; however, I am thankful for the challenges ahead. I look forward to being able to combine my passions and making them applicable in the real world.

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