June 24, 2016. I sat in the largest studio room in Academie de Ballet knowing absolutely nothing. Well, maybe not absolutely nothing. I knew that my name was Joel Casanova and that I created the BeatHunter Dance Program. But that was about the extent of my knowledge. I didn't know who was going to come, why they were coming, if they would like it, and what I would do differently if it was 1 person who came or 100.

While racking my brain over all these thoughts, I remember talking to my mom about something absurdly casual like vegetables or something. I don't remember. Like I said, my mind was a bit occupied at the time. Suddenly I hear someone enter the studio. Not a mob of people. One girl. I can't really explain the feeling, but somehow I was overjoyed and at the same time my heart sank. Part of me was glad that anyone showed up. Another part of me was a bit wounded that only one did.

I had this idea in my head of what the first BeatHunter event would look like. That there would be a group of people and I would be teaching them what I wrote and that they would love it and be super inspired. It was amazing. It had to be perfect. How could it not be perfect? Actually? There are plenty of reasons it wasn't. The main reason was that it was what I wanted, not what God wanted. My mindset would quickly change by the end of the three days.

"So, basically what happened was you bought a weekend of privates for you daughter." I told the mom as she walked into the room. "Great! Can't get any better than that!" she beamed. Then she sat down with my mom and they proceeded to do what any pair of sensible dance moms would do: Talk about their kids and take pictures of them dancing. The only difference was that I was a 20-year-old instructor who owned his own dance business at this point. Ali Wheeler, my lone student, was a teenager who had signed up for this never-before-attempted dance program.

Quickly, I rearranged my plan for the weekend, tailored it to one person, and dove right in. The first step of Personal Kinetic turned into the first two. The first two turned into the second day. The second day turned into the final moments of the third day. We prayed, it ended, and just like that I had completed my first BeatHunter event. Both Ali and I had grown immensely, which leads me to the take away of this entry: You can grow in the gifts and talents that God has created you with.

Just because God has called you to do something doesn't mean it will always come naturally. Personal Kinetic was a curriculum I wrote yet, God used only one person showing up to teach me how to teach with Personal Kinetic. By the end of the weekend, I learned things about the program I didn't know and discovered questions I had never thought of. And it was all because of the very first BeatHunter attendant: Ali Wheeler. Thank you Ali, whether you knew it or not God was using you.

So. If you are trying to expand your personal style or have discovered your direction in dance, let Him teach you how to be "more you".

That's all for now! Until next time BeatHunters!

-Joel Casanova