I "I Have Terrible Anxiety but I Love Being Onstage" / Emily Heath

Dancecast

“I Have Terrible Anxiety but I Love Being Onstage”

In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews her intern Emily Heath, a dance student at Bennington College. As a young person, Emily reflects on the economic uncertainty of pursuing dance and their desire to learn more entrepreneurial and marketable skills in addition to somatic-based curriculum. Emily reflects on their ongoing experience of anxiety, and how they now feel supported in dance environments but acknowledge that getting a diagnosis and treatment can be a privilege. Their future goals feel tempered by the pandemic, but they describe their interest in exploring digital spaces and developing a movement vocabulary to process emotion. Finally, Emily expresses how showing up with anxiety in dance spaces is an ongoing negotiation.

Text by Emmaly Wiederholt

Emily Heath is a dancer and student at Bennington College. They have studied many different styles for more than 10 years. The work they are doing now is centered around understanding their internal landscape and how dance can become a tool to heal. They are curious about how to make dance accessible to those who may not feel welcome in the dance community for various reasons. They believe that every person and experience has something to teach them and they are excited to learn those things.

Check out my collaborator Stance on Dance which is a 501c3 dance journalism nonprofit that educates the dance community and wider audiences about dance from the perspective of underrepresented voices and access points.

To see more about what I do, check out bodyshift.org.

Emily Heath's video project about anxiety "Whirlpooling Thoughts" is coming soon.