I have been a dancer my whole life, but it has recently become important to me for different reasons. As a kid, I was zoned in on technique and points. Now, I focus far more about expressing myself creatively.

While making a dance/poem inspired by my experiences with OCD, I fell in love with using dance to express mental health. This morning, I woke up at 7 bit by the creative bug ready to finish this dance about depression.

It was originally for a friend, but it can be for you too.

Here are a few things of note:

• I chose to wear blue because for me that color has always been associated with depression. Yet, it’s incredibly sunny outside where I’m dancing. Often, with depression, it can feel like we are a drop of blue amidst the sunshine.
• The beginning of the choreography is intentionally mostly on the ground. That was meant to represent the emotional pain of depression. Throughout the dance, I go up to represent feeling better but then down again and finally up once more. Recovery is seldom linear.
• Finally, I particularly love the end of this song. The energy builds, so I tried to convey that as well. Instead of being confided to the ground, I return to the things I love, like jumping. In the end, I figuratively hold the hand of my friend, or you if that’s what you need.

Morgan