Creativity – May 27, 2022

What does it mean to be creative?

When I think about creativity I think about the well-known phrase “think outside the box”. Creativity is generating ideas and possibilities that are used for problem solving and communication. Creativity involves coming up with alternative and new ideas and creations. 

What is your favorite way to express your creative side? What do you like about it?

My favorite way to express my creativity is through dance and art. Dance no doubt allows me to explore new techniques, styles, movements, and forms that help me express myself and learn something new about myself. Art is another form of expressing my creativity, except I tend to be more critical and less imaginative with this form. Often times when I think of art I think about realistic art which is considered the perfect and best style of art. My ability as an artist is not that advanced therefore I have to challenge myself to think creatively to execute an art piece that looks good while fitting my style and abilities.

What do you do when you get an idea?

When I come up with an idea I either tell someone about it or write it down if it is a good idea. If I do tell people about the idea I typically receive some sort of constructive criticism that will help improve my idea. However the majority of the time I think about the idea and then ignore it because I either don’t think it’s that innovative or smart. 

Do you feel more creative by yourself or when you work with others? Why do you think this is?

I think it depends on the situation and who I am working with. If I am in a position of pressure and surrounded by people I am comfortable with I think I’m more creative. However when I’m surrounded by people that make me anxious or I simply am not comfortable with I tend to be more technical and ignore my ideas. I think this is because I’m worried about being judged for my thoughts. Therefore I decided to let others take the lead. 

How have you shown creativity in you CAS project? How can you use that to promote your project to others?

My CAS project is based on creativity. Teaching dance requires tons of creativity. For example, when I choreographed my sister’s solo as well as a group dance for my studio I had to come up with unique movements that fit the vibe of the song. Often times I would come up with ideas that I believed to be creative and work well with the song and choreography but simply do not work for the dancer. The dancer may not be able to execute the move exactly or just doesn’t look good doing it. Therefore I have to alter my initial idea to fit the dancer more, showing a side of creativity which is problem-solving. Another example is teaching dance to the CEPIA kids. Often time the girls would get distracted or bored and won’t listen to me. During this period of time, I needed to come up with ways to keep them engaged during class. My most effective strategy was turning aspects of my class into games and competitions. I created a couple of dance battles and obstacle courses to teach the kids the various skills they needed to learn.