A Reflection on Panama

Participating in an exchange to Panama was truly a life-changing experience. Being a part of Movement Exchange while at the University of Pittsburgh has been nothing short of incredible, but teaching in Panama added a whole new dimension to this organization for me. When beginning to plan this trip, we said yes to anything and everything that we could do while on our weeklong trip. This included taking Vogue and Salsa classes from experts, teaching at a university for the arts, and even taking an adventurous hike to a waterfall. We wanted to get the absolute most out of our trip.

The first day we arrived in Panama, we instantly got hit with the heat and humidity that we were not used to back in Pittsburgh. However, we embraced this new environment and headed straight to our first teaching opportunity at a dance studio called Enlaces. These children get the opportunity to learn dance as an after-school activity during the week and on this day, we got to be their teacher. Having this as our first teaching experience got us super excited and ready for the rest of the week. We acknowledged that there may be language barriers and difficulties when teaching, but we were ready to take it on!

With each day, I learned more about Panama and what it takes to be a great dance diplomat. While each location we taught at was very different, I noticed how different the ideas surrounding dance are in Panama versus the United States. I was used to dance being a competitive sport that required me to be perfect and not stray away from other individuals on my team. However, learning and teaching dance in Panama showed me that it’s the complete opposite there. Every person danced to express their own individuality and how they interpreted the music or situation. This realization totally shifted the view I always had surrounding dance, and it made me want to bring this ideology back to the United States where I can use dance as a tool of self-expression.

After this change in mindset, I had the most incredible time taking classes from experts to learn more about the types of dances that are commonly performed in Panama. Dancing Salsa, Vogue, and Panamanian Folklore was something I had never done before, but it was a great experience. Tapping into the mindset of self-expression and having a carefree attitude made this even more enjoyable. Taking these classes inspired me to want to take more classes back at home after rekindling the love of dance I’ve always had.

Out of all the lessons this exchange taught me one of the biggest was that dance can serve as a very powerful language. We were not able to converse in Spanish at many of the places we taught and therefore had to communicate simply through music and dance. I never knew the magnitude that the language of dance could have, and it was truly incredible to learn this in a place like Panama. This trip will forever hold a very special place in my heart, and I hope that many other dance diplomats get to experience an exchange like this one. 

Move to change always!

Katelyn Wagaman, University of Pittsburgh