“Dance is the fastest, most direct route to the truth — not some big truth that belongs to everybody, but the get down and personal kind, the what’s-happening-in-me-right-now kind of truth. We dance to reclaim our brilliant ability to disappear in something bigger, something safe, a space without a critic or a judge or an analyst.”  ~ Gabrielle Roth

 Jasmine has been dancing since the age of….

Dancing makes me feel close to God. When I need to really make a connection, I dance. When I dance, it’s like no one is there, just me and God. And, I’m talking to Him through my movements. During times when I can’t express myself or can’t find the words, dance is the way I communicate to Him.

Dancing takes me to a different place – not what I see with my eyes. It takes me to a place where everything is pretty good in life. As you know, it’s not that way, but when I’m dancing, every problem that I have – everything that I’m going through – it does not exist. It’s just me and God. It’s just me and Him, and nothing else matters at that point in time. It’s just that connection, and it’s strongest when I’m dancing.

My first time really feeling a connection with God would have to be the first time I danced in church. I was praise dancing and at that moment, I felt like I was meeting God. Like, I think that’s the first time I heard Him. You know how people say you hear God talking to you with that voice? That was the first time I encountered that. The song that I danced to was “Now Behold the Lamb” by Kirk Franklin and the Family. And, that’s when I started growing closer to God. Like, at that moment, I felt that connection for myself with God, like, that one-on-one relationship.

Before then, my relationship with God was through my mom. I was going to church with her – it was kind of like a tradition to do. On Sundays, you go to church. But, at that moment, it was just me and God. I didn’t have to go through my mom to get it to Him. I felt closer to God than I ever had before. That’s when God became real for me.

Having a relationship with God has helped me to become a better person, in general. When I was younger, I was very bitter and mad at the world because at a young age, I went through a lot. When my relationship with God started to develop, I started to see a change in myself. It’s made me be more compassionate towards others.

It also has kept me grounded. Like, I have always been very insecure and had very low self-esteem. So, believing that we are wonderfully and fearfully made has kept me grounded in building up my self-esteem and not taking to heart what other people say about me…I won’t change or compromise who I am to fit in with the in crowd. I’m accepting me for me and finding people who love me for my flaws and all.