By Ashok Vyas
The spark of pure joy is visible in the eyes of Laura De La Garza Noble. She found her calling as a dancer at a very early age. She was only two years old when her feet started enjoying the movements of Belle. Her passion took her to competition studios in Mexico, where she was exposed to different styles of dancing. So, at the tender age of six, she was already developing professional focus and dance became an effective way of communicating for her. Laura prefers movement of body to the use of words for conveying her feelings. The rigorous practice of dance after school for five hours everyday and working with a team at the studio in Mexico led her to participate in several competitions. She got scholarships and recognition from choreographers in the USA, this further strengthened her conviction to pursue dance.
Laura is a successful dancer, choreographer, educator and fitness instructor and trained in Vinyasa Yoga. Her philosophy is “Power and strength are defined by how much you are willing to push yourself to accomplish new things constantly, not by what you can already do.”
She gives credit for many of her personality traits to dancing. She feels focussing on her body ‘inside out’ as a dancer helped her in overcoming many obstacles to her complete growth. When you hear about her relationship with dance, it reminds you of meditation, perhaps dance is a fluid meditation for Laura. She says, this art form brought about a different understanding of the world in her.
While she wanted to pursue dance, her parents wanted her to have a degree. A degree in dance was not available in Mexico and she got admitted to Rutgers University, New Jersey. She discovered her love for choreography and became aware that not just there is more power in dance, it is also an effective artistic tool to make a point. The enriching five years spent at Rutgers University also made her an educator. She wanted to help others discover not just dance but inner pathways to overall development as an individual.
As Laura started understanding more and more about mind body connectivity. She became aware that as a dancer, she is becoming more aware of how a particular movement of the body makes her feel inside. Laura says, dancers need to know how their body is located in space without having to see it.
As a dancer, her insatiable urge to learn led her to study ‘Vinyasa Yoga’.
Vinyasa yoga is a type of practice that was developed from Yoga. In it the power of breath is used to flow from pose to pose, the asanas in this flow are all synchronized with the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation.
Communicating her story through performance, highlighting different situations from the world through choreography, helping others develop through education, Laura believes that the voice of a dancer compliments the voice of a choreographer,
When she realized covid had impacted the art world and she needed to reinvent herself with the changing world she evolved and found ways to realign her expressions as per the parameters drawn by a new set of situations in the covid hit world.
It is not possible to miss the light of joy in her voice as she talks about her vision to pursue ‘dance movement therapy’. Laura is committed to using her talent and voice to move things forward.In one of her instagram posts, she writes, “Doing Yoga is not in the pose, it is in how you treat others and how you treat yourself. Be kind, be understanding, and be patient.”
(The writer is a poet, author & TV producer. He can be reached at [email protected])
Laura De La Garza Noble
