The bright lights of a stage are a safe and comforting space for many during their high school career. For others, this setting can create less comfort and more concern. Prior to his freshman year, current senior Javion Green would have felt more concern than any sort of comfort on a stage. However, after being introduced to the arts of dance and theater, his perceptions of the stage have drastically changed.
“I started dancing around my freshman year. I started seeing dance videos on YouTube and as a joke I was just doing them for myself, but then I saw that I really started liking it. Towards the end of my freshman year, I saw that I had room for dance in my sophomore year so I did a little bit of thinking and I was like ‘why not, let’s do it.’ So I took it and I had a lot of fun and I met a lot of people and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Green said.
Now going into Dance 3, Green notices the extreme improvements that have occurred ever since the first dance class he took.
“My technique has gotten a lot better, thinking back to Dance1 and thinking of how bad I was because I was just dancing on my own. I didn’t really have anybody directing me or telling me how to do the right thing,” Green said. “Mrs. Corriston helped me a lot and I see that I’ve grown but also backtracked a little bit because of quarantine and not being able to dance much. I’m really hoping that next semester taking dance will get me back on the right track.”
The nerves that come with change and new opportunities were more than present for Green when he began. Over his years of high school, however, Green has been able to turn those nerves into excitement.
“[Dance] has taught me to be a lot more open. Taking Dance I, I was surrounded by a whole bunch of people I didn’t know and dancing and moving my body around a bunch of people that I didn’t know. I had to adapt and get to know these people in order to feel more comfortable. I did and it’s definitely helped me not just in dance, but now I’m starting to be able to talk to people a lot more easily,” Green said. “Before dance I was always super shy and I didn’t really want to talk to anybody except the people that I knew, and I didn’t really want to meet any new people. After dance I started doing marching band and acting more and being more open towards people and started meeting a lot of new people.”
Along with participating in dance, Green has seen himself mature through his experiences in high school.
“It’s definitely a little bit of both. [I’ve learned] a lot from dance because it had me become more open towards people [but also] just high school and going through the years and going with the same people. It’s sort of like elementary or middle school, you grow up with the same people so then you start to get familiar and used to them. [They both] opened me up to be more social,” Green said.
In addition to dance, Green participates in theater at the high school. Both classes have allowed him to be creative and have the opportunity to show that creativity.
“[Dance] is important to me because it’s a way for me to express myself and the same with acting and theater. They are ways that I can express myself and show people what I’m really passionate about,” Green said.
Although both theater and dance have shaped Green, theater built a confidence in him that was essential to his expression of art.
“Theater taught me that it’s ok to be yourself and you don’t have to hide anything from anyone. It pushes you and it really makes you step out of your comfort zone as well so it definitely teaches you how to be yourself,” Green said. “I definitely saw a big change when I started [theater and dance]. If I didn’t do dance or theater, I would probably be the same as I was freshman year, that shy awkward person.”
While Green has grown on his own, he has the help of his teachers and classmates.
“My sophomore year Mr. Gibson came in and he really pushed theater to a new level and actually had us act a lot. My sophomore year really pushed me because I was having dance and theater at the same time and because of dance, I auditioned for marching band and I got in. Then my junior year Mrs. Corriston also pushed me to audition for the musical and I got in and had the best time of my life. Because of them it made me the person I am and helped me find myself,” Green said.
Green’s love for acting was sparked at a young age when he dreamed of becoming a Disney Channel star. Despite the fact that his future plans have changed slightly from the original dream, Green hopes to continue his love of acting as well as dance.
“I applied for [James Madison University] and I applied for the dance and theater program,” Green said. “I’m mostly looking forward to performances in general and being able to show people what I work on and what I’m passionate about.”
After getting past the anxiety of doing something new, Green was able to create a time and space that he could appreciate and feel relaxed in.
“You’re going to be moving around and basically sweating with a whole bunch of people that you don’t know for the first couple weeks. It’s scary at first, but you just have to grow into it and give it a chance,” Green said. When I started, I was really awkward and was kind of unsure if I wanted to do it, but throughout the weeks, I started getting more comfortable and meeting the people in there. Every day I would show up and I’d be happy to be there and [be] the most comfortable I’ve ever felt.