Dancing with Pur-Poise

Articles

Yay! We are going back into our studios soon!

Maybe Ms. Linda has a superpower? When she distributed those T-shirts featuring the happy Pur-poise before the holidays, she may have anticipated that we would need them for leaping and twirling with joy today. But then, when don’t we leap with joy at Poise Dance Academy?

Poise dancers have been amazing throughout the two-year pandemic. They have remained committed, resilient and joyful through all the ups and downs. Come to think about it, they share a bunch of traits with a porpoise. We have been checking in with our student-dancers by asking them a few questions during this past week. We will share the kids’ views and aspirations along with others – including the purpose why Ms. Linda started Poise, in a series of blogs under the theme of “Dancing with Pur-poise” – over the next few weeks – as we happily dance our way back to our studios.

First, let us learn a little bit about the Pur-poise.

You probably see a dolphin when you see the picture above? Well, it is actually a porpoise – a cousin of both dolphins and whales. Here are some fun facts about them:

  • Porpoises have emerged as a group of aquatic mammals about 15 million years ago! Although they were first discovered in the northern parts of the Pacific Basin, porpoises are now found in rivers, estuaries, and bays, all over the world.
  • Porpoises are actually mammals, not fish. They have lungs and need to come up to the water’s surface for air every 25 seconds or so. They breathe through a single nostril – called a blowhole – on top of their head.
  • Like the dolphins, porpoises have a wide repertoire of communication calls, including whistles and ‘clicks’ used for echo-location.
  • Porpoises tend to be shy, although they are also very social. They have been found in groups of 2 – 20, although usually 4. One particular species, the harbour porpoise, travels in a shoal of up to 100.
  • Porpoises are strong. They can swim as fast as 34 mph (miles per hour). They can dive as deep as more than 600 feet.
  • Through evolution, porpoises have developed compact bodies that help them conserve heat in cold water.

Those strong characteristics have helped the porpoise survive for 15 million years. Guess what? We see many of those among our beloved Poise dancers, too! Adaptability, creative communication, mutual support, and always learning to be good at what they do, are traits that we see in Poise students everyday, year after year.

Now, what do you see in yourself? which of these traits do you identify most strongly with? Which of them do you like and aspire to get better at?

In our next blog, we will share what Poise dancers tell us about their pur-poises for dancing